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Overview and Introduction

The Sony Vaio G series is an exception to the trend towards widescreen notebooks and has a 12.1” XGA display.  The headline features of the G11 are the 1.13kg (2.49lb) weight and 9 hour battery life. How do these seemingly incompatible features stack up in real life? This review is of the Sony Vaio VGN-G11XN/B which is the less expensive of the two G series models current in the UK at the time of this review. The G series was launched in Europe in early 2007 and a refresh (G21) with dual core CPUs was announced while this review was being prepared.

The G11 outside (view large image)

Reasons for Buying

My Samsung Q35 went to a new home and I am nearly happily settled with the Zepto 6024W. However, while the Zepto has the power and screen real estate that I like, it is still a bit big for the days when I want to travel light while the battery performance isn’t as much as I would like. I had seen the Sony a few months ago and was impressed by the small size, weight and very readable display.

The 12.1” Sony G11 between the 13.3” Fujitsu S6120 and the 14.1” Zepto 6024W with 15.4” Samsung X60plus at the back (all displays at maximum brightness) (view large image)

I stumbled across a website offering the G11 at a discounted (just over £1,000) almost 1/3^rd below Sony’s RRP. I suspected that this could be a clearout related to the impending arrival of the new model and, after a short evaluation of the alternatives decided to place an order. I knew from the Q35 that the pixels on 12.1” widescreen are too small for my eyes and the only other 12.1” non-widescreen option is the heavier (and without optical drive but more powerful) ThinkPad X61. In fact, my first attempt to buy a cheap G11 failed because the stock had disappeared before my order was processed but I found another site at a similar price (and they ran out about half an hour after my order went through). Since then I have seen them even cheaper at another site! My G11’s box had what looks like a warehouse label dated 28/02/2007.

What’s in the Small Box?

The G11 came in a commendably small box containing in cardboard packaging:

• The G11 computer
• The PSU, power cable, a battery and a modem cable with UK plug
• A stack of multi-language documents (but no paper copy of a user guide) 

The contents of the box (view large image)

Hardware Specs: Sony VGN-G11XN/B

My configuration comprised the following hardware and specifications:

• CPU: Intel Core Solo ULV U1500 (1.33Ghz) with Intel 945GMS chipset
• Display: 12.1″ XGA (1024 x 768) matte LCD with LED backlight
• Memory: 1GB (2 x 512MB) PC4200 RAM (533MHz)
• Hard Disc: 100GB 5400rpm 1.8” HDD (Toshiba MK1011GAH)
• Graphics: Intel GMA950 integrated GPU
• Optical Drive: Matshita UJ-852S tray loading Super-Multi Dual Layer
• Network: Marvell Yukon 88E8055 Gigabit Ethernet
• Bluetooth: Alps UGPZ6 USB Bluetooth
• Modem: Motorola SM56 Data/Fax modem
• Wireless: Intel 3945 802.11abg wireless
• Ports: 2 x USB 2.0, 1000Mb/s network (RJ45), modem (RJ11), VGA, microphone, headphone, 1 x PC Card slot
• Media card reader: Ricoh hardware supporting SD / SDHC /MMC and Sony Memory Stick in separate slots
• Audio: Realtek ALC262 high definition audio  + single internal loudspeaker
• Touchpad: Alps touchpad 65mm x 39mm
• 6 cell battery (10.8V, 5800mAh = 62.64Whr)
• Sony 45W (16V, 2.80A)  power supply with 2-pin connector
•  Dimensions: published:- 277 x 215 x 23.5 ~ 25.5mm, actual 277 x 214 x 25.5~28.5mm (10.9 x 8.43 x 1.00~1.12” (including feet))
• Weight : published = 1.13kg, actual = 1.12kg (2.47lb)
• Travel weight including PSU and cables 1.39kg (3.06lbs)

The weigh in: Without and with PSU and power cables (kilograms) (view large image)

 

Software

• Vista Business 32 bit with Vista Anytime Upgrade DVD
• Microsoft Office 2003 SBE trial (installer)
• Microsoft Works 8.5
• Adobe Acrobat 8 Standard (installer)
• Adobe Photoshop Elements 5 (installer)
• Roxio Easy Media Creator 9 (installer)
• Protector Suite QL
• Picasa 2
• WinDVD 8 for Vaio
• Norton Internet Security (installer)

No backup media are supplied with the computer but there is a restore partition (using 9.5GB) on the hard disc. Users have to use the recovery utility to make backup discs (two single layer or one dual layer DVD).

