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

I'm also eager to know how better 310m is when compared to integrated graphics? If there is no much improvement,I 'm ready to ignore it for better battery.

 

It was actually the same with Adolf Hitler.He didn't see all those people who were killed in his name!

After being here for a while you look more determined now.

 

Huh ?

 

310M is placed 102nd by the benchmarks.
Intel GMA HD is on place 151.

Hope that answers your qustion.

 

@ehosey2
Life is getting much more boring,,,lol

 

Well, I think 102 is enough for moderate gaming.Am I wrong?

 

@PEEGGY

I thought about commenting on what you said but I'll do my best to keep the discussion relavent to the topic.

So PEEGY, are you dead set on the S as well or have you considered other options ?

Gracy, what VAIO notebook have you been able to see in person to get a sense of the hardware and durability questions you might have ?

 

What a pity, people will never be able to see your pimples... a real tragedy!

And what about the "Caps Lock" indicator? Let us talk about it... it's just a simple average quality green led! It's a shame that Sony doesn't provide a super high quality led! This is unacceptable, I expected more from Sony, to me is a no go.

Seriously: I use a QuickCam 9000 Pro on my desktop, I bought it for its image quality, expecially in low light environments, not because of the 2Mpxl capability. High quality video calls can be very bandwidth demanding, 0.3Mpxl should be fine for many users.

 

The 310 is just like the previous 210 card as far as performance. It's a bit less performance wise than the ATI Radeon HD 4570, but you can play SIMS at good settings or other modern games at low to medium settings at acceptable FPS. You want full on gaming, look for a VAIO with a 330m if you want the latest in a somewhat compact computer.

 

Just setting it up now, very early impressions are good. It's a very solid machine and doesn't feel as fragile as my Z & X series.

Will post more later...

 

@ehosey2
I'll appreciate your irrelevant comments as well.

about graphics: intel can do sims too(with customized settings),so I don't think 310 worth the battery shortage.

I'll also consider macbook pro 13" if they release it till end of Feb.

 

I'd be grateful if you could post some photo's, especially of the screen. is the screen glossy at all?

Cheers

 

The screen is glossy and has limited vertical viewing angle, it seems like laptops from other manufacturers.

 

Just a suggestion - read at least the last 6-7 pages of this thread - you will find some answers of the questions you are going to ask - if you had read them you'd know whether it is glossy and how much compared to others.

 

Having trouble getting WWAN working. It doesn't seem to detect my Vodafone SIM card even though it's inserted correctly. Hmm....

 

Works on my machine.
Are you using Vodafone Mobile Connect ?
If not, you need to setup the username/password for the connection, can't remember what it is, web/web maybe, check Vodafone UK forum on google.
WWAN works ok but latest VMC doesn't seem to work correctly with this hardware, it doesn't detect when a new connection has been established for instance and neither it does show how much content has been downloaded making monitoring quota just a little bit more challenging

 

hey Steve WWAN is the last step of the review.post some photos. What about palm rest? does it feel plastic? do you have any audio related issues?

 

Palm rest feels plastic-ish but it's pretty well glued on.
It's covered by a weird textured material.
Hard to tell if it's hardwearing.
I wish there were less angles around the palm rest, more places for dirt to get stuck in.

 

All eyes on you Steve Let's read how that screen's treating you

 

I guess audio related issue is only reported on machines with 310m graphics?

 

Just got off the phone with a Sony Rep. She said the S Series will be available on the Sony Style website the first week of March(USA). She originally said the first few days, and then changed it to the first week. I made sure she knew I was talking about the S series and not the SR. She gave me the answer right away, where I figured I would have to wait while being put on hold (usually happens when they don't know anything) See what happens I guess.

 

Hi, I need help,

want to buy, but very confused as SONY's official specs shows BATTTERY LIFE of UP TO 3 hours (so low ????) while users in this forum and in some reviews (including PC PRO) shows usage reports of over 5 hours with wifi.

Which one is true? Up to 3 hours will be abysmally low battery life, because actual usage usually much less than manufacturer claims. How come this time they claim 3 hours while real time usages shows 5 hours+?

thanks. Hope some owners can give me information.

 

In Sony Japan, they report around 5 hours for "stamina" mode,7.5 hours for the extended battery. Most people around here got 5+ hours with power saving mode i think.

