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

A little bit, but not much, the viewing angles are still not very good.

 

I agree with wii. There is not improvement of angles but matte screen causes distortion less significative because glossy brightness, no more.
I have the same Vikuiti filter of wii. To me the real improvement is in having the matte screen.

About angles, the distortion is quite normal. I don't know any laptop without that.

check in example the MacBookPro (with glossy display):

 

Yeah, the only true great viewing angles in a laptop are those with IPS screens, but they are rare, 2nd best is the Dreamcolor panel of the HP 8730w, but we are talking about twice as much as the VAIO S, with the matte screen I have now, it's good enough, the calibration is important too.

 

SSD owners, I need your help
On older laptops the SATA controller in the southbridge used to perform much slower that the desktop counterpart, resulting sometimes in a bottleneck when coupled with a SSD drive. Could you please show performance test results (especially about random 4k blocks operations) when using your SSD with your Vaio S? Thanks

 

I compared side by side a MBP (unibody, first gen with glossy screen) and my Vaio S at work and they're not comparable.
Picture does deteriorate noticeably less on the MBP than on the S where it's perfectly readable with a larger range of viewing angle.

 

I have done the same comparison with the current MBP and must agree that you just can't compare them... the only thing they have in common is the size and the fact that they both use LED technology!

The MBP has a much wider gamut and that is visible even without special equipment - the reviews just proove it.
Every screen has a limited viewing angle... but if the sony S has 10 degr vertical, the MBP has 30!

It's like comparing Opel with BMW....

 

I think it might be coming at least to the UK. I've not seen this posted yet or may be i missed it.
http://www.oyyy.co.uk/product.php/1...-7-pro-64bit/9fcdc015ced41ae3ba9fef8ae07aafe6

http://geizhals.eu/?such=Core i5-520M&a=73484188

It would be awesome if Sony allowed this laptop to be configured with a high res higher end display also. Although by the sound of it most owners seem to be ok with their display once calibrated. Still a knock out display would be a strong selling point.
If only it had switchable graphics to. The 13.3 size is perfect for my needs.

 

Damn that looks hot. An S series with a 330GT and an SSD. I will take one of those please!!!!

 

Not that this is correct, but the Saleperson @ the local Sony Stlye store said he believed that the S would be available to order in the U.S. on the 12th of this month. Don't know if he correct but it's the first time I've heard of a specific date and also mentioned that they would be stocking 2 "S" models at prices around $1100 & $1500 with some upscale options (ie. blu-ray). Also stated that he thought the base model would start at what the SR had been sellling for $899, possibly as low as $849

 

Sheldon, I ran CrystalDiskMark 2.2 on my Sony VPCS111FM which has an Intel X25-V SSD. See attached screenshot.

The system boots almost 3x faster (20 secs from Windows Starting screen) than with the original hard drive. Generally, programs respond instantaneously. Much faster than the original drive.

The Intel X25-V SSD is a great value, and great performer if you can live within 40GB. SSDs won't crash like so many of my other notebook drives. That feature alone is worth the price. I upgraded all my notebooks to SSDs after my development notebook crashed during a customer site project. I'm so done with spinning media.

 

hey 10JQKA

What is your setting for your monitor?

 

Question: Does the S series have the same screen as the Y? And can anyone confirm this by the monitorID?

 

As far as my short research went - yes. It is quite logical too... they were released at the same time.

 

Laptopmag reviews the S-series:
http://www.laptopmag.com/review/laptops/sony-vaio-s-series.aspx

 

Only 3 1/2 stars...

 

... Nevertheless: " The bright 13.3-inch (1366 x 768) glossy display on the VAIO S delivered good image quality when we watched a Saturday Night Live clip from Hulu. And despite having a glossy finish, we enjoyed decent viewing angles from the sides and reflections were bearable. However, we needed to tilt the display back a bit to get the best picture. "

Interesting.
Combining all reviews until now, the screen should be anything but not worse then average... that's good news.

 

You should never rely on stars as a way to rate the product, not only are the stars relative to what they think is currently its competition but it also doesn't inform you whether the product suits your needs.

Hell, the Sony Z-series got only 4 stars even though it is the best in its own category.

You should read the review instead.

 

Ahhh, if only the Z were less expensive... I'd take it with only 2 stars.

 

it's a review quite equilibrated. I don't have any complaint of my Vaio S. But I think the review has been quite benevolent with this:
- "tiny" is not the proper word for the sound. Sound is really bad, specially when Sony has own technology to mount something better.
- camera quality, because improving the quality seems to be no significative difference according cameras in the market.

I agree very much about battery, screen, design, and the rest. This is a powerful laptop. I'm happy with this purchase, because I think there is not other so good in the same segment. My only doubt was with Toshiba U500 but I prefered Sony mainly because design and keyboard.

However, I cannot understand why this comparative uses the Toshiba E250 but ignores the Toshiba U500 http://laptops.toshiba.com/laptops/satellite/U500 . This is the more direct competence in price and specs.

