x200 vs sony z series

which should i get?
these are the pros and cons i have for both

x200
pros:
-cheaper
-smaller
-lighter
-longer battery life
cons:
-might be too small
-WXGA resolution
-no touchpad
-no optical drive

Z series
pros:
-optical drive
-1600*900 resolution
-touchpad
cons:
-expensive
-heavier

what do you think?

 

Other Pros for the x200:

- Keyboard (possibly the best of any notebook at any size)
- Superb durability
- Docking station support (does the Z offer this?)
- Better heat/noise management

There are a few big question you have to ask yourself:

How dependent are you on Touchpads (in particular, have you ever used the TrackPoint on a ThinkPad for any duration of time)? If you normally need to carry a mouse around anyway, this becomes a moot point.

How frequently do you need an optical drive, have you considered using software like ImgBurn and Daemon tools to take optical disc images with you, but leave the discs behind?

How much of a stickler are you for display quality, because this is one area where the x200 is sorely lacking (the x200s/x200T are better in this regard, but more expensive)?

Once you have the answer to these questions, it will be easier to come up with a solution for you. In my opinion the x200 is a far superior choice if you can live with the less than great display.

 

better a panasonic toughbook W7. look into that

 

I believe the Z has a dedicated docking station port on the bottom, like the Thinkpads.

Another factor to consider is the semi-glossy (Z) versus matte (X200) screen, whichever one you prefer.

The Z also has superior graphics performance with its dual switchable graphics Nvidia 9300GS.

 

the docking station for the Z only has 3 usb and 1 dvi

I also like matte lcd better
i think for the x200, when the warranty is up, I will switch it to the boehydis flexview
also, I am thinking about getting a mouse with the nano receiver if i get a x200
for optical drive, i just simply like having one just for the sake of convenience, it is not mandatory that i need one

 

Toughbooks are rarely a laptop you would recommend to someone. People in the market for toughbooks usually know about them, heh.

 

I just wanted to point out that the x200 is only lighter than the z if has the 4cell battery...in which case it won't have a longer battery life.

 

I think op should look at a x30x as well if willing to trade off battery life for some of the features that were pros for the sony (or closer to it).

 

is that true?
x200
4-cell battery 1.34 kg / 2.95 lbs - 4 hours (guessing)
6-cell battery 1.47 kg / 3.24 lbs - 6 hours (guessing)
9-cell battery 1.63 kg / 3.58 lbs - 9 hours

z series
4-cell battery - 4 hours
6-cell battery - 5-6 hours

I cant find the weight of the z series. the only thing i can find is that it is 1.5 kb, but i do not know if that is for a 4 cell or a 6 cell

the x300 is too expensive for me. it also has the low voltage cpus which are slower than the p series

 

You can find x300 laptops in the outlet and do you really need the CPU power? Most people do not.

 

that might be a possibility. right now i ruled out the z series cause it is too expensive. the x200 is $950 with the configurations that I want. if the x300 isnt that much more expensive, I might go for it.

on a side note, what is the difference between the x301 and the x300? do both of them have digital video out?

 

Go for Lenovo and skip out on overpriced Sony products. The pricing on Thinkpads is spot on - you pay for a quality machine. The X200 (which I'm using) is able to reach 7 hours of battery life on the 6 cell while surfing the web. It's an excellent machine.

 

The x301 has DisplayPort (the x300 does not). The x301 also offers a moderately faster processor (Montevina platform) and a marginally faster integrated GPU (x4500MHD vs. x3100) that is capable of accelerating decoding of h264. Aside from that, the x300 and x301 are identical.

 

The Sony Z does not have a 4 cell battery, it comes standard with a 6 cell 58whr battery and you can buy an extended 9 cell battery. The x200 Lenovo 6 cell battery is a 56whr battery.

