MacBook Air Vs Sony TZ (Very nice comparison inside)

http://www.macworld.com/article/131768/2008/01/mbavssony.html

Enjoy

 

That's a nice machine on your sig

 

Its still rather biased. He practically called the TZ ugly. He also seems to be holding it against sony that the TZ "can't" run OSX while the macbook can run Windows. I think its more accurate to say that Microsoft allows Windows to be installed on any machine while apple would rather you stick to their hardware.

 

Kinda left out a few things there I think. I didn't the comparison in detail...

But the TZ can be had for well under 2k it seems. But having an expansion card slot, multiple usb ports and a few other factors seem to not have been taken into consideration there.

 

That was a pretty good comparison. I've owned a TZ and it is a pretty good machine. I have my eyes on a MBA, but I won't pull the trigger until I can play with one at an Apple Store.

FYI, to get a decent performing TZ (1.2 GHz C2D) you have to spend around $2500 (import from Japan). If you buy it in the US it's around $2800. That is substantially more expensive than a MBA.

Please show me where. You're probably thinking about the SZ.

 

Couple people around on here have had them for under 2k. Don't remember his name, but the thread I started about the MBA had one person in it with the TZ he got for well under 2k (1400 I think he said). I've seen them with some fairly big coupons before (like 300-400 off).

 

One cool think about the TZ is, you can get it with a 200GB internal HD + 64GB internal SSD (instead of the DVD player).

I think the CD drive would not be useful to me, but 200GB HD + 64GB SSD is something I would (*) go for in an instant. At 1.1 kg, it's pretty much insane. It's $3000 in this configuration, see pricejapan.com

The comparison is great - and the machine the author describes as his ideal is the good old 12" PowerBook updated for 2008. I have to agree that this is still missing in the Apple line-up. The MBA didn't fill this need, rather it created a whole new category of laptop all by itself.

(*) Would because I would be suspicious of the 11" screen, seems too small, and I am not going to buy another Windows laptop. I need OS X.

 

Now look who's sounding biased? I see you own a Mac but you make it sound like Apple's got some nerve allowing OS X to only run on their hardware.

At any rate what OS a machine runs is definitely a deciding factor when making a purchase and if the Sony doesn't run OS X then it's not the machine for someone who prefers OS X. Also how many times people on these forums say, " I want a Mac but I'll buy a PC because Macs can't play games". Well gaming is a deciding factor when making a purchase just as which machine is more capable of running the software you need.
The Sony is really crippled in this area whereas you can only use Windows software and the Macbook can run ANY software. The Sony is a dealbreaker in this category.

 

Apple is the only one preventing you from running OSX on a TZ. The hardware is the same except for a little chip that Apple puts in its computers that tells the OS that it's Steve-certified hardware.

 

And Linux, of course.

The only reason for this is Apple deciding that they don't want OS X to work on non-Apple hardware. It's no fault of Sony's.

I'm not trying to criticize Apple - I think they have every right to limit their software to their own hardware - but it's just not fair to blame Sony for the lack of OS X on their laptop.

 

It's not about blaming Sony, it's about purchasing choice and since the Sony can't run ALL software like the Macbook Air can I can't use the Sony, it's a deal breaker.

I understand your point however the same could be said in Apple's favor when it comes to certain developers (namely Autodesk/Autocad and certain games) never making OS X versions of their software. Because of this people tend to say Macs are a dealbreaker when it's not Apple's fault, it's the developer.

It's all about buying needs.

 

It's an extremely dumb article since as I just posted in another thread you can buy one of SZ Vaios instead of TZ.

Sony SZ series can have up to 2.6 ghz core 2 duo, nVidia 8400 vid. card, 200gb, 7200 rpm hard drive. you can upgrade ram, battery, it's also a 13.3 screen with better resolution than this mac, carbon fiber, and it just goes on and on. And it costs between $1500 - $2500 . And it's just as small. A little thicker, so what, what difference does it really make?

 

Mac OS

 

that's just another + for the Vaio, comes with an OS that can actually run decent programs and games.

 

Ok, listen...

I am windows user all my life, and I will switch to MacBook Air (Mac OS)

I will tell you my reasons:
- I am a web developer working from home and using desktop all the time, I just wanna be free from this desktop and just work anywhere anytime, so i need a laptop...

I am searching for a suitable one since i joined this forum, 6-7 months ago.. and I just want it to be SSD equipped bec I dont want it to be any slow and I like SSD advantages..
I got the TZ90 and sold it after 2 weeks, of course its nice but I couldn't work on 11" like 12hrs per day..

So I need another one but with SSD please, also I am into buying a beautiful design and I like innovation in being the lightest, smallest, thinnest and all these marketing words..

Also why not try the OS that is being said that its good, fast, no viruses and the list goes on..

So, for my kind of work, 1.6 GHz, Core 2 Duo, 2GB RAM + SSD will make it for me, sexy, light, thin, fast machine.. so why not?

Hmm,
- I still have desktop to install software or burn DVDs..
- I won't game.
- 1usb is enough for flash memory
- Electricity will always be in range

Yes, very expensive and No I am not rich.. but I will live once..

 

That's understandable, but 13.3 " display is just as bad. I can't imagine anybody working with graphics ( I assume that's a part of web development ) on anything smaler than 15" laptop.

 

Well no I am not working with graphics.. just very very minor photoshop edit from time to time..

But usually its coding, so all I need is like text editor and FTP..

So 13.3 would do it I think..

 

Many people, like myself, need an ultraportable as a second machine. It is not meant to be a primary laptop, only one that is used while traveling and not having the primary machine at one's hand.

I have a 17 inch laptop, but needed a small footprint computer for airplane, travel stops and when not at the desk.

