Toshiba Laptop vs. Sony

I'm advising my Mother-in-Law on a Laptop. I've never owned one so I'm putting it out there. She is replacing her Desktop. She travels a lot. I'm looking at a Toshiba A505 linked below vs. the SONY VIAO FW510F/B(linked as well). Open to other suggestions/thoughts & advice or I wouldn't post.

Mom Must Have: Nice keyboard (apparently the shift key is very important) number pad not important, larger screen. Windows 7 - dual boot Ubuntu is not an option. Too complicated for her. Primary use is watching videos, photos, FarmTown on Facebook (I'm not kidding), HULU & Skype.

My must have list: Not be a PIA to help her with it. Ease of operation (i.e. connecting to internet, external mouse, backing up) Considering external Harddrive for back-up purposes. I like the SATA port on the Toshiba.


1_What is your budget? < $1,000

2_What is the size of the notebook that you are considering? 16"-16.4"

3_What screen resolution do you want? Not Sure, how important is this for watching videos, etc.?

4_Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop? Replacement of Desktop

5_How much battery life
do you need? Not Sure, not too short.

6_NO GAMES

7_What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? YES - Photo / Video editing,watching movies

8_How much storage (H.D.D Capacity) do you need? I suggested 500GB, but could go down.

9_If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post the links to them.

TOSHIBA Satellite A505-S6990 Intel Core 2 Duo T6600(2.20GHz) 16" 4GB Memory 500GB HDD BD Combo Intel GMA 4500MHD NoteBook
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6834114722

vs

SONY VAIO FW Series VGN-FW510F/B Intel Core 2 Duo T6600(2.20GHz) 16.4" 4GB Memory 500GB HDD Dual layer DVD Burner ATI Mobility
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6834117953


10_How long do you want to keep your laptop? 5+ years, hopefully.


11_What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ?
Burning DVDs is nice, Bluray nice, but not a necessity.

12_Please tell us about the brands that you prefer to buy from them and the brands that you don't like and explain the reasons.

Brand Name wanted...Mom likes them b/c it makes her feel better and she can afford it

13_What country do you live in?
USA

14_Please tell us any additional information if needed. Put up top.

as for the 2 you posted, the sony's specs is better, but there is also a toshiba A505-S6992 which can be gotten for $899 and could perform better. another option would be the Toshiba A505-S6997, which is more expensive but has blu ray and some added features.

another brand you could look into is HP, they make good laptops and the build quality is good, and they are cheaper. though i'm not familiar with the models from their line up now.