macbook air 13" vs. vaio 16"

[BigTime]

I saw the new macbook air at the airport the other day and was tempted (I have never owned an apple pc). With a little surfing I've noticed for the same money I can get so much more in a vaio. This purchase is to replace a HP 17" laptop where the battery was screwed after a year and running vista has always been a dog. Is it time to swap sides or should I stick with what I know?

[Mr.Whippy]

I used to have a 15" Vaio which cost about £900... and to be honest, I wasn't all that impressed with the build quality for something that was supposed to be a "premium" brand. It performed well enough, just bits falling off/coming loose within 2 months.

If you decide against the macbook, I'd advise looking at alternatives to the Vaio. Although that said, the higher priced Vaio's may be of better build quality. Personally, I won't buy another Vaio.

[Support Monkey]

never seen a good sony Vaio they make great Tellys but laptops there poor, everyone i ever deal with has some weird issue you never see with anything else, Dell are a better bet, of course i would go for the Mac every time

[alreadypacked]

I saw the new macbook air at the airport the other day and was tempted (I have never owned an apple pc). With a little surfing I've noticed for the same money I can get so much more in a vaio. This purchase is to replace a HP 17" laptop were the battery was screwed after a year and running vista has always been a dog. Is it time to swap sides or should I stick with what I know?

I had the same battery issues with HP x2, will never buy another one. I currently have Acer with 8 hour battery. I had Apple before and found it a pain, new Apple versions of all applications, couldn't bring home a copy from work. Had to convert file you were working at from home etc. Like Apple, but if your work computer is not Apple, then it didn't work for me.

[chef]

Batteries have a 12 month replacement life. I've had several batteries in the past that seem to fail or severly degrade in the 13-15 month period. Therefore I have now setup a 11 month reminder from my last battery purchase to have a no question swap... problem solved

[BigTime]

Batteries have a 12 month replacement life. I've had several batteries in the past that seem to fail or severly degrade in the 13-15 month period. Therefore I have now setup a 11 month reminder from my last battery purchase to have a no question swap... problem solved

Top tip thanks. I noticed the original HP battery was shot at 11 months so got it replaced but didn't pay attention to it's replacement. All I need is a calendar entry.

The new machine will be for recreational use only so there's no danger of it being used for work related tasks.

[Support Monkey]

go for the mac, yes its a learning curve but it worth it, its why almost anyone doing any kind of photographic/design/page layout or video work will use a mac

[TimberWolf]

go for the mac, yes its a learning curve but it worth it, its why almost anyone doing any kind of photographic/design/page layout or video work will use a mac

Do Mac laptops take standard laptop batteries?

[d000hg]

Do you want a 16" screen? The new Air doesn't really have much direct competition, which better suits your usage and lifestyle?

[norrahe]

Been using Vaios for years and never had any problem