The G11 came with a relatively large pile of leaflets of which the only one in colour and English language only was a Sony Accessories catalog. The biggest document was about the warranty with 122 pages covering 13 languages. Other documents included a simple diagram showing how to get the computer started; a 12-language Regulations Guide; a 6-language Troubleshooting Guide; a 4-language Recovery Guide and some other bits of paper including a product identifier for Microsoft Works. The User Guide is provided as a PDF file.

Design and Build

The dominant feature of the G11 is its light weight which is the result of the use of carbon-fibre material. Without the battery in place the G11 feels as if it might blow away in the wind. Sony have targeted this notebook at business professionals who value battery time over performance and prefer screen height to width since most of their work is with documents. Such people are also likely to have ageing eyes and value legibility of the larger pixels.

The G11’s colour scheme is black. However, the display surround and back seems to be a darker black than the chassis.The main chassis is very rigid. The palm rests sound hollow but nothing feels fragile. The battery is slight loose even when locked into position, but this seems to be a standard Sony design feature. The thin and unusually flexible display is a little disconcerting: Trying to open the display by one corner just results in the whole screen bending. However, it does not feel as if it might break. Pushing on the back of the display can cause ripples on the screen.

The display bends (view large image)

During travel the display is held closed by spring-loaded hinges. The hinges have no looseness and are adjusted to hold the display firmly in position without needing to use two hands to adjust the display position. The hinge is an unusual design which has the pivots built into the back edge of the sides of the chassis and results in the screen being quite low when open. The bar which forms the hinge also stiffens up the bottom edge of the screen.

The hinge (view large image)

The bottom of the computer is smooth, with small protruding feet about 1.5mm (1/16” long). There is a single removable cover for the RAM slot. There are some small air vents on the bottom but they are supplemented by other air vents on the sides. The standard 6 cell battery fits inside the chassis between the keyboard and the hinge and occupies the full thickness of the computer. The battery is slotted in from below and is held in place by two latches, one of which is spring-loaded to facilitate removal.

Underside of the G11: The only removable cover is for the RAM slot (view large image)

The Keyboard

The front edge of the palm rest is bevelled and is a comfortably low 21mm from the table surface. The keyboard on the Zepto 6024W has an almost standard layout. The Fn key occupies the front left corner which suits me fine but will cause other people to run away. There are 83 keys which have clear white markings on a black plastic background. The Ctrl key is in the bottom left corner which will please many people (not including myself).The keys are slightly small 17mm pitch which will confuse touch-typists but there’s no space for anything bigger within the width. Personally, I miss dedicated Pg Up and Pg Dn keys and would have been pleased if these had been provided instead of blank spaces between the left and right cursor keys and the right space bar.

The G11’s keyboard without the battery in place (view large image)

The keyboard is responsive and has a comfortable action in spite of the limited travel. There is some bounce in the central part, but not enough to disrupt typing. The Fn keys include the usual options for display switching, brightness and volume controls. Fn+F10 toggles a zoom option which enlarges the display to 800 x 600 resolution. Fn+F6 toggles the touchpad while Fn+F12 enables hibernation.

The touchpad is a reasonably generous 64mm x 39mm and is slightly recessed into the palm rest. It is an Alps touchpad with a limited range of additional functions. I would have liked to be able to define tap zones for the Pg Up and Pg Dn commands but cannot find this option. The touchpad buttons are right on the front edge of the palmrest. The palmrest is almost covered with stickers listing the key features and the specification.

Front indicator lights and audio sockets (view large image)

There are four indicator lights on the front right edge of the palm rest so they are visible from above and from the front. Someone at Sony has realised that this location is more likely to be visible, at least for people who use a mouse, than the more popular indicator location under the user’s left palm. From left to right the lights are: Battery; HDD (also include ODD and other media) access; WLAN on; and Bluetooth on. The lights have symbols to make them easy to interpret.

