Sony VAIO SVT21226CXB 21.5-Inch All-in-One Touchscreen Desktop

I first saw this computer in a local store and really liked it. Sony is a premium product and you pay a premium price. That said, it's a beautiful, functional computer, perfect size for any office-desktop, and very portable for something this size. The screen is super, just started using it, but so far no problems to report. The seller I sued through Amazon was excellent also, very responsive and a great price compared to other vendors I researched.

I have had several all-in-ones with touch as "kitchen" computers for a decade; several HPs and a Vizio 27". Overall, this is the best yet (but as the newest, so it should be).I wanted a portable with a battery and started with the Lenovo 20". But it was too slow (i3 and 5400 rpm drive) and I returned it. The VAIO is faster (i5) but still suffers from the slow drive. I cannot understand why all manufacturers are not using hybrid or pure SSD drives in machines like this. My guess is the cost difference for a hybrid with 16GB SSD cache is $10 to $15 to them. Vizio was putting hybrid drives in their all in ones 18 months ago and the 27" one I had screams in reboot and program loading compared to this VAIO. Plus, with all data now being in the cloud, a pure SSD machine with only 64GB would be ideal for me. The large HDD in this machine is and will remain almost empty since we no longer store files locally.So, if you can get a similar machine with SSD/hybrid drive I would recommend trying it. Meanwhile, this is the best of the current crop I could find.

In fairness, I don't know who to blame for this disaster of a product - Sony or Microsoft. But I know this: although the touchscreen desktop is a great idea, it simply doesn't work.I have been an Apple user for about 5 years now (iMac, iPad, iPhone) and so I've missed the last few generations of Windows. But I was intrigued by this hybrid touchscreen/desktop product which runs Windows 8.1. It is an interesting idea, and I give Sony and Microsoft credit for giving it a shot. I have often found myself reaching to touch my iMac's screen in certain situations, so having a desktop that is also a touchscreen opens up new possibilities. I'm not a Mac zealot, so I didn't really care that it ran Windows, as long as it did the job.Two things things I like about this VAIO: (1) it has a battery like a laptop, so you can disconnect it from an electrical outlet and put in on a table-top, for example, and have multiple people accessing the screen; and (2) the screen angle can be easily adjusted, depending on if you are using the keyboard/mouse or the touchscreen.Unfortunately, this VAIO doesn't work. After just a few days of trying to use it, I had experienced the new "blue screen of death" (must nicer-looking now, but still a crash and reboot with all info lost) at least 20 times. Yes, I said 20 times in a few days. I wasn't trying to do anything complicated either - just browsing the web and working in the apps that came with the VAIO. Then I tried to install Small Basic (a Microsoft product), and the VAIO would not allow it, with no clear reason given. After some research, I found I had to enable .NET 3.5 (I guess 4.0 is enabled by default now). So I went to my control panel to enable it, and after three separate crashes, it finally told me that it could not be enabled - no reason given. So I can't even install a product created by Microsoft. I could live without Small Basic, but it is an indication that this product is not stable.I honestly don't know who is to blame - Sony or Microsoft. It could be this VAIO is just a dud, or it could be that Windows 8.1 isn't ready for prime-time (or even late-night). And I don't care. What I do know is that this product is unusable and should be avoided by everyone.

Great machine... love this so much!

This is an All-in-one touchscreen desktop, or in other words a giant tablet with a wireless mouse and keyboard.The Good: One of the problems with a traditional desktop computer is that it is a pain to move, even just across the room. With this computer, you can go where ever you want. Everything is inside, including a battery, so you can just puck it up and take it anywhere your Wi-Fi can reach. It has a touchscreen, just like a normal tablet, but I find I prefer the keyboard and mouse myself and that is fine because it supports all equally. This computer has an incredibly fast Start up and Shut down, it turns off faster than I can turn off the mouse and keyboard.The audio and video are fantastic. I have no complaints watching movies and I can listen to music from another room and hear it as clearly as a radio in that room.The Meh: It comes with a wireless mouse and keyboard that are adequate but I find the mouse is too light and just feels cheap and the keyboard can't keep up with my typing sometimes. I have already replaced them with a Logitech M600 mouse and K750 Solar Keyboard. The USB ports are kind of behind the tablet and hard to reach, so if you use external hard drives as I do, you may want to get an USB hub.The Bad: There is no disc drive at all, so it's either downloads or Flash drive for everything. This can be a problem when installing some software and I'll admit I had to torrent two programs and then use my Serial to instal them. This also means no restore disc, you have to use a flash drive and it can't be used for any other purpose. Would have been nice if Sony had included one for this purpose.The Elephant in the Room: Windows 8, actually 8.1 and it doesn't suck as bad as everyone says. Well the Metro interface does, but 8.1 allows you to circumvent most of it. Every now and then something with trigger it and suddenly your computer forgets it has a mouse and keyboard attached to it and it takes a bit to get out of it. The good news there is a new update coming that will fix many of these problems.Overall this is a great computer and has already become my primary computer. no mater what you need from your computer, this one will meet and exceed your goals.