Official Sony S11/S12/S13 (2010) Owners Thread

I just got mine typing on it now. It's sooo beautiful.

It technically is released on Sunday (4 days) but I went to Best Buy and basically told them what is sitting in their warehouse and demanded that I buy it now, so they were like ok sure haha. I think I might very well be the first person in the country (US) to own one of these

So to end all discussion, it does have a glossy screen--which is what I prefer lol so I'm super happy.

Moderator Edit
Helpful links
HOWTO: Swap VPCS Series DVD Drive for a 2nd Hard Drive.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/sony/555620-howto-swap-vpcs-series-dvd-drive-2nd-hard-drive.html

 

how much was it? and do you have any pics?

 

Sorry for poor quality pics--iphone cam

 

wow that is very nice...how much did it cost?

 

Very reasonably priced at 1100 tax included. It's only available at Best Buy for the foreseeable future and thus uncustomizable--here are specs:

Intel Core i5 430m (2.26 w/ turbo)
Intel HD Graphics
13.3" 1366x768 720p LED LCD
4 GB DDR3
500GB HDD
DVD+/-RW
Weight: 4.4 lbs

And its Windows Experience Rating:


(I don't think the Intel graphics will be a shortcoming, they'll probably do just fine for most people's standard usage.)

 

Aaaaand here's what I'm upgrading from lol: a 5ish year old Sony FS Series...it looks just like it did the day I got it. I treat my stuff well ^_^ and I still love the machine.

 

Congrats. Does it have a backlit keyboard (looks like it.)

I guess its about 7oz heavier than the old SR. wonder how the build quality is.

 

This is what I posted as a quasi-review on this other sub-forum from which I got the info that led to me getting it early from best buy.

It's housed in a durable-feeling magnesium alloy, pretty light at 4.4 pounds, and very good looking (it does look quite like a macbook pro in my opinion, and that's def not a bad thing.) The screen is stunningly bright as I've come to expect from Sony, and the backlit keys are definitely a nice feature.

Best Buy apparently customized this and chose to leave out the Nvidia 310 discrete graphics that is normally available probably because Intel or someone told them that it wasn't necessary--that the new Intel HD graphics line would be more than capable for 95% of uesrs. And I'd agree with that. It also saves battery life by not having to switch between the built-in GPU that's on the Core i5 and the discrete card.

The Core i5 itself is indeed on the low end of the cores recently available on the market, but it's not significantly slower than the mid-range i5s that I was expecting so I had no hesitation in going forward with the purchase.

 

Thanks for keeping us informed! I'm in the market for a new laptop and this is one is on the top of my list. How's the fan noise and the heat produced? Any issues so far with the laptop?

 

Fan noise is pretty minimal, it doesn't seem to be getting very hot compared to laptops I've used in the past, it seems comparable to the Z which a relative of mine has.

Can't get over how sturdy this thing feels--esp compared to the aforementioned Z! The palm rest is very nice, it has this nice texture to it...

 

What's the battery life on this? I just bought a Y series because of the long battery life, but if this is anywhere close, I may return it.

 

$1100 USD
for a ...
1. 13.3" NON-FULL HD LCD
2. i5 430M
3. DVD+/-RW NO Blue-ray ROM
4. NO discrete graphics

I'm sure you could have get more advanced laptop than this with $1100. Anyway if you are happy then no need to say more.

 

Looks like a nice machine. I am interested in the battery life.

 

steep price for a repacked SR

how is the build quality all around? i understand the lid will be magnesium, but how is the body and the palm rest that its made of? still the cheap plastic?

 

That one looks very nice! I love the backlit keyboard! I thought that it was only available at a black sony S. Or does Sony changed her mind, and putted it on all the Sony S, silver, pink, etc.?

Do you already have tested the WIDI? How is it working?

 

6.6 score with WEI is not bad although this is I guesss when the CPU is in turbo mode.
I've ordered a week ago a CTO S-Series with a 540M and a 310M GPU, it's due to be completed by early next week.
I will be installing an Intel SSD on it the minute I receive it and will post WEI once it's all setup and running.

 

Since you ordered S version with 310M, do you know if your version of S will have GPU switch?

Your S will definitely have two GPUs since i5 has built in intel graphic. So S should have switch for it or it will be like auto mode on new Z.

 

Switchable graphics haven't been mentioned anywhere for the S so I suspect that it doesn't have it and it's possible the S motherboard won't have the circuitry to use both the discreet and integrated graphics.
Just an educated guess...

 

This would be VERY disappointing. However, not the first time Sony is limiting the internal hardware capabilities, remember the VT story.
Report back as soon as you get the machine, that's very interesting indeed.

Meanwhile, what's the battery life for the model with intel HD? try Battery Eater for tests, or just some real world benchmarks.