The switches at the back of the keyboard (view large image)

The power button is located above the Delete key with a green light on the edge of the chassis. This light is visible whether the computer is open or closed. There are three keyboard indicator lights between the power button and the delete key. These are simple green LEDs with a small printed legend next to them. There are two other buttons between the power button and the display. One button ejects the optical drive. The other is user-configurable but, by default, is preset to stop unwanted action during a presentation such as a screen saver or email alert. Above the keyboard on the left side are a fingerprint reader and a hardware wireless switch.

A Tour of the Sides

Overall, the ports are quite well laid out. The fan exhaust is near the back on the left side while there are no sockets near the front of the right side to get in the way of a mouse. However, the audio ports are at the right side at the front and wires with straight plugs could still get in the way. There is no built-in microphone, There are two USB ports, one each near the back on each side. The USB port on the right side is orientated vertically with the “top” facing towards the back of the computer (so you can’t see the activity light on a flash drive if it is on the top). The power socket location is fine because the power plug is L-shaped (with the nice detail of a built-in LED power light). The tray loading optical drive is very close to the table surface. The photos show how close the G11 sits to the table. The SD card socket can only be accessed by lifting the front of the computer because the front edge slopes inwards towards the base. Perhaps the reason for the sloping sides is that they make it easier to lift the computer. Let’s have a tour of the sockets, clockwise starting at the front.

The front has separate Memory Stick and SD/MMC slots (with activity light on left side) , headphone and microphone sockets some air vents and the loudspeaker grill. (view large image)

Left side from back to front: Power socket, USB2.0 port, network port, fan exhaust, cardbus slot and security slot (view large image)

Right side from front to back: optical drive (with air inlet below), modem port, VGA port and USB 2.0 port. They could have squeezed in another USB port. (view large image)

The back: Just the hinge mechanism (view large image)

The Display

The display is 1024 x 768 (XGA) matte LCD with LED backlight.  I had previously thought that the display in my Zepto 6024W was a good example of a matte display, but it doesn’t stand comparison with the G11’s display which has, in my experience, exceptional brightness and richness of colours without any obvious loss in quality caused by the anti-glare coating. The illumination is very even with the exception of a zone about 3mm high along the bottom edge where there are noticeable slightly brighter patches at about 5mm intervals which, I assume, are caused by the LED lights.

It is difficult for my camera to do justice to this display (view large image)

There are 9 brightness settings. 3/8 gives adequate lighting to extend battery time and the full brightness is almost too bright. Viewing angles are typical for displays of this type. The horizontal viewing angle range is good and the vertical range moderate for text work. However, colour images are best viewed at 90°. They become darker when the top of the screen is pushed back and lighter if it is pulled forward.

The benefit of the matte screen is a much reduced problem of annoying reflections. However, one does not see this benefit unless the computer is put alongside another computer with a glossy screen. This display is usable outside at full brightness if away from direct sunshine

Audio Quality

The G11 contains one small loudspeaker located somewhere under the right palm rest. Not surprisingly for such a small notebook, the audio quantity and quality from this loudspeaker is poor. There is no obvious Sony customisation of the Realtek audio installation to give the optimum audio settings. There is no built-in microphone.

Processor and Chipset

The G11 is designed for stamina, not speed, and is powered by the Intel U1500 Core Solo CPU. This CPU is one of the Ultra Low Voltage family with a maximum Thermal Design Power (TDP) rating of 5.5W compared with over 30W for a standard Core Duo CPU. It is a single core CPU (or more likely a dual core CPU with one core disabled) and is functionally very similar to a Pentium M CPU.

CPU-Z reports for the G11 CPU.CPU-Z does not see the second RAM module (view large image)

This U1500 CPU has voltage range of 0.937V at 6x (800MHz) to 0.968V at 10x (1.33GHz). I had expected to see a lower voltage range given the “Ultra Low” name but these values are in the middle of Intel’s specified range (0.80 to 1.10V). The BIOS is dated December 2006 and no updates have been issued.

