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Family Laptop. Each laptop has its strong points but there’s never one that can do it all. But the 17" Vaio is a jack of all trades, acting as everything from a home theater to a work computer. The performance, low system noise, variety of ports and the keyboard all make a good impression. But claiming this notebook’s perfectly well-rounded is not altogether true. ASUS Eee PC 1005

Sony Vaio VPC-EC3M1E/BJ: Das Multimedia-Kraftpaket für die ganze Familie?With the Vaio VPC-EC3M1E/BJ, Sony promises a simple computer for the whole family. Whether the entire family can enjoy a film night together (and more) in front of this notebook’s 17.3" screen is what we aim to find out.Asus TL31-1005 TL32-1005

Can little Bobby spend the afternoon playing Call of Duty without being noticed while Dad uses the evening to fuss over his tax return? And what about mom? Will she be able to put on her face using the reflective screen while listening to her favorite music? Will the notebook’s power consumption drain the family savings account because little Janie spends every waking minute playing CityVille and checking the Facebook profiles of strangers?Asus PL32-1005

All these burning questions and more about Sony’s "Renaissance Man" of a multimedia notebook will be answered in the following comprehensive review.Asus ML32-1005 PL31-1005

Power ButtonHmm, this case looks familiar.Asus ML31-1005 The Vaio VPC-EC3ME/BJ design comes from the same family, namely the recently reviewed Vaio VPC-EB3Z1E/BQ. This one might be a 15.6" laptop, but we can’t overlook the visual and technical similarity to our in-review model. The most important visual difference is that the palm rest of our 17.3" in-review model shines with a highly glossy finish. To mom’s dismay, fingerprint marks end up building up on this shiny surface and become a constant eyesore.Asus AL31-1005 AL32-1005

Aside from that, the EC3M1 has a very plain and simple design. There are no aluminum-magnesium parts or polished aluminum surfaces. Varnished yet matte surfaces sit side-by-side with glossy plastic parts. The dark design with a touch of silver doesn’t try to catch your attention and tends to look rather plain.Asus 90-OA001B9000

When twisting the otherwise sturdy case with two hands, we hear a creaking sound, although we barely manage to twist the case at all out of shape. The palm rest is very sturdy and doesn’t give to direct pressure at any spot. We cannot say the same for the bottom of the base unit, which caves to pressure a bit over the area where the optical disc drive is located.Asus 70-OA1B1B2100

The thick cover is likewise quite sturdy and suffices for ordinary household use as long as it’s not being moved around too much. When twisting it with two hands, it gives a bit more than you’d want, but the tight hinges hold the screen well in place. ASUS Eee PC 1005PE Battery 

ExpressCard34, eSATA, HDMIIn terms of ports, the EC3M1E has everything little Bobby would want in order to transfer movies and games at gigabyte speeds. Speedy data transfers via USB 3.0 are unfortunately not included in this package, but the ExpressCard34 slot gives you a variety of transfer options with the appropriate express card. Otherwise, you can always fall back on using the eSATA port. ASUS G73JH-X2

Hooking up an external sound system via ExpressCard34, eSATA or HDMI should be no problem unless it’s 7.1 surround sound for example, in which case you might have to settle for plain old stereo because the EC3M1 only has one audio jack. An optical SPDIF port (audio output) is not available. ASUS G73JH-RBBX05 ASUS G73JH-X1

If we presented the VPC-EC3M1 to you with cables plugged into every port,ASUS G73JH-A2 you’d be horrified by the mess of cables flowing forth from both sides and cluttering up your work space so badly as to make a difficult task out of just using a mouse within arms length of the laptop. Placing some of the ports at the back would have been more practical, but it’s made impossible by the way the screen is attached, which would obstruct ports at the back. A docking station would be an option, but as of now none exists for the Vaio E-Series. ASUS G73JH ASUS G73JH-A1

The otherwise Vaio-typical firewire port is not available here. If you’re planning on attaching a camcorder to the laptop, you’d have to do it via the ExpressCard34 slot, for which you’d need a firewire-to-PCI card (20-40 Euro). ASUS G73

Two card readers look straight at you from the front of the laptop. Other than the typical SD card, you’ll also find that Sony-specific Memory Stick HG-Duo, which is a memory format used by some digital SLR cameras, high-end digital cameras and digital camcorders.Asus 90-NY81B1000Y

The Motion Eye webcam with a 640×480 pixel resolution (VGA, 0.3MP) doesn’t quite live up to the otherwise high multimedia potential of the EC3M1E. Unfortunately, Sony fits all of its laptops with the same VGA webcam. The webcam sadly detracts from the overall value of the laptop.Asus 70-NY81B1000Z

Right: 3 x USB 2.0, DVD burner, Kensington Lock SlotInternet and BluetoothAsus 07G016DH1875

The WLAN module from Atheros offers the fastest WiFi available with its Draft-N standard (AR9285). The built-in Bluetooth module supports the 2.1+EDR standard. The Marvel Yukon 88E8059 LAN adapter allows for data transfers at the gigabit standard. The 17.3" notebook is therefore quite well equipped for networking, only the outdated Bluetooth 2.1 is a slight shortcoming. Asus A42-G73

No CDs or DVDs, just a quick-start and recovery guide as well as an explanation of services offered come with the notebook (other than the power supply and cord). Making a recovery DVD for Windows Home Premium 64Bit is up to you, which you can burn via Vaio Assist. The hard drive is littered with a whole bunch of Vaio programs and utilities most users will never know the use of. Uninstalling some of these may help clean up the hard drive and relieve the registry.ASUS G73J Battery

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