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Why not to buy a Sony alternative

JoeG4

JoeG4

macrumors 68030
Original poster
Jan 11, 2002
2,913
606
Hey guys, thought I'd discuss this with those of you looking at a Sony Z series, Sony F series, etc when looking at MacBook Pro alternatives since it looks like Apple will never release a computer with a new processor again.

I grew tired of the wait, and purchased a Sony F series, you have probably seen (and have been annoyed by) my comments about the experience. It's been great, that quadcore i7 blows through my daily paces of photoshop, programming projects, games, etc. The battery life isn't so bad either, easily besting my PowerBook G4 (I had a MacBook, that.. was much better though).

Build quality seemed good. Initially. It is more physically solid than say, a MacBook. However, this is only superficial.

I quickly became disenchanted when my first unit's power supply started making clicking noises, and its LED started flickering. Concerned, I immediately took that machine back to Best Buy and got another.

I noticed that my replacement had noticable hard drive vibration when sitting on a table, but passed that off since I've had laptops that did that before. However, I quickly noticed the front edge of the machine was kinda sharp, moreso than the first F, and then the power supply started doing the same thing.

This time, I noticed that when plugged in, any lights on the same circuit will flicker too!

.. Interesting watching this at college. :D

So I went to Best Buy, hoping for another exchange. The CSRs there decided nothing was wrong, and sent me on my way.

Yesterday, a couple of days outside of the 14 day return window I notice dead pixels on the LCD.

F....

(now I know why sony calls it the F series....)

So I called Sony tonight, so far I've heard good things about them, and am greeted by someone polite, who after hearing about my issues tells me that I'll have to mail the machine to them in San Diego, and it'll take 9 to 14 days to diagnose it....

update: They will be fixing it onsite :) Thanks Sony!
 
Like all of the other threads do we really need I bought a PC instead of a mac thread?

So you bought a sony - good for you, but this is a mac forum, we don't really discuss the ins and outs of a sony laptop.

You mentioned you've been buying macs for the last 10 years then you've realized that at times apple has not been the quickest on the draw to updating their lines.

Apple will update its MBP line and is silly to state, or think otherwise. I'm sure it will be out sooner then later.
 
Just another reason on the pile for why I refuse to by anything from Sony.

O/P: You might wanna head over to http://forums.notebookreview.com and try your luck there, before you get lynched by rabid mac fans wondering why you're discussing something non-mac on "sacred ground" ;)
 
maflynn said:
Like all of the other threads do we really need I bought a PC instead of a mac thread?

So you bought a sony - good for you, but this is a mac forum, we don't really discuss the ins and outs of a sony laptop.

You mentioned you've been buying macs for the last 10 years then you've realized that at times apple has not been the quickest on the draw to updating their lines.

Apple will update its MBP line and is silly to state, or think otherwise. I'm sure it will be out sooner then later.
Click to expand...

Honestly, I'd say this thread is more about not buying a PC, and giving what is a valuable user experience for a product quite a few people are looking at in lieu of buying a macbook pro or waiting for any sort of refresh.
 
cderalow said:
Honestly, I'd say this thread is more about not buying a PC, and giving what is a valuable user experience for a product quite a few people are looking at in lieu of buying a macbook pro or waiting for any sort of refresh.
Click to expand...

Sounds like you might have purchased a lemon. Given the time between purchase and defect, it's hard to believe that a namebrand quality machine like a Sony would have this issue. That being said, it happens with lots of stuff. If you recall, there were screen issues popping up with iPhone early on.

Sony's look great, but I'd hesitate before I bought one simply because my father bought one and doesn't rave about it. Not to say they aren't great machines, just that there is enough competition in this marketplace for my dollar. I also have heard bad things about their customer service policy. Then again, I've heard bad things about all customer service. Dell used to be good, but after my last Dell, I don't like them anymore.

