I have had the TX650 for a couple of weeks now, and I love it. I have had many Sony ultraportables through the years, starting with one of their first ones, the old PCG 505 TX. My next Sony ultraportable was the SR5K, and then the TR2A. Now I have the TX650P. This is by far the best series for ultraportables. It is the fastest, has the best screen, is the lightest, has a dual burner and includes an SD reader. I still do miss the wheel I had on the old SR, however.
Anyway, the fan on the TX is significantly louder than my TR2A, but not nearly as loud as some have mentioned. My old SR5K was louder. In a typical environment, it is hardly noticeable. As others have mentioned, it is noticeable in a silent environment, but hardly a deal breaker to me. I surf a lot in bed at night, and my wife doesn’t notice the fan. My TR2A has the clicking hard drive problem, and that is way more annoying. One thing that I did notice when I took the unit apart was that the fan on the TX resides right at the vent opening, as shown, rather than being inset like on the TR. I wonder if that increases the noise level?
I also compared the reds to my TR and the differences are not that great to me, certainly not a deal breaker again. Getting a good screen, however, might just be the luck of the draw as mentioned below. If you do happen to get a good screen, as shown in the photos I have provided, the reds are not that different from my TR2A. In the first picture, the TR2A is on top with the focus directed at the TR. On the next picture, the focus is directed at the TX on the bottom. Finally, the last comparison is with the TX on the top with the focus directed at the bottom TR.
The first thing you notice is how much brighter and whiter the TX is, although I’m sure the illumination of the TR has degraded over time. Regarding the red hues, I certainly don’t find them offensive as some other have. Perhaps I am not as picky as others, but in my opinion, the red hues are fine. I am certainly no expert, but I have a few +50†HD TVs that are all calibrated so I’m not totally ignorant either. I guess what I’m getting at is that the average person will likely find the red hues completely acceptable.
One thing to note, however, is that perhaps the screens people are complaining about are either defective, due to a bad batch of screens or perhaps just bad quality control. I say this since I recently repaired a TX with a broken screen. The replacement screen was significantly more yellow and not as bright as the screen on my own TX. This did change the red hues. I will post a picture of this later. For now, I am accounting this to a defective screen, and am sending this one back (especially for $600). We will see with the replacement screen which I will report later.
Now, on with the review on MY own TX. Others have also complained about the small eject button. This one I do not agree with. I use the large button on the top which is very accessible. In fact, to me, the small button that many complain about is merely a fail safe one in case the top mounted button malfunctions.
Now for some of my own minor gripes. The keyboard is a little mushy, but better than the TR. I don’t mind the keyboard at all. The striking of the individual keys themselves is more pronounced and definitive to me. That is, I know whether or not I have struck them, unlike the feel of the TR. The key striking is also much quieter than on the TR.
The placement of the mouse pad is a little annoying since your thumbs tend to contact it during typing sometimes. Hence, the cursor is displaced while you are typing. Not sure how this would be addressed due to the small real estate of the palm rest except to make a smaller mouse pad (which was one of my gripes with the TR)
The color combination of the keys with the markings, however, is a little dark. Since I use my laptops at night with low screen lighting, it is difficult for me to see certain keys that I do not regularly type with and have to look, such as the F-keys. I end up moving the screen toward the keys to use as a light source. The TR’s keys are much easier to see due to the white keys and dark numbering. The bigger shift key on the TX is much nicer.
The TX is very sleek looking, but the TR is classier looking to me, even though it looks like a bloated pig next to the TX. The TR also feels a little more solid than the TX, but that is perhaps due in part to the added weight, and the thicker and more rigid screen. Overall, the TX is a nice sleek looking machine, while the TR is slightly more stylish with the exception of the screen bezel, in my opinion. The thinner bezel of the TX looks way better. I compare it to older LCD monitors with the thicker bezels and the newer ones with the thinner bezels. The reduced weight and sleeker footprint of the TX is quite noticeable compared to the TR. You wouldn’t think it would be that noticeable, but it is. Just the handling of the TR now feels much more bulky. It is all relative I guess. For me, the performance gains of the TX outweigh the slightly more stylish look of the TR.
Now for the reasons this machine is superior to me. First off is the screen of course. While only ½†larger, the extra real estate is noticeable. Looking at the picture below, the extra ½ inch makes a difference. Pretty awesome considering the TX is smaller than the TR in nearly every dimension (with the battery installed on the TR). As you can see, the screen is significantly brighter. Granted, the TR has probably degraded a little in brightness. That’s part of the advantage, however. Since the screen is LED backlighting, it will not degrade in brightness anywhere near the fluorescent backlighting screens.
The screen also has a much greater illumination range. It is brighter, but it also operates to a lower range than the TR as well. One thing I really like about the LED backlighting is that it turns on nearly instantaneously. I operate from standby a lot so that it is up and running in a flash. The screen is amazingly thin as well, but not so delicate that it appears fragile. I do not handle it any differently than my TR.
Some reviews have noted the LED bleed through at the bottom of the screen. You can see it, but that is only if you are tying to look down between the bottom of the screen and the bezel. Hence, you can see it, but who looks at their screen that way during use.
One bad characteristic of these type screens is that at the lowest level, some of the LEDs are not consistent in brightness. While this is a very low level, the inconsistent brightness cases dark long conical-shaped streaks running up from the bottom. Think of the reverse of a light shining up a curtain at a theater or something like that. The streaks disappear with the very 1st increment of brightness increase. I have two of them at the lowest brightness level. They are not as bad as they sound, but are noticeable as shown below.
The addition of the SD was a nice improvement to me since some of my cameras are Sony’s with the memory stick, and others I have use SD. Hence, a welcomed improvement for me. The speakers are also much better than the TR. The lack bass, of course, but what do you expect. The instant on buttons for the DVD, MP3 and picture viewing is also nice, but I usually operate from standby.
Overall, I am very happy with MY TX. I qualify this since it may perhaps be the luck of the draw of the screen you get, as mentioned above. If my screen were as yellow as the replacement screen, I would not be as enthusiastic. Having skipped over the T (for no reason), I bought the TX with the mindset that if I didn’t like it, I would just sell it and keep my TR. Well I loved my TR, but I am keeping the TX. Hope this helped some, but might just have confused them more. 