Alongside the low power CPU is the Intel 945GMS chipset which is a lower power version of the normal Intel 945GM chipset. Features include the use of only a single memory channel with a maximum speed of 533MHz and maximum address capability of 2GB. The computer as supplied has 512MB RAM on board plus 512MB RAM in the single slot. Sony indicate that the maximum RAM capacity of this model is 1.5GB. It seems that they did not try a 2GB module: It works fine subject to the overall 2GB ceiling. However, I don’t know which 512MB is ignored.

Vista reporting 2GB RAM when a 2GB module is installed (view large image)

Hard Disk

The supplied hard disk is a 100GB 1.8” 4200rpm Toshiba MK1011GAH using the PATA interface. 1.8” HDDs have smaller size, lower weight and less capacity than the 2.5” HDDs used in most notebooks. They also have lower power consumption: Toshiba show 1.1W for seek and 0.3W for idle. They are slower compared to the current generation of  2.5” HDDs with a maximum transfer rate of  28MB/s dropping down to 13MB/s. HD Tune’s results for this disk are below.

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Optical Drive

The optical drive is the Matshita UJ-852S. This is an ultra-slim (9.5mm / 3/8”) thick unit. Inspection reveals that it does not have the full housing used in normal notebook burners: There is just a base and a tray built into the chassis so weight is reduced as well as thickness. This burner supports the full range of DVD / CD burning functions including +/- dual layer DVD and DVD RAM but not disc labelling or the high-definition formats. I have not extensively tested the optical drive, but it has played DVDs, CDs and burnt the recovery media without problems. An interesting feature is that Sony have connected this burner as a USB device and provided a utility to shut off the power.

Nero’s report on the UJ-852S (view large image)

Sony Utilities

Sony provide a number of utilities for the G11. The main interface to these is through the Vaio Control Center. While some of the controls are standard system features, others are special. The most interesting functions are:

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• BatteryCare Function: This sets the maximum battery charge to a value less than full capacity (80% and 50% are the default options) and is claimed to extend the battery life. The battery does not recharge if less than 2% below the target capacity.
• Built-in Pointing Device: This control enables / disables the touchpad.
• Hard Drive Protection Setting: Controls the shock protection sensitivity.
• Performance: Changes the memory bus speed between 400MHz and 533MHz.
• Peripheral Device & Storage Media Restriction Setting Utility: Enables restrictions on writing to removable media.
• Vaio Power Management Viewer: This provides access to the customised power schemes and further controls for display colour depth, maximum fan speed and whether certain components are powered.
• The Wireless Device Switch controls whether 2.4GHz or 5GHz wireless is selected and whether Bluetooth is also enabled.

The Vaio Status Monitor provides a viewer showing the status of the various settings.

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Benchmarks for VGN-G11XN/B (Core Solo U1500)

Windows Vista Experience Index

Vista on a low powered computer doesn’t seem to be the best choice but these notebooks were manufactured at the time of Vista’s launch. Sony have subsequently made XP drivers available on request.

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The G11 scored 2.0 on the Windows Experience Index. The weak link was the desktop graphics with 2.0, followed by gaming graphics at 2.8 and the CPU at 2.9 while the HDD scored 3.9. Installing 2GB RAM raised the score to 2.1. For comparison, the Samsung Q35 which also has the GMA 950 scored 2.3. I prefer Vista without the eye candy, bells and whistles and, with those features suppressed, visual performance is quite acceptable.

SuperPi

No review is complete without a SuperPi result. SuperPi is often used as a test for raw CPU performance. The U1500 in the G11 needed 1 minute 46 seconds to complete the calculation to 2 million digits. This is in proportion to the clock speed compared with other Core series CPUs but is significantly faster than a 1.6GHz Pentium M or 1.6GHz mobile Pentium 4.