Also ,the claim of 3 hours is depending on the battery test program

 

Looks like Sony fixed the problem with the Trackpad not responding after resume, apparently fixed via BIOS update (R0281 Q3).

 

A small contribution regarding the screen:

I went to the store again today. They still don't have the Sony S, but I was able to play with the Sony Y (which is supposed to have the same screen as the Sony S as far as I know) and compare it to other laptops around.

Viewing Angle: I was pleased to find out that all read about the vertical viewing angle is only partially true! Yes, it is in fact more narrow then some other notebooks I looked at, but in my opinion is nothing to be worried about! I moved it back and forth numerous times and I do believe the sweet spot is bright enough, so unless you use your laptop while running in the park - you shouldn't feel limited by the screen, once you adjust it to a good position. Nevertheless, only people who have been using it for some time can say if that is really true, but I found it quite ok and similar to most other laptops around! Don't think this would bother me.

Brightness, colors, vividness, etc: Here comes something that I am much more worried about then the viewing angle. The colors did in fact look washed out! next to it there was a Sony F and while taking into account that it has a totally different screen (Full HD, non-glare, etc.), the difference was more then obvious. The standart pictures offered by the store on each PC looked so vivid and alive on the F. The colors were saturated (maybe even a bit oversaturated) and popping out of the screen, while on the Y they looked as if there was a thin grey filter on top... somehow dull. I didn't check so many PCs in total, but from the rest I looked at, only a few Samsungs and Acer had pretty much the same picture quality as the Y. The rest seemed to perform better. I was surprised to see that MacBook Pro aside, even the HP Envy (13 inch) had brilliant colors and screen in general compared to the Sony Y.

It's true that one can't have it all, but it is such a pity that they failed with the screen so badly.

To be honest I am now thorn between buying the S while compromising the screen... or maybe buying the F together with a 10" netbook to travel with - the total price of both would be the same as the price of the S...

Tough one

 

To showcase how frustrating the screen is, I was on Messenger with a friend and in the window the top 4 lines looked bold whereas the rest looked normal.

I think I will keep the S, it's plenty powerful enough and although I still don't think it's as solid as a MBP, especially on the paint department, it's very powerful and pretty well put together, I will fit in my SSD and the machine will fly even more

 

Now you are starting to understand what pehaps I have not explained as good as you just did...the loss of colors and the dullness, which does in fact occur with the S, CW, and as you said Y series depending on the degree of the viewing angle. And in my opinion it is a situation which happens in a manner more than it really should. Also remember that the notebook beyond desk use...say you buy the S series...if it is in your lap while sitting on the couch you might become more bothered by the washout effect with just simple body adjustments and you find yourself tilting the screen depending on how you are sitting with it in your lap to achieve optimal view and effect.

The F series 16.4 inch with the Full HD screen or maybe the rumored upcoming 17.3 inch M series and a decent netbook from Samsung, ASUS, or Toshiba with 2GB of RAM and the N450 processor is a good choice to make. Glad you were able to get some hands on experience.

 

Just to add - all I wrote about the colors and vividness was actually observed in perfect position of the screen... out of that position the quality of image becomes worse of course, but I still believe that the viewing angle was not so narrow to be a reason for concerns... I could be wrong of course.

In other words - I would have been happy if in perfect position of the screen (even if it is a bit more precise then by others) the image quality was good. Unfortunately though it is more to be rated as "satisfying" but far from good.

And as I kept on saying that denying is easy, but suggesting alternatives is much harder - from what I saw there are many others with the same quality display - to name a few - Samsung (don't remember the models I checked out) and Acer. On the other hand, I did see better and if we should exclude the bigger ones as they belong to a different class, then MacBook Pro (all sizes) and HP Envy (both 13" and 15") were looking without doubt better!

The HP had the same resolution so the resolution is really the last thing one should be concerned about IMO.

16.4" is really my upper limit for size and even above it ) I wouldn't go for bigger no matter what - I still would like to be able to transport it..... at least with a car

But for those who insist on having 13-14" with i5 or i7 CPU, there are currently only 3 options:

1. Buying the S but understanding that the screen is as I said just or even below "satisfying" in every aspect and to me mainly the image quality - colors, vividness and so on.

