The high-definition DVD format war has been over for months, yet its winner, Blu-ray, hasn't yet achieved a meaningful presence in people's homes. The Sony VAIO VGN-FW198UH ($2,099 direct) isn't likely to drive Blu-ray sales through the roof, but it offers a mobile HD experience that's a bit different from the usual. Its 16.4-inch widescreen is stretched out in the same manner as consumer HDTVs, and it's one of the first laptops to receive Intel's latest Centrino 2 platform. Even with a revamped platform, however, a bloated software suite and high prices are issues that continue to haunt Sony laptops.

Designing media center laptops is no easy task because of these systems' large footprints. Thus Sony media centers don't get the same degree of aesthetic attention as Sony gives its ultraportables, such as the VAIO VGN-SZ791N. Although the FW198UH is tastefully done, it trails the competition in the materials used and the overall look. The HP Pavilion dv5t and the Dell Studio 15 benefit from lamination techniques and inlaid patterns, whereas Apple, a big proponent of aluminum, uses it to deck out the Apple MacBook Pro 15-inch (Penryn). The FW198UH's plastic frame, in bland gray, is reminiscent of older Sony designs. The placement of the VAIO logo hasn't changed since the 1990s.

More thought was given to the interior. The hinges look as if they're being wrapped around by the chassis, while a ridge divides the keyboard from the palm-rest area. You might recognize the keyboard from the Sony VAIO TZ series and the Apple MacBook 13-inch (Penryn)—it's pleasant to type on despite looking like an oversized phone pad. The keys have proper spacing between them, which helps minimize typing mistakes. The mouse buttons, however, are loud and not as easy to click as the Dell 15's.

XBrite screens have long been Sony's bread and butter, with their wide color gamut and amazing picture quality. It makes sense that the FW198UH also incorporates one of the first 16.4-inch widescreens in the industry. Media center laptops like the Acer Aspire 8920G and the Toshiba Qosmio G55 are already shipping screens with a 16:9 form factor, and other companies are expected to follow. Although the FW198UH's 1,600-by-900 resolution is about 180 lines short of a full 1080p experience, a 720p screen, with wide viewing angles, is still nothing to sniff at. The resolution is higher than that of the Acer Aspire 6920G-6071—though the difference is barely discernable with the naked eye. Normally you'd expect media center weights to be extra heavy, but the FW198UH's 6.4-pound frame is only a tenth of a pound heavier than that of the 15-inch HP dv5t.

Sony can gloat about Blu-ray drives it offers across its line, but since the price of a BD burner is still in the $400 range, it may be hard to get anyone to jump on board. The Acer 6920G, meanwhile, includes a Blu-ray reader on its sub-$1,000 configuration. Who is going to burn and use Blu-ray discs with prices so steep as to be impractical? A BD-ROM is cheaper and makes more sense at this point. This would have been an opportune time for Sony to integrate an ATSC tuner into the FW198UH, as it did when it introduced the Sony VAIO AR series, but ATSC isn't offered. By contrast, the HP dv5t offers the tuner as an option.

Other features, like three USB ports, FireWire, and an HDMI-out port, are standard among media centers. The Sony doesn't have an eSATA port like the HP dv5t (and eSATA is faster for data transfer than a USB drive), but the internal 320GB hard drive should be roomy enough. Like many media laptops, a 1.3-megapixel webcam is positioned above the screen for video chatting. With the Centrino 2 platform, you get the latest-generation 802.11n wireless card. The Intel Wi-Fi Link 5100AGN supposedly has greater throughput (receiving files at up to 350 megabits per second) and better range than the previous Wi-Fi Link 4965AGN chipset. As with all Sony laptops, the FW198UH is riddled with useless applications and proprietary software (aka crapware) that slow the machine down. The company has started offering a "Fresh Start" option, in which you can rid yourself of most of this bloatware, free of charge. Unfortunately, for whatever reason, this option is not available with this model.

Performance is anything but lacking in this media center. It runs a 2.53-GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T9400 processor, with support for the new front-side bus (FSB), which is capable of speeds up to 1,066 MHz (up from 800 MHz). This configuration includes 4GB of DDR2 SDRAM. Performance numbers, as expected, were impressive. Its SYSmark 2007 Preview Overall score of 132 beat out that of the HP dv5t, another Centrino 2 laptop running the same processor, by 4 percent. The Sony's SYSmark 2007 Preview Overall score also exceeded that of the previous-generation Dell Studio 15, which runs a similarly clocked Penryn processor, by 8 percent.

The FW198UH's video-encoding and CineBench R10 test results were only marginally better than those of the HP Pavilion dv5t and the Dell Studio 15. The ATI Mobility Radeon 3470 graphics card isn't as gaming friendly as the HP dv5t's nVidia GeForce 8600M GT, but it's powerful enough to handle a Blu-ray flick. With so much power running underneath the hood, its 49-Wh battery is simply not enough for this system. A MobileMark 2007 score of 1 hour 56 minutes is too meager for a laptop of this stature.

Despite being one of the first laptops to incorporate a breathtaking 16.4-inch screen and Intel's latest Centrino 2 platform, the Sony VAIO VGN-FW198UH inherits some of the old problems of its predecessors. At this price point, you're almost better off spending half as much on the Acer Aspire 6920G-6710, which also has a Blu-ray drive, an HDMI port, and a 16-inch widescreen. For now, a huge software load and a small battery are fixes that have to be made for the FW198UH to succeed.

Check out the Sony VAIO VGN-FW198UH's performance test results.

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