The table below compares the G11’s SuperPi score with some other notebooks

Notebook	Time
Sony Vaio VGN-G11XN/B (1.33GHz Core Solo U1500)	1m 46s
Dell Latitude D830 (2.2GHz Core 2 Duo T7500, 800MHz FSB, 667MHz RAM)	0m 53s
Zepto 6024W (2.0GHz Core 2 Duo T7300 with 800MHz FSB and 667MHz RAM)	0m 59s
Samsung X60plus (2.0GHz Core 2 Duo T7200 with 667MHz FSB & memory speed)	1m 02s
Dell Vostro 1500 (Intel Core 2 Duo T5470 1.60GHz)	1m 16s
Samsung Q35 (1.83MHz Core 2 Duo T5600 with 667MHz FSB and 533MHz RAM)	1m 16s
Samsung R20 (1.73GHz T2250 with 533MHz FSB and memory speed)	1m 23s
Toshiba Satellite P205-S6287 (1.73 GHz Core 2 Duo Intel T5300)	1m 24s
Samsung X60 (1.66GHz Core Duo (T2300) with 533MHz memory speed)	1m 29s
Sony Vaio TZ90HS (1.2GHz Core 2 Duo ULV U7600)	1m 50s
HP Compaq 6515b (1.6GHz Turion 64×2 TL-52)	2m 05s
Fujitsu S6120 (Pentium M 1.6GHz)	2m 29s
Dell Inspiron 2650 (Pentium 4 Mobile 1.6GHz)	4m 05s

It has been suggested that SuperPi should be superseded by wPrime which is multi-threaded. The U1500completed the 32M calculation in 124.581s. This is much slower than we are used to seeing for the recent dual core CPUs and is about 10% slower than a 1.6GHz Pentium M CPU but almost twice the speed of a 1.6GHz mobile Pentium 4.

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Notebook / CPU	wPrime 32M time
Sony Vaio VGN-G11XN/B (1.33GHz Core Solo U1500)	124.581s
Zepto 6024W (Core 2 Duo T7300 @ 2GHz)	42.385s
Lenovo T61 (Core 2 Duo T7500)	37.705s
Hewlett Packard DV6000z (Turion X2 TL-60 @ 2.0GHz)	38.720s
Acer Travelmate 8204WLMi (Core Duo T2500 @ 2.0GHz)	42.947s
Samsung X60plus (Core 2 Duo T7200 @ 2.0GHz)	44.922s
Samsung Q35 (Core 2 Duo T5600 @ 1.83GHz)	46.274s
Panasonic Toughbook CF-30 (1.66GHz Core Duo L2400)	54.359s
Samsung R20 (Core Duo T2250 @ 1.73GHz)	47.563s
Fujitsu S6120 (Pentium M 1.6GHz)	113.705s
Dell Inspiron 2650 (Pentium 4 Mobile 1.6GHz)	231.714s

SiSoftware Sandra from http://www.sisoftware.co.uk/ is another software package which contains benchmarking modules and includes a database of test results.

The results graphs for the CPU tests are given below. These results show that the U1500 is slower than a 1.8GHz Pentium M and only slightly faster than a 1.6GHz Pentium 4.

SiSoftware Sandra CPU test results (view large image)

The G11’s memory performance is of interest because it uses the Intel 945GMS chipset with only one memory channel. Sandra shows that the memory bandwidth is about 2200MB/s (a result which is independent of the RAM module combinations) and this speed drops to about 2000MB/s if the memory frequency is dropped to 400MHz.

Sandra’s memory bandwidth test result (view large image)

PCMark05

The PCMark05 score for the VAIO G11 was 1,554 PCMarks. The table below compares the PCMark05 test result with some other notebooks. The result is in the same range as other notebooks with similar hardware. 

Notebook	PCMark05 Score
Sony Vaio VGN-G11XN/B (1.33GHz Core Solo U1500)	1,554 PCMarks
Zepto 6024W (2.0GHz Core 2 Duo T7300 and Intel X3100 GPU)	4,063 PCMarks
Samsung X60plus (2.0GHz Core 2 Duo T7200, ATI X1700)	4,555 PCMarks
Samsung Q70 (2.0GHz Core 2 Duo T7300 and 8400M G GPU)	4.491 PCMarks
Samsung R20 (1.73GHz T2250 and ATI 1250M chipset / GPU)	3,498 PCMarks
Samsung X60 (1.66GHz Core Duo T2300, ATI X1400)	3,456 PCMarks
Samsung Q35 (1.83GHz Core 2 Duo T5600, Intel 945GM)	3,059 PCMarks
Lenovo Thinkpad R60 (1.66 Core Duo T2300E , Intel 950)	2,975 PCMarks
Sony Vaio TZ90HS (1.2GHz Core 2 Duo ULV U7600)	2,517 PCMarks
Sony Vaio TX850p (1.2GHz Core Solo)	1,428 PCMarks

The detailed PCMark05 test results for the VAIO G are:

3DMark05

The VAIO G11 managed a score of 357 3DMarks for 3DMark05. The test was run at 1024*768 resolution with no anti-aliasing. This result is significantly worse than for the Samsung Q35 which also has the Intel 945GM GPU and may reflect power-saving changes in the GMS chipset (the single channel memory access being one) which affect performance. The G11 is compared below with other results for notebooks with integrated graphics.