 

Congratz

I'm glad you're happy with it, but this news about a glossy screen is less cause for joy in my book.

 

What wireless card does it have?

 

Well, it's a no-discount Best Buy exclusive, what can you expect?

 

Agreed, between the price and glossy screen, I think I will pass.

 

Why would the S have switchable graphics? That would give people one more reason not to spend the extra money on a Z.

 

So what would you suggest as an alternative? I've been searching and can't find anything in this size package that has better specs for a lesser price. And what 13" out there has a full hd lcd?

 

How much will this thing cost WITH discrete graphics? I'm digging the keyboard.

 

you may want to look at the ASUS ul30vt-x1 and the ul30vt-a1, black and silver color respectively. Alternatively, you can wait for the ul30jt. There are all lightweight 13inch laptops with discrete graphics + ~12 hr battery for the a1 and jt with ~9 hr for the x1.

 

Since it has WiDi, that limits it to three Intel wireless cards;

Advanced-N 6200, Advanced N + WiMax 6250 or Ultimate N6300

 

Yeah it's the Advanced-N 6200 in mine

 

rofl, sorry to break it to you...but you'll not find a 13.3" LCD that natively supports 1920x1080/1080p resolution. Period.

And as much as people cringe at the intel hd graphics, it can support dual 1080p screens simultaneously were one to have a docking station operation. The new generation of intel graphics is scoring quite well on the windows rating, and will be sufficient for all but the higher-end gaming aficionados.

 

Can you make more photos of your notebook? Or maybe a video?

How are the perfomance? And do you already have tried the WIDI?

 

I'll repeat the previously stated battery life question.

Im hoping that the silence is not because it has a <3hr usable life.

 

Thanks. I'm not up to speed on WiDi yet so I didn't know that.

Good deal, I was hoping it had 5GHz.


Best Buy lets out the WiDi-enabled Sony Vaio S a week early:
http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/14/best-buy-lets-out-the-widi-enabled-sony-vaio-s-a-week-early/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=pingfm

 

I haven't really tested that yet, but I'm guessing it's in the 5ish range.

 

I dropped by Best Buy (Union Square, NYC) and low and behold, they had the S-Series there.

The tag for the computer advertises 5 hours of Battery Life.

 

You forget there are other brands making notebooks.

From the top of my head the Z will still stand out with its (larger) SSDs, the 330m graphics card, much better screen and the auto switching stuff. There probably is more, but it's late and I'm too tired to really think much. These are pretty interesting aspects and make the Z rather unique.

 

Best Buy lets out the WiDi-enabled Sony Vaio S a week early:
http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/14/best-buy-lets-out-the-widi-enabled-sony-vaio-s-a-week-early/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=pingfm[/QUOTE]

This is a circular link - lol

They got their information from this thread. The pictures and everything came from the guy who bought it (Dubbs?) from Bestbuy by telling them they had it in their warehouse and he wanted it

Now that is amusing. I think the news people sit here and read these posts all day long to get their stories.

 

Yep, this is how Engadget gets their info, nothing they post is original. Just look at the source and the end of each post. Still, it's nice to have a concise location for tech news.

 

haha yeah, never thought I'd make the front page of Engadget, one of my fav tech/gadget blogs

 

I think a list of the Best Buy stores/areas selling the NEW Sony S-Series laptops EARLY would be really helpful and otherwise help appease those of who are dying to get our hands on this lsptop.

How about if dubbs gets us started on the list since he got the first one,

Greg

 

I got mine in Grand Rapids, MI (Store 409)

Best Buy
3900 Alpine Ave Nw
Grand Rapids, MI 49321

Some other guy posted that he has one from Austin, TX

 

Share the love folks, post some reviews and pics!

 

Marky111 asked a good question about the Y, which is also a good question about the S:

 

What is the battery drain issue? And how do I test that?

 

I checked the Best Buy in Union Square, NYC and they had the F Series, S-Series, and the CW Series with i3.

 

I think the battery drain issue is when the laptop drains battery even when the laptop is off.

Have you experienced any battery draining with your S-series? I've heard horror stories about the SR-series draining about 30% of battery life overnight when it was off (Turning it off at 100% at night and waking up the next morning with 70%).

 

Yup, off and disconnected.

 

Gotcha--will test that tonight then.

 

Hey I just bought mine. I spent the last hour trying to figure out my warranty information. Did you get a 2 year manufacturer warranty as specified by Blue Label laptops? Also, did you get your Netgear Push 2 Tv Adaptor yet? They didn't know anything about it so I'll likely come back Sunday.

Edit: One more thing, how do you turn on Turbo Boost? I couldn't find it in the bios.

 

The Vaio S contains a docking station port correct? If so, any chance the old SR docking station will work for the VPC-S?