Vaio SR user here! Has been very reliable ever since (which laptop isn't reliable anyway, hahaha!). Most importantly, it has met my expectations for a laptop. First it has the specifications (of course price is still expensive but it has come down a lot). Second its footprint is pretty small for a 13". Its LCD lid is thin and the entire weight is just 1.9kg (approx.). Even lighter than Macbook.

I was in the same position, choosing between the SR or the Macbook. I picked the SR because the LED backlit LCD screen is better. The color is a lot more contrasty (I think its a signature of Sony screens) than Macbook which tends to look washed out. Second, the SR is very cool during operation. Rarely it'll hit more than 44 Deg C. Operation is very silent too.

The Macbook however has a very attractive design and the construction is rock solid. However, I don't find any ventilation fans or holes on it so I guess it relies on the aluminum body for heat spreading. As a result, the underside is very hot to touch. Also I have heard a lot of bad things about Nvidia's IC packaging problems. So I decided that any laptop from now on should be ATI equipped. I know it doesn't happen on all Nvidia's products, but just to be sure.

get the VGN-SR36 if you care more for dedicated gpu. afterall, its nvidia integrated gpu in Macbook Alu, unless you opt for Macbook Pro.
i repost again this in previous thread before its closed:

i dont own neither the SR nor macbook, but i spent few minutes to do test run on the display model at Apple Store and SonyStyle Store, i can say that:
build quality wise, macbook (only for macbook alu and macbook pro) feels more sturdy and compact; while SR is mediocre at its best and light at less few grams than macbook.
its depend on your purpose. if you working with alot apps that rely on Windows, go for SR series. yes, you can still works with BootCamp, but save those hassles with something better. say you got to do some presentation or meeting, you have to buy the vga adapter too for macbook to connect to projector. gaming wise? absolutely no for macbook.

try take a peek on Apple user thread here, and ask their opinion too: http://forum.lowyat.net/topic/873560

happy choosing

no problem. been using vaio for almost 3 years now. 
the reason why i link that thread is besides asking them, you can see the user feedback too. truth is, i even went through all the replies in that thread from post 1..so ive my own decision to stay with windows os notebook. i go alot of other thing to do. you can still learn about unix if care about using mac osx using virtual machine while windows as core for working and gaming

It's upon purchase of your VAIO only. Pricing in the first page.

SR35G/B user here just upgraded to 4gb RAM

still getting the hang of Vista... I think my old Fujitsu was a pretty good workhorse too... still going strong after 4 years! now subjected to the tabletop on BT 24/7 haha

@blink,
I was in your shoes too - mac or vaio. In the end I still went with the Vaio coz my fujitsu's battery just can't stand it anymore and it is getting a little old. I needed a Windows based laptop since my programs are all windows based and I have alot of windows based related stuff - winMo phone, Palm, etc.

I'll probably get an iMac later for photo editing purposes but I feel my Vaio can do a pretty good job too

Upgrading RAM is not necessary to buy from Sony. It's very expensive. You can get almost half the price in LYP with the same type/brand of RAM.

I have been using the earliest model of SR (SR13GN) for a few months now and it has been going strong! Yes the Macbook Aluminum does have an LED backlit screen but its color is somewhat washed out. Its not as bright as well (and I was sure the settings were maxed). If you set the Macbook and Pro together, you'll see the difference. Put the SR next to it and you will see that the SR is just better.

I bought mine from Midvalley and the freebies weren't as much as it was a new model release. I did get a USB key though and some irrelevant accessories.

The recent PcFair promotion for SR is free MsOffice Home and Student Edition + bluetooth mouse +  laptop bag + Vaio Oversea Warranty 1 year.

I don't think you need 4GB for SR as it is just Vista 32bit.

Yeah, a piece of 2GB DDR2 SODIMM is only around RM75-85 so its very cheap to do it yourself. Installation can be done on the spot and you get to test it before leaving/paying. Getting from Apple/Sony is just not within logic.

Regarding the Macbook Pro, yes... they usually place it far far away. Just take a glance and remember it and then move on to the other. You'll see the difference which is quite obvious. Unless you have some friends who happen to have both.

Of course you can always edit the driver string to not use/share your main RAM. There's also another reason we use 2+2=4GB of RAM. Symmetric dual-channel. Of course asymmetric dual-channel is supported but we know what goes on from there.
The only thing we can do is to make the machine as light-weighted as possible (in terms of software in background) and put in lots of RAM. The rest is your graphics and CPU, something that is not easily/readily changed.

Actually Dell's pricing for RAM also more expensive than getting your own. I guess only Dell can afford to allow customizations on customer level since they're basically controlling their own supply chain. Sony on the other than has a lot more products than just laptops so its better go standardize its products.

New variants within the same series or family is around 1 time per every quarter. The SR series is a good example. SR1x, then SR2x and now SR3x in less than a year. I believe FW is similar too. Nothing on CS though. The difference between these variants are very minor revision of the specification. Nothing to pull hair about.

A complete new model change however is around 1-2 years, somewhere around 18 months. An example would be the SZ series to SR series, FJ to FW series and C to CR and then CS series.

the Intel HD4500 is consider good enough, but its poor playing the current game. But if you concern about video and photoshopping, i believe it will do well. If you really need to get dedicated gpu, you can try take a look at FW. the lcd for FW is decent (
16.4" wide (WXGA++: 1600 x 900) TFT colour display (Clear Bright LCD [Rich Colour]), but the drawback is the batt power (about 2 hours for this notebook).

SR35G is another alternative notebook for business purposes.

Wah, the forum really getting very interesting with all the useful discussions taking place. Analysis of the products are really good.

Yeah it would be great if they could upgrade the HD3470 to HD3650 or 46xx and then trickle down the HD3470 to the entry SR model. I think some models of the SR in the US and other parts of the world have a higher end ATI graphics.

Unfortunately, Sony traditionally sticks with a graphics model for the entire product cycle. But that can change though. By the way, bringing the HD3470 to the RM4488 SR could increase its price so we don't want that to happen.