Notebook	3DMark05 Score
Sony Vaio VGN-G11XN/B (1.33GHz Core Solo U1500)	357 3DMarks
Samsung R20 (1.73GHz T2250 and ATI 1250M chipset / GPU)	1,151 3DMarks
Zepto 6024W (2.0GHz Core 2 Duo T7300 and Intel X3100 GPU)	910 PCMarks
IBM Thinkpad T43 (1.86GHz Pentium M, Mobility Radeon X300)	727 3DMarks
Samsung Q35 (1.83GHz Core 2 Duo T5600, Intel 945GM)	447 3DMarks
Fujitsu C1320 (2GHz Pentium M, Intel 915GM)	410 3DMarks

3DMark06

The 3Dmark06 score for the G11 was 147 3DMarks. This test was run at 1024*768 with no anti-aliasing. This is better than for the Intel 945GM GPU in the Samsung Q35, perhaps because the benchmark on the latter would run at the higher 1280 x 768 resolution. The G11 is not designed for gaming beyond the occasional visit to Solitaire or similar strategy games. The G11 is compared below with other results for notebooks with integrated graphics.

Notebook	3DMark06 Score
Sony Vaio VGN-G11XN/B (1.33GHz Core Solo U1500)	147 3D Marks
Zepto 6024W (2.0GHz Core 2 Duo T7300 and Intel X3100 GPU)	561 PCMarks
Samsung R20 (1.73GHz T2250 and ATI 1250M chipset / GPU)	476 3DMarks
Samsung Q35 (1.83GHz Core 2 Duo T5600, Intel 945GM)	106 3DMarks

Cinebench

Cinebench is a good rendering benchmark tool based on the powerful 3D software, CINEMA 4D. Its rendering tasks can stress up to sixteen multiprocessors on the same computer. It is a free benchmarking tool, and can be found at http://www.cinebench.com. It has been recently updated from version 9.5 to 10 and I have included some results below for both versions. Cinebench also includes an OpenGL benchmark which will be of interest to those people who use software which uses OpenGL.

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Cinebench 9.5 Benchmark	Sony VGN-G11 (1.33GHz Core Solo)	Zepto 6024W (2.0 GHz Core 2 Duo)	Samsung R20 (1.73GHz Core Duo)	Samsung Q35 (1.83GHz Core 2 Duo)
Rendering (Single CPU)	193 CB-CPU	349 CB-CPU	256 CB-CPU	299 CB-CPU
Rendering (Multiple CPU)	Not applicable	623 CB-CPU	474 CB-CPU	528 CB-CPU
Cinebench 10 Benchmark
Rendering (Single CPU)	1156 CB-CPU	2116 CB-CPU	1520 CB-CPU
Rendering (Multiple CPU)	Not applicable	3903 CB-CPU	2851 CB-CPU
OpenGL Benchmark	357 CB-CPU	711 CB-GFX	543 CB-CPU

Battery, Power Supply and Cooling System

The interesting part of the G11 is the power management and whether the claimed 9 hours of operation away from a power socket is realistic.

The power supply is an impressively small and light 45W (16V, 2.8A) unit which has a 2 pin power connector. It’s shorter, but thicker, than my mobile phone. Sony kept the travel weight down by supplying a short (70cm) mains power lead. Fortunately, the low voltage lead is a more generous 1.9m. The PSU is efficient and does not heat up substantially during use. The PSU does not have a power light, but the there is one on the power plug.