Did you use your AMEX card? I know that my AMEX card (and perhaps all of them?) offer extended warranties on all their products. I know that I have 90 day purchase protection -- where if I buy something and it breaks, gets lost, stolen, etc., they will credit my account for the purchase. Never did it with a computer, but I did use it once before and will never make a major purchase without my AMEX card for this very reason. I also think they double your warranty. Not sure what or if there is a cap on the credit.

While I am anxiously awaiting my first Apple -- a MBP -- I already am beginning to hate Apple due to their poor "customer service" (i.e. the way they introduce products). I also have concerns given the about of failed logic boards I've read about in this forum.

That being said, the ability to run Win7 and MacOS on one machine, and the higher quality machine (at least perceived higher quality) has led me to a MBP. And the more I wait, the more I hate Apple's "customer service". Perhaps it would be better to call it "customer appreciation" or "customer comprehension" rather than "customer service". I just won't bring myself to drink the kool aid, and am disappointed that I hate my MBP before its even in my hands.

Good luck on the fix.
 
My brother has an F series and he loves it. It's a pretty badass machine... plus we got it when Best Buy was still selling it for $1249 and not $1349. Core i7 720QM, 6gb RAM, full HD screen, GT330, backlit keyboard, Blu Ray....... all for the price of a MacBook Pro!

Sorry you got a bad one. It happens. Maybe you need to send it back to Sony under warranty?
 
cobalt79 said:
While I am anxiously awaiting my first Apple -- a MBP -- I already am beginning to hate Apple due to their poor "customer service" (i.e. the way they introduce products). I also have concerns given the about of failed logic boards I've read about in this forum.

That being said, the ability to run Win7 and MacOS on one machine, and the higher quality machine (at least perceived higher quality) has led me to a MBP. And the more I wait, the more I hate Apple's "customer service". Perhaps it would be better to call it "customer appreciation" or "customer comprehension" rather than "customer service". I just won't bring myself to drink the kool aid, and am disappointed that I hate my MBP before its even in my hands.
Click to expand...

I'm almost there too, I haven't purchased one, but begging to feel same way. I LOVE my iphone
 
sony is a great product.. and they offer different levels of service, even onsite. Also, the Z is a different class of notebooks compared to F, so I don't know why you would mention that if you have no experience with it.
 
:D Good news!

I called today, explained the situation and how/why I felt the 9-14 day thing was too much, and they promptly offered to send an onsite tech to fix the computer.

Sweet! Even Apple doesn't do that with laptops XD
 
I do believe most people that buy Macs buy for the OSX, so regardless of how much of bleeding edge spec another machine is, its not OSX.
 
JoeG4 said:
Hey guys, thought I'd discuss this with those of you looking at a Sony Z series, Sony F series, etc when looking at MacBook Pro alternatives since it looks like Apple will never release a computer with a new processor again.

I grew tired of the wait, and purchased a Sony F series, you have probably seen (and have been annoyed by) my comments about the experience. It's been great, that quadcore i7 blows through my daily paces of photoshop, programming projects, games, etc. The battery life isn't so bad either, easily besting my PowerBook G4 (I had a MacBook, that.. was much better though).

Build quality seemed good. Initially. It is more physically solid than say, a MacBook. However, this is only superficial.

I quickly became disenchanted when my first unit's power supply started making clicking noises, and its LED started flickering. Concerned, I immediately took that machine back to Best Buy and got another.

I noticed that my replacement had noticable hard drive vibration when sitting on a table, but passed that off since I've had laptops that did that before. However, I quickly noticed the front edge of the machine was kinda sharp, moreso than the first F, and then the power supply started doing the same thing.

This time, I noticed that when plugged in, any lights on the same circuit will flicker too!

.. Interesting watching this at college. :D

So I went to Best Buy, hoping for another exchange. The CSRs there decided nothing was wrong, and sent me on my way.

Yesterday, a couple of days outside of the 14 day return window I notice dead pixels on the LCD.

F....

(now I know why sony calls it the F series....)

