Sony VAIO W Series Eco Edition

It’s green, but does VGP-BPS10 too much green? With the VAIO W Eco Edition Sony vgp-bps9 seeks to stand out with a design that’s partially made of reprocessed plastic from CDs, as well as a carrying case made of recycled PET bottles. The keyboard, at 86 percent of full size, feels somewhat cramped. And while we like the HD display and the bundled Kidzui browser that’s designed to keep kids safe, parents may think twice about paying an $80 premium (or more) over competing netbooks for vgp-bps9/b’s latest mini-notebook. The $480 VAIO W Eco Edition offers style, eco-friendliness, good performance, and a robust software bundle, but it’s not the best value. Read on to see how this netbook stacks up to the competition.

Design

The rounded edges of the 10.5 x 7.1 x 2.0-inch vgp-bps9/s remind us of the Samsung N130’s pebble-like design. The white, matte lid eschews fingerprints and includes a large but tasteful embedded chrome VAIO logo. This color allowed every mark to be immediately apparent, and we wished for something a bit darker to hide scuff marks. Sony vgp-bps9/s offers two other color choices for the non-Eco Edition, but environmentalists will have to live with Sugar White for now. Under the lid, the deck has a dimpled pattern and a tasteful sea green color that meshed well with the silver metallic keyboard. We also like the green interlocking loop pattern on the silver touchpad.



The six-cell battery juts out from the bottom of the VAIO W a full three quarters of an inch,SONY VGP-BPS10 gives the netbook a useful forward incline but also a noticeable thickness in the back. Though it’s not as svelte as some of our favorite netbooks, it weighs the standard 2.8 pounds.

Greenness

As the name implies, the VAIO W Eco Edition has a few more environmentally friendly aspects than most netbooks. The sony vgp-bps9 is made from 20 percent recycled CDs. There’s no cardboard packaging to throw out when you buy this netbook—it comes in a carrying case made from recycled PET bottles. However, we would have liked to see the green theme extended to the sony vgp-bps9/b package, with Sony making it easy for users to monitor and adjust how much energy the VAIO W uses (similar to Toshiba’s eco Utility).



Charging the battery after it was fully drained took 3 hours and 45 minutes. During this time the VAIO W used an average of 31.3 watts. Owing to its relatively short battery life (6:42), this netbook’s LAPTOP Battery vgp-bps8 Rating was 17.5. While that score is equal to the category average, it’s worse than most other Pine Trail netbooks we’ve tested. The sony vgp-bps8, for example, has an Efficiency Rating of 10.4. Still, the VAIO W boasts an EPEAT Gold rating of 21 out of 27, which is quite good.

Heat

The Sony W kept its cool during our heat test. After streaming a Hulu video for 15 minutes, we measured the temperature on the touchpad at 82 degrees Fahrenheit; the space between the G and H keys reached 87 degrees; and the middle of the underside rose to 96 degrees. Though the underside’s temperature is right at the cusp of our “acceptable” threshold (below 100 degrees), we were never uncomfortable using the VAIO W on our lap.