Battery Type: Lithium Ion Binding: Personal Computers Brand: Sony Computer Hardware Type: Notebook Computer CPU Manufacturer: Intel CPU Speed: 1.86 GHz CPU Type: Mobile Intel Pentium 4 Processor Display Size: 17 inches EAN: 0027242668812 Floppy Disk Drive Description: None Graphics Description: ATI Mobility Radeon X600 Graphics Memory Size: 128 MB Hard Disk Size: 100 GB Included Software: Adobe Acrobat Reader, Intuit Quicken 2005 New User Edition, InterVideo WinDVD, Microsoft Works 8.0, Microsoft Office 2003 60-Day Trial (Student/Teacher Edition), Click to DVD Keyboard Description: Intel. 915GM Integrated Graphics Label: Sony Manufacturer: Sony Memory Slots Available: 1 Model: VGN-A690 Modem Description: 56 Kbps Native Resolution: 1280-by-800 Network Interface Description: Intel PRO/WIRELESS 2915ABG Network Connection,10Base-T/100Base-TX Ethernet Platform: Windows XP Home Edition Processor Count: 1 Publisher: Sony Sales Rank: 1707 Secondary Cache Size: 2 MB Special Features: Docking Station Ports: AV Entertainment Dock with S-Master Digital Amplifier and Premium Speakers, Four USB 2.0 ports, Monitor (VGA) Port, VHF/UHF TV Port, Printer Port, DC in, S-Video in/out, DVI-D, RJ-45 Ethernet, Optical out, LINE IN (RCA Pin), LINE OUT (RCA Pin), Giga Pocket MPEG2 realtime encoder/decoder board with TV Tuner Studio: Sony System Bus Speed: 533 MHz System Memory Size: 1 GB System Memory Type: DDR SDRAM Warranty: 1 year warranty
Product Description: The Sony VAIO A Series Digital Studio PC is a premier notebook, designed to offer the cutting edge of technology and performance with incomparable style. The AV entertainment dock plugs you into a powerful TV tuner and personal video recorder, letting you watch and record your favorite shows. The 17" widescreen LCD display with XBRITE technology lets you enjoy crisp images and vivid colors. More than a PC, more than a TV, it's a feature packed multimedia solution.
Amazon.com Product Description: The Sony Vaio VGN-A690 Digital Studio multimedia/TV notebook PC is designed to provide the cutting edge technology and incomparable style you expect from Sony. The AV entertainment dock plugs you into a powerful TV tuner and personal video recorder, letting you watch and record your favorite shows, or save them to DVD via the dual-layer, multiformat DVD+/-RW drive. The 17-inch widescreen LCD display with XBRITE technology lets you enjoy crisp images and vivid colors. Convert VHS and 8mm videos into professional-quality DVDs, and capture and edit high-definition camcorder video. The VGN-A690 also features a fast Intel Centrino processor, spacious 100 GB hard drive, 1 GB of installed RAM, integrated 54g wireless connectivity, and a wide selection of preinstalled Sony multimedia software.
The Basics
Hard Drive: The 100 GB hard drive (5400 RPM) is one of the larger sizes you'll find in a notebook, and it's befitting of such an entertainment-centric PC. It offers more than enough capacity for storing documents and productivity software for road warriors. You'll also be able to store dozens of hours of recorded TV programming.
Processor: The Intel Celeron M processor is designed specifically for mobile computing, offering a balanced level of mobile-optimized processor technology, good mobile performance, and exceptional value. It features a Deep Sleep state, which helps enable longer battery life by minimizing the power consumption of the processor during brief periods of inactivity. The 1.86 GHz speed is at the top of the speed spectrum for this processor (as of winter, 2004), and it also offers a fast 533 MHz front-side bus (FSB) speed and a large 2 MB L2 cache. (An L2, or secondary, cache temporarily stores data; and a larger L2 cache can help speed up your system's performance.)
Memory: The VGN-A690 comes with 1 GB of installed RAM (2 x 512 MB, PC-4200, 533 MHz), and it's expandable to 2 GB (2 x 1 GB).
CD/DVD Drive: Offering the latest in DVD writing technology, the multiformat DVD/CD drive is compatible with both DVD+ and DVD- disc formats as well as dual-layer DVD+R discs, which can store up to 8.5 GB of data. For DVD-RW discs, it has a 8x write/4x rewrite speed, while for DVD+RW discs it has a 8x write/4x rewrite speed (DVDs are read at 8x). For double-layer DVD+R, it has a 2.4x write speed. For CDs, it has a 24x write/rewrite/read speed.