2. Buying a bigger one with better screen and features in combination with a netbook that won't matter that much and will be even easier to travel with.

3. Waiting for something better to come around, for example an MBP "i" update which shouldn't take too long - it is already late. From what is currently on the market - the choice is far from great in the small class... Unfortunately the HP Envy has "i" only on the 15" version. The 13" still features yesteryear CPUs

 

Just read a expert review about Y:"The VAIO Y boasts a gorgeous 13.3-inch LED-backlit display that offers vivid colors and excellent contrast levels. When we streamed an episode of 24 on Hulu at full screen, horizontal viewing angles were generous, and we noticed a high level of detail even in standard definition mode. "

 

i5 is not a huge improvement over C2D (11~20%), so I won't wait too much for new ones to arrive.

 

I pasted that review a few pages back. I can't share this opinion at least not based on my experience today!

Yes it is! It is not all performance that metters... browse some more to read more about electrical and thermal efficiency and many other improvements made! And why buy an outdated product anyway, even if it is just a 5% gain!? I wouldn't - I'll wait for my "i" to come around.

 

Battery life is almost the same with previous generation.Who cares about WiDi?

Cause they play nasty games to force people to pay $2000+ for a 1.5kg machine which can serve you for about 2~3 years.They always sacrifice something:SR didn't have gigia Ethernet, and battery was poor with DDR2 technology.now they have added giga to S with acceptable battery, but they have totally ruined the display.
So you know the screen is not what you want,are you still going to wait for this?
I believe next macbook pro 13" will be i3+intel graphics ,thereby not much improvement over existing macbooks unless they put IPS display in.

My time worth much more than spending on these nasty games!

 

Actually, the SR590 does have the Gigabit Ethernet Port on the right side in front of the 2 USB ports.

The battery life really depends on how you configure it to be used. In the VAIO Control Center, you can decide what things to turn off and you can also decide to configure whether you want to use the built in Intel graphics or by leaving it to the default setting of ATI Radeon HD 4570 while on the battery. It's not a hardware switchable solution but nonetheless, it is a way to improve battery life. Btw, I leave everything on with the screen at one notch below full brightness and get about 6 hours with the extended battery. You can get an SR without the ATI Radeon 4570 for longer battery life also.

The screen on the SR590 is gorgeous with excellent viewing angles and good color and clarity. It's an X-BRITE-ECO with LED backlight with 1200 x 800 screen resolution.

 

Or simply buy the new Vaio Z in March

 

My budget is way below the Z Beside that - I still would prefer metal...

 

I just checked the price difference and it is indeed approx. 500 EUR. I thought it's a bit less.

(But for the metal, I think you won't feel more metal in the S than in the Z. Rather the opposite, especially because of the one-piece aluminum keyboard part in the Z.)

 

It's more then 500 euros the S is currently about 1150 euros, and the Z starts at 1800 I think...... quite a lot of money for a better screen

As far as I know there isn't much metal in the Z, while in the S there is magnesium alloy. any way - it's more the money that would stop me then the material

But I am really looking for something solid and rugged as I have 3 broken laptops behind my back... That's why I aimed at the S... damn screen.

Can't find any other metal 13-14" notebook with i5 or i7 only the HP Elitebook which is 14" and corresponds to some american military standarts for ruggedness... but there are other disadvantages there...

I think I'll wait some more... I am also afraid MBP 13" will come up with an i3 which is unacceptable but let's see.

Btw I read a very detailed review about the Sony F - it is supposed to be quite good, but as issues:

1. Loud and unevenly working FAN that irritates
2. Battery life about 1,5 h

noone and nothing is perfect

Btw is there no manual way to enhance the saturation and maybe contrast on the S' display??

 

@ehosey2
Is that giga or fast Ethernet? I believe speed is 100Mbps
I expect around 3 hours with 4800 mAh Li-ion battery.
And it's nice if it is software switchable graphics

 

SR has Fast Ethernet, my error. The Z has Gigabit Ethernet.
Three hours...yes and more depending on your setup.
Software switchable, yes.


