Sony Vaio VGN-LA38G

Sony's latest in the Vaio series is meant for those who want a stylish
desktop replacement for swanky areas in their offices or homes. Vaio LA38G is a
personal computer but not a laptop, even though it looks somewhat like one. The
screen is surrounded by lightweight polycarbonate transparent frame on all sides
giving it a classy look. The transparent frame also houses various indication
lights for power, Wi-Fi, hard disk activity and battery status with speakers on
either side of the display. On the top, it's got a built-in web camera with
motion eye technology.

All the other ports (USB, Ethernet, modem, DC in power) are on the back and
sides along with a switch for Wi-Fi. The back also has a support stand which can
be tilted back and forth to adjust the screen angle. On the right hand side,
you'll find a slot loading DVD writer and dedicated volume keys. On the left
side, it's got the memory stick and SD/MMC slots, express card, PC card slot, a
USB, FireWire port, audio out, microphone and line-in jacks.

The keyboard (with built-in track pad) can be folded up towards the screen
but is not detachable. The space above the track pad is vacant; this could have
been used to put in a number keypad for better interaction. On the sides of the
keyboard are dedicated music keys to control the music player. These can be
accessed regardless of whether the keyboard is open or closed.

The Vaio is beautiful no doubt but it also packs a lethal punch when it comes
to performance. It incorporates an Intel Core 2 Duo T5600 processor running at
1.83 GHz, 1 GB DDR2 RAM, a 120GB hard drive and an NVIDIA GeForce Go 7400
graphics card. It scored a decent 3.2 rating in the in-built Vista rating test.
We also ran 3DMark06 and PCMark 05 on it and got 605 3DMarks and 3943 PCMarks
respectively. These figures are almost the same as those for current high-end
notebooks. What's more, it has a dedicated graphics card for casual gaming. One
of the useful features of this product is its ability to work as a standalone
music player. It has a sound-reality audio chipset which delivers crystal clear
sound through the 3W stereo speakers. Just fold the keyboard up and the
remaining viewable area of the screen displays track info, artist info, time,
calendar and music visualizations.

However, there are a few cons. First of all, the track pad is on the right
side of the keyboard, rendering it quite useless for left-handers (though they
can easily attach a USB mouse thanks to the conveniently located port). The
music player application (Soundflow) cannot be configured to play music from any
folder other than the 'My Music' folder in 'My Documents'. The device doesn't
have a VGA out to connect to a projector or an external monitor. Finally, we
felt the viewing angle of the screen left a lot to be desired.

Bottom Line: Overall, a product that is sure to turn a few heads
towards your workplace while working as a desktop PC or as a standalone MP3
player.