SI: Winner Announced In Our Vaio P Contest

[Christopher]

Congratulations to idexa, who entered our Sony Vaio P contest sponsored by Vaio Community with her entry, “My Sony Vaio: Reflections On A Four-Year Anniversary.” We narrowed down the entries to three people (LT11, cherihaner) and we determined that this was the best overall submission. I know some of you who entered might be disappointed that you didn’t win, but we are very thankful for your efforts and your stories really touched our hearts. It was very inspiring to read how Sony has really changed some of your lives. Here is her winning entry:

My Sony Vaio: Reflections On A Four-Year Anniversary

July 2005:

Summer heat oppresses the residents of Tucson, Arizona. The heart of my ancient no-brand desktop, too often taxed by soaring temperatures, lets out a final whir of distress and gives up the ghost.

Freshly computerless and short on funds, I’m at a loss: instantly out of touch with most of my friends and family who correspond via e-mail; cut off from online business; unable even to covet the latest technology without driving to the store for a look.

After an uncomfortable week of Internet withdrawal, fortune smiles on me. A close friend, having learned of my plight, accompanies me to a nearby retailer and instructs me to pick out a laptop. I scamper through the computer section like a kid in a candy store until my gaze settles on a sleek 13.1″ Sony Vaio — impossibly lightweight, beautifully appointed, with an LCD screen whose flatness seems worlds away from the cumbersome CRT monitors hooked up to clunky towers one aisle over.

I stare at the price tag and bite my lip. Is this an unjustifiable splurge? No; I know right away that it’s the one I want, and my friend, in his ineffable generosity, ponies up the cash. I enthusiastically promise him prompt repayment and a share of my eternal soul as I, my new Vaio, and my ear-to-ear grin emerge from the store into blazing midday sunlight.

March 2006:

I’ve been in LA for just over seven months, and it’s been a wild ride. My Vaio is my most valued possession and most useful guide to life in a new place — it’s connected me with an apartment, a pet cat, restaurant reviews, you name it. In a metropolis this size, the local phone book simply doesn’t cut it. The Vaio makes for an eye-catching accessory at my favorite coffee shop, and when I’m not there, you’ll find me out on the balcony at night, laptop cradled on my knees, wirelessly exploring the vastness of the city. As for my generous friend, the respectable salary of the job I found online has helped me pay off my debt to him well ahead of schedule.

January 2007:

Another minor relocation, another strategic career move, another relationship under the bridge. The trusty Vaio is starting to show faint signs of wear. I recently spilled half a glass of iced tea into its keyboard and promptly succumbed to panic… but its construction was sound, and once I emptied out the liquid and let it dry, it was completely fine. Incredible.

In fact, the slim little laptop’s workload has been significantly increased lately. I’m using it for my job now, reviewing files on the weekends, even burning mix CDs for my boss as a “special project”. (Well, it’s a personal computer, so I suppose he isn’t misusing company resources…)

Call me crazy, but whenever I sleep under an unfamiliar roof, I find I drift off most easily when I can hear the whisper of the laptop’s fan and see the glow of the monitor reflected on a wall.

July 2007:

Today, my Vaio proved to be the best car salesman I’ve ever met. It provided me with specs, pricing, and availability on the exact make and model I wanted, then tracked down the single car in southern California that met my criteria and told me where to buy it. I showed up on the lot with printouts in hand, completed the entire transaction before lunchtime, and drove home a happy customer.

February 2008:

My oldest, dearest friend has passed away suddenly and unexpectedly. The shock and devastation rip through me again and again until all I can do is cry.

When I open my eyes, when I can see through the tears, it’s to update the music playlist on my Vaio, which obediently fills the corner of the room with sublime chorales and beloved melodies from my childhood. I am alone, but I am comforted.

June 2008:

Ah, how times have changed. I just had a baby! Voracious research — courtesy of the good old Vaio — has made me possibly the most well-informed mother west of the Rockies. The desktop is cluttered with spreadsheets tracking my diet and health, lists of the pages of baby names my husband and I wistfully vetoed, even an application that timed my contractions as I went into labor.

Stretched out in the narrow hospital bed, my body is exhausted, but my mind is pulsing with energy. There’s television, magazines, newspapers galore if I want them. No need, though: wireless Internet access is free throughout the building, and as my beautiful newborn daughter dozes peacefully in the crook of my arm, my Vaio stands guard on the bedside table, sending out her minutes-old picture with the birth announcements and filling my brain with the child-rearing wisdom of the ages.

July 2009:

After four years of exemplary service, I wonder whether my once-formidable Sony Vaio laptop is ready to retire. Now that I’ve seen the P series, the undeniable allure of shiny new technology weighs against a peculiar sense of attachment to this computer — sure, others could have done for me what this one has, but this one is MINE, and however strange it may sound, it’s been one of the few constants in my life over the last couple of years.

Friends each contribute their two cents, trying to steer me toward chintzy netbooks and stodgy business models. My sense of loyalty remains uncompromised.

I feel a little guilty as I appraise the aging Vaio, tracing a finger over the tiny scuffs on the outer casing, the solid but smooth-worn keys, the still-gleaming trackpad buttons, and contemplate the faint irony of turning the capabilities of this machine toward the task of selecting and acquiring its replacement. Maybe I’ll keep it for emergencies? Better yet, offer it to a student at a bargain price. It has, as they say, a lot of life left in it…

I admit it. I want a new laptop. I want utility, reliability, and incomparable style. I want a P series.

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