We measured the brightness and contrast of the notebook’s display using a Pantone ColorVision Spyder with OptiCAL version 3.7.8 software. We selected the highest brightness setting before this test and it remained almost the same when the notebook switched to its battery. The contrast ratio changed more.

AC power source:

• 78.7cd/sq.m brightness, 40:1 contrast ratio

DC power source:

• 78.0cd/sq.m brightness, 40:1 contrast ratio

The notebook is equipped with a black keyboard whose 86 keys move softly and do not rattle. The movement keys are on the same level with the keyboard’s baseline, so there’s a higher risk of your pressing them accidentally. Shift and End are placed above the Arrow keys. The Fn button is located in the bottom left corner, second after the Control. This should be convenient for people who are used to shortcuts involving the Control key. Numeric buttons and two Windows keys are available: the Context Menu button is placed over one key to the right of the spacebar; the Windows Logo button is over one key to the left of the spacebar. The functional keys are smaller than others. Home, PgUp, PgDn and End form a column on the right. Num Lock, Print Screen, Insert and Delete end the row of the functional keys (you should press them in combination with Fn to access their additional functions). The letters are painted white and the functional buttons are blue. The numeric pad is painted brown.

The touchpad is a typical Sony design. The rough-textured touch-sensitive panel is sunken into the case but this is not visible due to the brown bezel. Anyway, the low level of the panel prevents your fingers from straying out of the touch-sensitive area.

There is a group of system indicators on the notebook’s front panel under the touchpad buttons. These are visible even when the lid is closed. Their labels are pressed out in the case above the LEDs and are hidden by a closed lid.

The group of indicators under the touchpad includes (from left to right):

• Power (alight when the notebook is turned on; blinking in standby mode; off when the notebook is in sleep mode or turned off)
• Battery (alight when the notebook is powered by the battery; blinking when the battery charge is low; blinking in sequences of two flashes when the battery is being recharged)
• HDD (shows that the hard disk is being accessed)
• Optical drive (alight when the optical drive is being accessed)
• Card-reader (alight when the Memory Stick card is being accessed for reading or writing)

The second group of indicators is placed above the keyboard on the right together with the Power button:

• Bluetooth (alight when the Bluetooth interface is activated with the Wireless switch)
• WLAN (alight when the WLAN interface is active)
• Num Lock
• Caps Lock
• Scroll Lock

The following components can be found on the notebook’s left panel (from left to right):

• LAN port (RJ-45)
• Modem port (RJ-11)
• Microphone input
• Headphones output
• Optical drive with an activity indicator, eject button and emergency eject hole
• 26-pin ExpressCard/34 slot

The following is to be found on the notebook’s right panel:

• Two USB 2.0 ports
• 4-pin FireWire port
• TV output (S-Video)
• 15-pin D-Sub connector for an external monitor
• Security slot
• Power connector