I used for some time both brands, as business tools offered by the companies I worked for, being impressed by Sony
As in James Bond`s filsm, Sony Vaio is a matter of style, the smooth finish is completed by comfortable keyboard, which is essential for any activity
In terms of price, Sony are more expensive, due to the parts used
The most portable seem to be Sony laptops, fitting to a normal backpack or bag
The Sony Vaio I used was based on Intel configuration, which is somehow more reliable than the majority of AMD configurations used in HP models, so personally I consider it more advanced
Finally, Sony battery lasts more than HP`s