The power light on the power plug (view large image)

The G11’s PSU alongside a Samsung 90W PSU on a CD case (for scale) (view large image)

The 6 cell battery is rated at 10.8V, 5.8AH, 61.64WHr which is the highest rating for a 6 cell battery that I have encountered.  The charging rate is only about 18W when the computer is on, but this probably helps the battery life. Sony’s specs give a minimum charging time (with the computer off) of just over 3 hours. So how does the battery perform? My first test was to have the computer on, but idle, in Vista’s Power Saver mode with the display on half brightness and no internet or wireless. Over about 20 minutes and using the supplied utility to turn off the power to the optical drive, the power drain dropped from about 10W to less than 6W which gave a forecast run time of over 10 hours. This is without using Sony’s more aggressive power management tweaks.

93% charge and forecast over 10 hours remaining! (view large image)

So what about real-life tests in use? First, my standard DVD playback test using the 3-hour Dances With Wolves. Starting with 80% charge and the display 2 notices below full brightness, there was 29% power remaining. This suggests that DVD playback of nearly 6 hours at usable brightness is feasible. The optical driver was actually only running for about 2 minutes in 20 minutes, so the DVD data must be cached in the RAM. However, there is one obstacle: The supplied WinDVD insists on shutting down when the battery charge drops below 15%! Perhaps Sony believe that G11 users should always have enough power remaining for a couple of hours of work. Another test has been to run the Prime95 torture test. This dropped the battery charge by 11% over 30 minutes, indicating potential to run the CPU on full load under battery for nearly 5 hours.

I haven’t actually tried to use the G11 for a full day on battery but the evidence points to 9 hours of light use with no wireless, etc, being achievable. Even if the true life is 7 or 8 hours, for most people that represents more than a full working day because of interruptions when the computer can sleep. Functions such as wireless internet and Bluetooth use power. My tests suggest that with these functioning then the battery time may be reduced to around 7 hours: 2 hours 20 minutes of editing this review with wireless and Bluetooth working reduced the battery charge by 30%.

What about heat and fan noise? Heat is not a problem with this notebook. The left side of the keyboard (over the CPU) gets warm but not uncomfortable. The underside and the palm rests stay cool and the highest CPU temperature I have observed (during the Prime95 torture test) was 69°C. However, the fan can become noisy when the CPU is under load. I suspect the underlying problem is that the limited space means a small fan which has to spin quickly although it is not blowing out much hot air. A “whirr” is more noticeable than a “roar” because of the higher frequency of the sound.

Warranty and Customer Support

Sony provide a one year return-to-base warranty as standard. This is two years in some European countries. On-site repair and extended warranties are available at extra cost. However, an extended warranty has to be registered within one month of the computer’s purchase, which is before any potential problems may become evident. I have not needed to contact Sony’s customer services. So far, everything has worked as I would expect.

Conclusions

If you need a lightweight notebook with easy-to-read display and all-day battery life then the G11 has to be on your shortlist. The single core CPU means that at times there is noticeable unresponsiveness. The new G21 with a dual core CPU will address this problem but at the expense or reduced battery time (the currently available information for the G21 says 7 hours).  If the price were lower this notebook would appear to many more people. As noted earlier, I only bought it because the price had been reduced.

Contrary to Sony’s information, this model is upgradable to 2GB RAM using a 2GB module. It also supports SDHC. However, my attempt to use an SDHC card for ReadyBoost was unsuccessful because the system said it was too slow although it is fine in another notebook. While Vista is a questionable choice for this hardware, it runs fine once the eye candy and other extras are disabled. So far, I’ve not had a single crash, which suggests mature drivers.

Overall, the G11 is a good example of how light a notebook can be made without losing serious functionality or battery life. If someone can add a couple of inches to the G11’s width to create a 14.1” widescreen notebook and drop in a dual core CPU, I can then dispose of my 14.1” Zepto. Although its 2.35kg is relatively light for the size range, it feels really heavy in comparison with the G11! Proof of the usability of the G11 is that this review was drafted on it.

Pros

• Compact size, light weight but good construction quality
• Excellent display
• Impressive battery life
• Reasonable hard disk capacity and speed for this form factor
• Extremely small and light power supply
• Built-in optical drive
• Excellent attention to detail

Cons

• Very slow CPU
• Noisy fan when CPU is under load
• Mediocre audio
• Bouncy keyboard with small keys
• High price
• Limited port count

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