Keyboard & Mouse: This notebook has a standard 86-key keyboard and electro-static two-button touchpad.
Screen, Graphics and Sound The ATI Radeon X600 SE is a high-end video card, powerful enough to run one large virtual screen across two displays. It features 128 MB of dedicated video RAM, S-Video and the higher-fidelity DVI connections out, and PCI Express x16 support, which enables graphics to process faster.
Connectivity and Expansion Slots For expansion, the VGN-A690 has a good variety of external and video connections, including:
4 USB 2.0 ports for connecting a wide range of peripherals--from digital cameras to MP3 players
1 FireWire (also known as IEEE 1394 or i.Link) port for connecting digital video camcorders and other peripherals
1 S/PDIF out
2 PS/2 ports for connecting keyboards and mice
1 VGA/DVI monitor port
Composite and S-Video video/audio inputs
Coaxial video input (VHF/UHF)
1 microphone, 1 headphone, 1 line-in
1 infrared port for remote control
1 RF in
VHF/UHF TV port
Memory Stick reader, compatible with Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro, and Memory Stick DUO
It also has an integrated 56K modem (V.90) and an RJ-45 LAN network port (for a 10/100 Fast Ethernet connection to networks and DSL/cable modems).
Preloaded System and Software This system comes with the Windows XP Home Edition Service Pack 2 operating system with Advanced Security Technologies, which helps to reduce unwanted downloads and pop-ups while surfing the Web. It also comes loaded with a bevy of Sony multimedia software: Click to DVD (DVD creation), PictureGear Studio (digital photo), SonicStage (digital music), Vaio Media (network file sharing), and DVgate Plus (digital video). Other preloaded software includes Quicken 2005 New User Edition, Microsoft Works 8.0 (with word processing, spreadsheet, and calendar), Norton Internet Security (with 90-day subscription), Intervideo WinDVD, Sonic RecordNow, and SpySubtract.
Dimensions and Weight Due to its multimedia nature, this notebook is on the heavy side at 8.8 pounds. It measures 16 x 1.8 x 11 inches (WxHxD).
Power It's powered by the PCGA-BP2EA lithium-ion rechargeable battery, which produces a battery life of 1 to 2.5 hours.
What's in the Box This package contains the VGN-A690 notebook PC, power cord, AV entertainment dock, two speakers, and remote control. It is backed by a one-year limited hardware warranty.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: - VGN 690 Nice Look
Sony VGN 690 has a nice look. All the comments that I have read I do agree with. I have had the mother board replaced by sony. It was a difficult task to get Sony to complete the work without expecting me to pay. I paid a lot of money for my Sony and I expected Sony to repair my computer without a fuss.
That did not happen. I will say I have always loved Sony products and I will continue to buy them, but getting my Sony repaired was a challenge.
Sony's repair team are rude and mean. I had to get on the internet and find numbers to Sony Corp (no one will give you the numbers) I was ... Read More
Rating: - Great machine overall, with a few quibbles
I've had one of these for about 18 months and it's far superior to the top-of-the-line Toshiba that it replaced. That doesn't mean it's perfect (a few quibbles are listed below), but it's a VERY good desktop replacement. Particularly now that they're showing up as factory refurbed units or on the used market, it represents a great value.
PROS: Gorgeous screen, relatively low heat during long bouts of use, good power management so you really can get 90-120 minutes out of it while on battery. The keyboard is also very robust (I'm a "hard typer" and typically wear through keyboards in ... Read More
Rating: - U b the judge
My son bought this computerin July 05. had the motherboard and hard drive replaced this past April 06. Now the Display has gone out (out of warrenty) and the tech told him it can not take the heat. Otherwise ok I guess.
Rating: - Great laptop if you're willing to spend the money.
I was planning on picking up a laptop at the end of 2004 or early in 2005, but learned about Intel's new mobile chips that feature more cache. So I waited and picked this up from Sony, which has the Intel M 750 at 1.86 Ghz and 2MB of cache. It also has Intel's 915PM chipset, which is Intel's better chipset for mobile applications. It has a great screen and plenty of power and memory.
I also like the fact it has a new 128mb video chip from ATI (X600) that supports PCI Express. This laptop has 1GB of memory, which I would recommend since 512MB is barely enough today. The hard drive also ... Read More
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