I looked at the MacAir, but the footprint and size made it impractical. Add to that, the lack of ethernet and the lack of a built in DVD/CD reader made it a non-option.

I just picked up my SonyVaio TZ 195. It has a 48GB SSD. It is cheaper than the 64GB SSD and for my needs as a back up system, it has more than enough memory.

The footprint is amazingly small with an real life proven 5 hour batter on full computing power.

Not the fastest machine, but clearly good for my needs.

The MacAir is a beautiful machine. But is does not meet the needs of a mobile traveler looking for an alternative laptop for road use.

 

i really like the final comparison "punch"... os x is really a nice operating system
and to those who say they are limiting it only on apple machines... thats what gives it the stability

 

The only reason Steve Jobs compared the MBA to the TZ is to poke fun at the TZ's weaker processor, smaller screen and keyboards, which all ultraportables have, its a necessary compromise.

He made no compromises with the screen and keyboard as he's so proud to claim but then cut out so many ports
and features the TZ and other ultraportables have. Besides, what really defines an ultraportable mostly is the smaller footprint, not thinness. The MBA is not an ultraportable notebook, it has an identity crisis.

Most ultraportable owners and buyers are perfectly used to the limitations of their machines, are used to the slower speed, smaller screens and keyboards, but would like built in DVD drives, WWAN, memory card readers, more than one USB port, ethernet port, etc (which the TZ has). Most ultraportable users would rather have the latter than former.

All the things cut out of the MBA just to have a nice sized keyboard and screen and ooh, fit in a manila envelope aren't worth it.

Steve was too cowardly to compare it to the SZ or other 13.3" notebooks due to their similar footprints which would destroy his creation specs and feature wise , he only chose the smaller TZ to rag at its natural ultraportable limitations, meh.

 

They both run Linux, so the software comparison is useless.

 

Why are you on this forum? If you are not interested in anything but talking down the Mac OS the Windows forum has some great posts that would spark more of your interests such as anti-virus, registry cleaning and Vista drivers that still don't work. Take a good look.

 

Good comparison i thought. Highlights equally the advantages and disadvantages of both.

 

Because I'm bored with windows, nothing ever happens on any of my pcs, no problems or crashes whatsoever. It just works.

And my friend asked me to help him research. His mac is constantly freezing ( of course ) and he wants a new one, he heard about Apple using cheaper agere firewire cdhipsets ijn new machines, which render some sound interfaces unusable, and other things like that. Needles to say, I recommended to stay as far away from apple as possible, but as you know, you guys just won't listen to reason. So I am helping out, we are friends after all.

 

Wow, you need help. Call a shrink.

 

Mac OS X is, for many people, the reason to go to Mac. Sure, Windows has a larger selection of software, but Mac OS X is no slouch either, that's for sure. It definitely has more software compared to Windows than it has market share.

 

Typical infantile answer when there is not enough IQ to stick to the topic.

You asked why I was on this forum, I told you
Instead of infantile insults, you should put forth some facts. Do you know anything about firewire chipsets used in macs manufactured since october 2007. Do you know why professional audio interfaces costing as much or more that the macbook pro itself all of a sudden have problems , while they worked fine with older macs?

If you don't, enjoy your OSX and keep quiet.

 

That is an interesting problem and sounds like it needs to be explored further, but not here. Please explain what that has to do with the MBA which doesn't have a Firewire port?

 

It doesn't, but I was asked why I was on this forum and it was a simple explanation. Came here looking for info on that, then noticed some sony vs macbook air threads.

Or am I not allowed to look and join a discussion about macbook air.

Also the relevant answer to that, I did provide. The article was dumb because TZ is not in any way, shape, form a competitor to macbook air.
It's a small 11 inch notebook. Vaio SZ on the other hand is the same 13.3 inch screen, and has the same 12 x 9" footprint of the macbook air and same price range.

That is what he should have been comparing it to, but he was probably too embarassed for the mac to compare it to that, because as I'd already mentioned Vaio SZ series is a real laptop with top of the line parts and no compromises, and has the exact same footprint as macbook air. It's a little thicker, which is completely irrelevant considering what you get for that extra thickness.

If anybody feels OSX is still worth more than all that, fine, be my guest, but I'm entitled to my opinion just as anybody else.

 

well point

 

As much as I wanted to get the MBA, but after reading about it and seeing some reviews, the cons just seemed to outweigh the pros. I totally agree with the points made by poskok. There is a limit to how much you have to compromise by going with the MBA instead of the SZ.

 

Hmm, just the fact that you quoted poskok doesn't say much because the reviews have been very good in terms of the Air. He must have asked you to post here. The Sony is a big waste anyway since it unfortunately is stuck with Windows' sorry excuse for an OS (Vista).

Well this is a Mac forum, you're not going to convince any of us here that the Sony is a better choice because we prefer to run OS X the more superior OS. We can't downgrade to Windows at this time.

 

First of all you need to take off the Mac blinders for a sec and stop being so paranoid. Poskok is not paying me nor making me agree with him. I agree with him because he made points that make sense (to me atleast). A little common sense doesn't hurt so please feel free to try it sometime.

Secondly I'm the last to convince anyone to choose Sony over an Apple as I have always heard/read horror stories about their customer service and if you ever see my previous posts regarding Vaio's I have always complained about their keyboard and screen flex issues. But the SZ has so far been the only one that I truly liked that I saw for myself at my local BestBuy.

Lastly I have never owned a Sony laptop but have owned an Apple PB 12" and absolutely loved it. I just have the problem seeing the MBA worth the asking price, especially when compared to similar class laptops like the SZ (IMO). I'd much rather spend a bit more and go for the MBP (if OSX is a must) which would be well worth the price. Sliding the MBA under a door to impress friends at parties will get old after a while.