 

Now add to that the possible 128GB SSD and the Nvidia 330GT coming in the future, and you will have the most perfect laptop EVER!!!! (Maybe I am just a little bit to excited)

 

SSD is a possible update or optional upgrade... but I don't think they will ever offer a better GPU - most of the business class notebooks don't even have a dedicated GPU and if - no better then the 310...
it's just not a multimedia notebook and will never be.

 

I would have agreed with you, but a few euro shops have started adding inventory for that exact thing. This is the same thing that happened before the EB, EC, EA and other Sony notebooks were announced. If that model does exist, it looks like for around $1300BP you get a i5-520, 6gb ram, GT330, 128GB SSD. It would make the S exactly what it should be, a heavier construction Z. I am excited and while it hasn't truly been officialised anywhere, lets see what happens on the 14th of this month!

 

Thank you very much. As I imagined the sata controller is limiting the SSD performances on random reads and writes. Was your laptop in power saving mode when you run the test?
BTW, I'm already convinced about buying an SSD, I'm just considering whether to buy a bigger and slower SSD than the Intel one (128GB vs. 80GB).

Probably because the reviewer is retarded. First of all I can't see why he is suggesting a 14" to people considering a 13". Then, why is proposing to people looking for a sober, good looking, professional like notebook a sort of ugly carousel [1]?

[1] Is it really possible to buy such a monster? Was everyone drunk at Toshiba when they decided to sell this thing?

 

Some people don't care about the design.



Those people are from Toshiba

 

I also have an ssd on my vaio s, but an X-25M variant. It runs just about the same as what you clocked in. With all the apps I have on the lappie, I just have around 20gigs left of storage space. Good thing it has 2 mem-card slots, so I popped in a 32gb sdhc and a16gb sony stick, for added storage. I have to agree with the ssd performance. So much faster and hardly any lags. I can't go back to slow- 5400s nor 7200s.

 

The author wrote it conditionally - " If you don’t mind carrying a heavier but still portable 14-inch notebook , we recommend the $899 14-inch Toshiba Satellite E205"
Do you at all have an idea what the difference in size between 13.3" and 14" is?? It is 1.78cm !! Do you see now why he is suggesting a 14" alternative? Maybe because the difference is less then a fingernail!

Design is a matter of personal taste and should be one of the least important things to consider when buying technics... most people work on those things and don't just put them in a frame.

Although I also like the Sony S more, E205 does not look that ugly to me...

 

Looks like a tank. Not my style, and I am pretty open to most laptops.

....and astestics are important to people. Not so much for myself (though I wouldn't bring the Alienware M11X to a business meeting though). There are quite a few people that treat a laptop/desktop like a car etc...

 

I really can't wait for my laptop now, I am only apprehensive about one thing and that's the screen size...

I went to my local Sony Style center earlier in pursuit of one of those cool neoprene cases and they happened to have an SR notebook there and next to it was an E series laptop and I couldn't quite believe the difference 2.1 inches is on a laptop screen.

I have come from a 15.4" FZ series laptop and I was just wondering whether anyone else has gone from this size to 13.3" before and how did they find it?

 

There is a significant difference: while the S can be still considered a (almost) very portable/ultraportable computer the Toshiba certainly not due to its size and 350g more. Moreover, even considering this Toshiba a good looking notebook (well, is it really possible? ), the aesthetics clearly say they are targeted for different kind of users/customers. So it is stupid to suggest something probably not interesting for a S oriented customer (well, I suppose that the reviewer didn't know what to say and reviewed that Toshiba a few days before). "If you don't mind"... well, if we don't mind we can consider every single 14" or even 15". I totally agree that the S should be compared with something else.

While it is true that "de gustibus non disputandum est", you're terribly wrong. We are not talking about a motherboard that will be placed into a closed case, there are lots of notebooks with similar specs from many brands, so why should people, spending 1000€/$ or more for something they will use for at least 2-3 years, buy the ugliest one (that looks like an UFO )? Obviously you're free not to care about it, but aesthetics do matter! A good look is one of the reasons why Apple and Sony have a certain reputation, even though they are selling "just" computers. People care about it, nobody will ever buy a car just looking at the engine curves, a lamp just looking at the wattage, and so on...
Anyway we are off topic.

LOL, just a little bit?
http://img199.imageshack.us/img199/3981/prodsate205mbwkbl60006.jpg
http://img199.imageshack.us/img199/3189/prodsate205mbwkbl60009.jpg
WOW, terrific!

Right, you clearly got the point.

Just another question: is it possible to tell the WWAN module to use 3G networks only (no GPRS, solely UMTS/HSPA)?

 

Every notebook model is unique... following your way of thinking one would never be able to compare as each different model is either 100g. heavier or 1cm brighter or 3mm thicker

300g more is like 17%... and 1.78cm is 5% bigger... and those make it "not-portable" to you? Strange criteria...
But the 20-30% longer batterly life of the E205 is not to be taken into account when talking about portability!? Spot on!