The Sony Z weighs 3.42lbs with a 6 cell battery. Users have obtained 6 hours using the 6 cell battery in power saver mode etc using wifi. I don't see why the x200 should have better battery life.
Lenovo lists the x200 weight with a 6 cell battery starting at 1.47kg. I'm not quite sure what the starting at actually means in this case. Normally it means that the laptop has been weighed with the lightest possible config, SSD drive, no webcam etc.

One advantage that you missed out is that the Z has got a HDMI port. This is good if you want to connect your laptop to your LCD TV without the need for any extra cables etc.

Edited to add:
In this review the x200 with a 6 cell battery, standard drive and webcam weighed 1.55kg 3.41lbs.
http://www.pcpro.co.uk/reviews/228786/lenovo-thinkpad-x200.html

They also weighed the low end Z at 1.43kg 3.15lbs.
http://www.pcpro.co.uk/reviews/233496/sony-vaio-vgn-z21mnb.html?searchString=sony+z
Trusted Reviews weighed the higher spec Z (the one that has built in HSDPA) at 1.48kg 3.26lbs so it is even lighter than i thought it to be.

 

The screen on Sony Z is superior to the X200 screen in the following aspects:
-Brightness
-Contrast
-Blacklevels
-Color accuracy
-Viewing angles

Measurements can be found on Notebookjournal and Notebookcheck.

The glossy coating on the Z screen does not cause reflections is my experience. And because of the much higher brightness the Z is more suitable for work outside.

The 6 cell battery on Sony Z does not stick out, on the X200 it sticks out.

 

The screen is better basically in every metric I am sure. The 6cell battery on the x200 does not stick out the back, but slightly raises the machine (1.5cm or something?).

 

I'm interested how a glossy panel can not cause reflections. Isn't reflection an inherent property of a gloss coating? Unless it's covered with some special material which makes gloss not glossy?

 

There are different levels of gloss. They all cause reflections and many even act as mirrors that you could shave by. However, the Sony Z is not excessively glossy. In general the worst gloss machines are the ones that combine edge-to-edge glass (AKA frameless borders) on top of a glossy display.

 

You are right. Sony Z's screen is covered with a special protective coating. It isn't reflective at all. (I've owned a Z).

At first the Z may seem overpriced, but if you take into account the fact that it comes with a touchpad, dvd drive, higher quality LCD display and a standard 6 cell battery, it does not seem so overpriced any more.

The LCD display by itself probably costs $200 more.

 

Also, the speakers of the x200 are underneath the notebook.

I really loved my x60T when i had it but I have to say that the speaker was awful. If you buy this laptop just remember you will probably need headphones for most multimedia.

 

The Sony z-series have truly amazing specifications for the size. I would love if Lenovo could be inspired by at least some of them. I've never seen the combination of fast CPUs, discrete graphics, optical drive, and high resolution screen in such a small and light laptop before.

With that said, I still consider the X200s my ultimate machine. The reasons I prefer it over the z-series are:

• Price, the X200s is much much cheaper
• Weight, the X200s is even lighter
• Lack of optical drive, I use it two times a year, no need to carry around
• Keyboard is best in class
• Trackpoint is preferred by me after using it for years
• Design is less fragile and easier to the eyes (black)
• Battery life is very good with integrated graphics and low power CPUs

 

You forgot to mention the Z's switchable graphics. And its really nice styling.

Yeah, I think the X200 and the Z are both priced fairly considering what you get in each case.

 

I found the Z to have a very loud fan compared to the lenovos. This bothered me. I also found it to be flimsy. I had keyboard marks, permanent ones, in carved into the screen. Although this could have been a result of sending it back to Sony support and having them fix the broken motherboard.

 

True, the Z makes quite a lot of noise when the CPU is under load. When doing simple tasks (not CPU intense), with the right selected profile it's possible to make it very quiet.

The screen is very thin, it will easily touch the keyboard. To protect it you need a screen/keyboard protector. A simple piece of packaging material can also do the trick.

 

Here's my experiences and my thought process around the Z and other computers ... it may or may not help you:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=376202