So I called Sony tonight, so far I've heard good things about them, and am greeted by someone polite, who after hearing about my issues tells me that I'll have to mail the machine to them in San Diego, and it'll take 9 to 14 days to diagnose it....

At which point he begins explaining that it could have been physical abuse and cosmetic damage isn't covered by the warranty.

Having purchased from Apple for 10 years, I have grown to expect prompt service. In the cases where I've had to send a Mac in for service, it is usually back 3 days (MAX) after I send it in, usually in better condition than I sent it to them.

I don't think it's unreasonable to expect similar service from any other company, just wanted to let you know that unless you like really lousy service and perhaps the accusation that you broke your 16 day old computer, you shouldn't even bother with Sony.
Click to expand...

You are comparing apples to oranges. Apple also does not guarantees you that they will fix a computer in 3 days. If you ask them how long it might take they will also tell you some safe sufficient time interval (as per some agreement). In reality the fix might take much less time.
 
cobalt79 said:
Sony's look great, but I'd hesitate before I bought one simply because my father bought one and doesn't rave about it...
Click to expand...

Do you think that it might have something to do with the fact that he is, well, a father? Older, wiser. I doubt he would rave about any computer or any other tool for that matter :D
 
This has been brought up before. I want an Apple computer for the BRAND NAME. That being said, Apple is an admirable company that had fight to get where it is now, and I believe in the spirit.

I will never buy anything else.
 
cobalt79 said:
I also have concerns given the about of failed logic boards I've read about in this forum.
Click to expand...

While waiting for Apple to release the new MBPs, which will be my first Apple too, I am also extremely uneasy about the number of MBPs with failed logic boards. Not only those who have have just one fault (one fault is too many IMHO, if the engineering and design is meant to be good it should rarely happen), but the ones I hear that have fault after fault after fault, like two or three new logic boards, graphics card failure, etc. and there seem to be too many that experience this for comfort.

I see now you've a Sony technican coming out onsite directly to fix the problem. Just as you would buy an Applecare add-on for a Mac, many PC laptop manufacturers have warranty options which offer onsite fault fixing by a tech, often up to 4 years.
 
I've had several Sony's before my mbp, and my gf has/had a sony too before her imac, and while I was happy with my Sony at first, the love vanished soon after.
I liked the design and looks, the hardware, etc, for a good price. But few months later, it started to show why it was so 'cheap' (still $1900 in the days). The build material is total crap compared to mac. My Sony's keyboard started to fail, the WiFi switch didn't respond properly anymore, the screen hinge started to wiggle, ... And I'm always very careful with my laptops, I just use them A LOT (12h+ a day every day).

Maybe Sony has improved now, but they lost a customer to me.
 
Well that was a nice read. I wouldn't worry about the logic board if any thing were to happen in the first year it's under warranty and if it really was an issue people wouldn't buy Mac's. As for peoples mythical Sony issues not a single one of mine has had an issue and I have a lot. Im sorry to hear about the OP's issues that sucks.
 
I have to say the on site service is pretty damn cool :D
 
Well, I suppose thats why the MacBook Pros are more expensive than your Sony. I've had ZERO issues with my MacBook Pro. I'm not saying Apple Macs never get problems, as they do, but it tends to be more probable with companies like Sony. Don't much like their TVs either, Samsung's and Philips are much better:D.
 
noodlemanc said:
Well, I suppose thats why the MacBook Pros are more expensive than your Sony. I've had ZERO issues with my MacBook Pro. I'm not saying Apple Macs never get problems, as they do, but it tends to be more probable with companies like Sony. Don't much like their TVs either, Samsung's and Philips are much better:D.
Click to expand...

MBP are not more expensive than Sony. They are more expensive than cheaper Sony models. Unlike Apple Sony (and most other PC vendors) offer multiple lines of laptops. If you buy VAIO Z you might find that fully spec-ed it might get more expensive than MBP (but really really more powerful too) and they are assembled in Japan (I believe it's China for MBPs)
 
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