Fact is that Toshiba E205 and Sony S are from the same class (sizewise, featureswise, pricewise). This said you can find another 100 differences between them.
If this is an inappropriate comparison, we should never ever mention the Z, as it costs nearly twice as much, weighs much less, is thinner, made out of different material and aiming a different group of people....!

I've never liked toshiba's design generally, but the fact that they have a serious share of the market should keep us away from judging out of personal opinion. I'm sure there are plenty of people who do not like Sony as well (me including as I do think some of sony's models are way too boxy, especially in the past).

And yes - you can set the WWAN module to use a 3G network only Pitty it does not support 4G but I guess that would have been way too expensive.

 

I agree. 13'' is already in the limits of portability. 14'' is outside. Even the laptop bags market is focused in 13 or 15, and there is a good difference.

there are many tastes but to me the aesthetics of this artifact belongs to some Klingon episode of Star-Trek.

 

Is there an extended battery available for the S? How power hungry is WWAN compared to WLAN?

I know it's a powerful machine but the relatively short battery runtime (2.5 hours according to Notebookcheck review) is making me think twice.

Extended battery or wait for a Y series upgrade to 18w i5...

 

Yes, the S11 was in a custom power saving mode. No, it doesn't make a difference. After running several times, the numbers are the same regardless of the two modes. However, I am now consistently getting 154MBs reads (up 10%) and 44MBs (up 30%) writes for 512K random block benchmark only (middle row) in both custom power saving and high performance power modes. The other benchmarks (top and bottom rows) are virtually identical on each run.

Yes, you can get faster performance by using a faster SSD. Perhaps 20% faster on reads and 200%-500% on writes. Those improvements aren't compelling to me. Depends on your usage. I use the S11 for mostly surfing. OTOH, I'm very interested in getting SATA III (6Gb/s) speeds for my development notebook. Will probably pick one up at end of year.

 

Well, sadly the S is out of your criteria then, as it is 13.3" and the extra 0.3 make it out of this category... the same way the extra 0.7 up to the 14".
That's a whole 1 cm extra... that's like 10mm... how would you carry such a monster around?
Let's not forget that the screen gives only rough idea about the outer dimensions... I'm currently using a 14.1" with the size of a 15", whereas my previous one could easily be mistaken for a 13" although it was 14.1 again.... so don't be fooled by that!
Haven't looked at the E205's size, but according to the frame width it probably is really not more then 1-2cm in diagonal larger then the S.

 

I bought a brand new SR over the weekend in my local electronics store for $400 USD including tax. I cant complain, its not the S, but still pretty nice. I gave it to my wife though.

 

yes, it is. 14'' is really worse. I'm not happy with 2kg neither 13'' displays. More than 1Kg is not something portable for a human being, and 13'' is in the limits of a decent space to work.
However, all brands and models are around the same sizes and weights. This is the present technology. Maybe one day we will have 18'' folding displays in a laptop of 0.70 kg. Today we have monsters, no doubt.

 

What a strange statement.

 

... Maybe you should do some more fitness every now and then...

Joking.

 

Please post pictures of the Vaio S...I've yet to see what it really looks like!

 

Hello everyone. I m interested in this laptop and the pages are endless here.
I want an owner to recap me about battery and noise.
Also i want this model (backlit keyboard) but its hidden in vaio site,you have to register to see it or go with google cache. Any clues?

Real url: http://www.sony.co.uk/product/vnp-s-series/vpcs11h7e-b
Google Cache: http://tinyurl.com/yhcvbxr (preview of tinyurl http://preview.tinyurl.com/yhcvbxr)

Put vaio s series in google pictures or even better in youtube, there are 2-3 unboxing videos

 

I get 4 hours while web surfing. There's minor fan noise. I prefer backlit keyboards too.

 

Is that on WiFi?

 

No, he wasn't web surfing via Wi-Fi, he did it over an ethernet cable. Because why would you want to buy a laptop and surf via wi-fi?

 

That would just be silly.

 

so from what I've gathered we're expecting the S to be available CTO on sonystyle USA in the next two weeks?

hopefully CA won't be far behind ...

 

I got around 3.5 to 4.5 hrs depending on the uses, like wifi, screen brightness. Also my battery life(shutdown) drop to 69% the next day after charging 80 percent the day before. The screen is ok but it need calibration ,anyone got the setting for it? HDD protection is silly sometimes, especially when u bump ur table abit and the protection window pop up. The highest cpu temperature( at 25 degrees celcius room temp) i got so far is 60 degrees celcius on one core and the other one is 54 degrees while converting videos. Fan is near silent. Overall the laptop is very good in terms of build quality , except for it should have a better gpu and 1080p screen?

 

Why reply just to be sarcastic?

People often don't use wifi because;
- it's slower
- your at your desk
- save battery

Ask yourself why this laptop also comes with an ethernet socket!

 

It's still safe to say that when most people browse they do so through a wireless connection.

 

Yes, I'm on WiFi. Most cafes don't offer a long enough Ethernet wire. ;-) I suppose I could have been on 3G.

 

with NVIDIA or INTEL GPU????