Sony tends to add a lot of software in your PC which drives the price of the computer or laptop up.
My son got a laptop like trappendabox and he loves his laptop too. He paid round !700, from Circuit City, but got back $400 in rebates from Sony and Circuit City. He has a CD burner in his which jacked the price up, he hooked it up to a surround sound in his dorm room which his 6 suite mates love.
Our 1st computer was a Sony VIAO and they had excellent customer service. We needed help a lot in the beginning and our computer called them and you could talk right thru your computer.