Per Sony Style :
CommunicationsFast Ethernet (RJ-45) Protocol
10Base-T/100Base-TX
Integrated V.92/V.90 Modem (RJ-11)
Wireless LAN: Intel® WiFi Link 5100AGN (802.11a/b/g/n)13
Integrated Stereo A2DP Bluetooth® technology

 

I compared the CTO S on the German SonyStyle site with the Z on the Dutch SonyStyle site.

The HDD models (with i5-520M, 4GB RAM, 320GB 5400RPM) cost 1013 and 1499 Euros respectively. The Z does not have here an optical drive but has better screen and GPU.

The SSD models (i5-520M, 4GB RAM, 128GB SSD) cost 1243 and 1799 Euros respectively.

I don't want to go offtopic about the Z here in the S owner thread but in this video you'll see what the new Z is made of. Btw. the other videos from the series are also interesting.

 

Have you watched the MacBook Pro Unibody video? I'm sorry to say that but the link you posted looks like a japanese version of that movie.... Even the text is almost the same!
pity so many companies just copy... instead of invent!

In the german sonystyle the Z starts from 1798,98 euros.

Btw I don't think this discussion is completely offtopic as we are discussing possible alternatives and solutions to what S is apparently unable to offer.

 

Well yeah, they're both praising their pieces of aluminum...but the Japanese guys seem much more competent/credible to me, the Apple guys look funny

The German SonyStyle site is currently being updated, so soon, you'll find the other options, too.

 

Except that there may be reasons why may go for the S rather than the Z.
For instance, the original Z screen had that strange problem with the diagonal lines whenever the screen was moved just a bit for instance, mildly frustrating.
I've got the Z and now the S and the S is way better put together than the first gen Z which creaks a little too much for a premium product.
In adition to that, the original Z had serious design issue with the screen touching the palmrest and getting damaged in the same time, not going to happen with the S from what I can tell.

I feel I can safely transport the S without having it inside the leather Z cover which weights about 300g, nearly negating most of the weight difference between both laptops.

 

Yep but with a plastic feeling when touching.

Considering all that broken notebooks, it could be the right choice
Anyway, I'm still unable to find something (overall) better in the 13" range (MBP exluded).

I think Apple will offer i5 as well.

 

I'm quite interested in the S-series, just a couple of questions:

Is it possible to manually install the WWAN module after the purchase? I know I could configure it with WWAN from sonystyle, but here CTO models are more expensive than preconfigured ones.

Did someone try to install linux on S11, or to run a LiveCD on it? Just to check if new wlan cars are supported, mainly.

Does Core i3 support hardware virtualization?

Thanks in advance

 

No, because you'll not have the aperture for inserting the SIM even though the qualcomm card is present.

Not yet, but l'll do as soon as I buy it (I'm mainly a linux user). However looking at the specs and the windows drivers, I'd say there won't be any problem, apart keyboard backlit and brightness autoregulation.

Yes, but no VT-d. http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id=47663&processor=i3-330M&spec-codes=SLBMD,SLBNF
I believe using an i3 processor for virtualization is a bad idea.

 

Thanks, Sheldon! I was interested in virtualization just to run MS Office and some old game (like half life 2) in virtualbox w/ winXp. I guess wine can handle them, after all.

 

I'll try and post some photos tonight. I have set it up and installed my apps and stuff, so hopefully I'll be able to actually use it tonight!

I haven't had any issues with the screen. It has a slight gloss but it's not as bad as the vast majority of other laptops with glossy screens. It's more than acceptable! I don't understand what all the fuss and negativity is about.

I'm very impressed with the build quality. It feels very solid & sturdy. The keyboard as with all Vaio's is excellent (I have the backlit keyboard) and the touchpad like the Z series is large and very responsive.

When I ran Vaio Update, it updated the BIOS which fixed a known issue where the trackpad was unresponsive or something like that.

 

Frankly, neither I. Being not so reflective it's alone a huge pro, there are laptops where you can see absolutely nothing.

Agree. Just a question: is it a CTO Vaio? Is the battery a bit loose in its slot? I'm trying to understand whether CTO are affected by the battery "issue".

 

Yes, CTO. Battery is fine. There's a very, very, very small amount of movement, but it's nothing to worry about. Bearing in mind it's going to spend most of the time either on my desk or on my lap, the fraction of a millimetre the battery moves isn't an issue.

Some people are far too fussy...