That particular sony vaio is a very rare deal, and is a great notebook. And I’m sure you can probably build a notebook for a fraction of the price, but we’re comparing dell to apple…I’d accept sony to apple, but custom to apple is another topic completely.
Comparing that particular Sony vaio…the processor is 1.66ghz rather 2.4ghz I found on this macbook pro http://store.apple.com/us/product/FA896LL/A The refurbished macs include the full original warranty too.
Also consider, that Vaio has Windows Vista on it, which for one requires more resources available to run even close to the efficiency that macbook will run at, so the 2GB of Ram will need a jump up, not to mention buggy, and the processor is quite a bit shy from the macbook pro’s 2.4ghz.
I didn’t see where it mentioned Bluetooth, however it does have Blu Ray, which is a rarity, and is really cool…The graphics card is a notch below the mac’s…8400 GT where the mac has the 8600 GT.
Also a few minor differences…the macbook has a higher resolution display 1440×900…and the Vaio has 1280×800. Ambient keyboard again, which I do like a lot.
All those differences aside, that Sony Vaio is a great deal…also, that coupon doesn’t work on Circuit’s website. however, it was marked down to 799.99. If you did end up going the route of a Mac, there are always good deals on apple’s website under the refurbished section http://store.apple.com/1–800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/wa/RSLID?sf=wHF2F2PHCCCX72KDY&nclm=CertifiedMac Or if you’re a student, you can get the discount and the free ipod touch right now too.
By time you do add a bit of RAM to the sony you would still be in the price difference that I estimated. I still would go the route of an apple though.