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

The left button is the one you use for clicking!

 

The Sony Z series

The SR on the Best Buy website was actually listed under the professional series, which are their business notebooks. It always talked about you can use it for business, school, or pleasure and had that mode button. I looked this one up and it is not, but I am not sure if this is the case because of the bundle it is in. I am wondering if it was seperate again like the SR if it would be in the professional section. The Blue Label messes everything up because it is different than what you can get on Sony.

I agree that one guy was a little hyperactive, but he is right. People throw out statements like being able to get this for around $1000 or this feature is standard, why not on this PC? Or other statements like this and never back it up. Half the time these statements are wrong, but no one knows. So I would say before making a statement like that, do a search yourself and make sure you can get a PC for the price you are stating with the specs you are stating.

 

Yes, the left button's gray is wearing away displaying a white surface underneath.

I think this issue is only a few months away from appearing on most people's systems.

 

I took delivery of a CTO S11 yesterday and asked to return it to Sony Style UK today for a refund - to which they have agreed - for the following reasons:

One of the keys - a vowel - doesnt work.
The screen vertical viewing angle was appalling. Colours were only viewable accurately when viewed from a very very narrow angle. When sitting at a desk I couldnt get the screen far enough back to be able to view the screen correctly. This is unacceptable in a laptop at this price point.

The battery fit was dreadful.

The keyboard could have been replaced and a little padding on the battery would have cured the looseness but the screen viewing angle was in the end a deal breaker.

Question is what to buy now?. I had a Dell XPS 1330 (stolen) and the S11 was to replace this but I dont want to get the Dell Studio XPS 13 because of the glossy finish although the spec is quite reasonable. Any suggestions?

 

Yep... have you tried tapping on the pad? Much faster and convinient I only use the right button when needed. haven't touched my left one for months

Such a wear off is disturbing though. I'd appreciate a picture a lot.

 

Why are people so worried about vertical viewing angles of their display..? I tend to use my laptops whilst sat directly in front of them, or if it's on my lap I will tilt the screen back a little...

 

Any news about future graphic options? If no seperate gpu will be available (like the sr offered after a while) I might aswell go with the Y series, I don't need a strong cpu unless I can game with it.

 

Because it's extremely poor.
I need to compare it this evening with my wife's FW.
I've just done a non-scientific test and I reckon the screen has to be tilted within a range of at best 10 degrees with the best picture.

I'm not terribly bothered about it *as long* as this laptop proves durable.
The chassis seems to be, my worry (confirmed by someone else) is with paint coming off early in the trackpad buttons and of the chassis around the mesh thing.

 

The more I think the display the more I am getting annoyed by it.
I will do some research the weekend if there are other laptops roughly equivalent to the S in the market today if not I will just accept that the display is just average.
Such a massive shame. The S was perfect, rugged, light enough, powerful...
The search goes on ?

 

Good luck. Let us know what you find.

 

Because we expect better quality of the screen. For those of us who have owned Sony VAIO notebooks for several years, and in my case since 2003, it is unacceptable for a notebook screen from ANY Sony VAIO notebook in 2010 to be of that poor quality. These are not cheap Compaq's or Dell's. It seems that this problem with poor vertical viewing angles is not only present in the S series but also the CW series, and from early reviews of the EB series. These are not budget notebooks by any means. Those screens should be of better quality.

As for using a notebook, not everyone sits directly in front of it because some of us are " working " with 2 or 3 notebooks at one time side by side by side. Therefore, some of these notebooks with poor viewing angles....up and down being the vertical and side by side being the horizontal for those who might be confused....there is a trend seeming to develop here with these below average screens. With just a minor shift in body positioning these displays exhibit above average washout. I should not have to continuously tilt the screen to find the optimal viewing angle. Unacceptable. If it don't look right and it doesn't feel right then something is wrong with it.

As for the vertical viewing angle, how realistic is it for somebody to sit completely still with a notebook on their lap. Those slight body shifts cause the amount of viewable screen to decrease due to the now not so optimal viewing position. And I am sure daneel3001 is absolutely justified with his concern about his S series notebook and the poor screen quality as it just sits there on his desk. He seems to really want to keep it but he knows something about that screen is not right.

 

Maybe look into the SR series if it's still available where you reside ?

 

I've been doing some research on that new HP model I mentioned today. I am just reading a review about it and look at that....:

" The 14-inch screen is a strong point. The 1,600x900 native resolution is high for a panel this size but necessary for what workstation users demand. The panel has an anti-glare coating, which is appropriate for a business machine likely to see use in a conference room or on a job site. That said, while the panel’s viewing angle in Windows applications is very wide side to side, you’ll find yourself adjusting the screen angle to be in the sweet spot in the vertical plane. And as with most other recent laptop panels we’ve seen, the viewing angle is considerably narrower for video playback."

Should we really blame sony

 

It's not a matter of blaming Sony regarding this problem but as for Sony themselves, I for one would expect better. Like I said, these are Sony VAIO's and not some cheap Compaq's or Dells or other equivalents.

 

Just for info - HP EliteBook is the high-end business line of HP....

And again we are up to alternatives - you would expect better... but can you offer/suggest better? It seems that HP can't do much better either, apart from the resolution which doesn't bother me personally at all.

The only hope left seems to be Macbook.... whenever they finally present an "i" CPU upgrade....

 

Thanks for your supporting post btw, you're way more eloquent than I am
The SR is I guess pretty good although it doesn't have features that I'd like so I think I will have to put up with the poor vertical viewing angles.
It's a real shame that quality of computer displays seem to have gone down in quality so much.
I guess it's easy to brag about 200hz than viewing angles/color accuracy.

 

Someone else suggested the Z series, but the new Z is prohibitively expensive for some. Perhaps snagging the outgoing Z at the inevitable discounted price ? Heck, I got my Z820 on 11/20/2009 for $1664.99 from Sony Style, new and not a refurb. I stand by the SR series as well. I CTO'd my SR590 in the middle of December '09 and am very happy with it. I had a CTO CW190 spec'd nicely but due to the poor viewing angles, cancelled. I saw the CW in person after placing the order. And for the record this was the 1366 x 768 screen. I have not seen the 1600 x 900 screen but others in another discussion have voiced their unhappiness with that screen as well.

I don't really have info on other notebook manufacturers wares, I'm only into Sony VAIO's. Sorry. And I'm definitely not into Apple. Yuck. I was also going to buy the S series once Sony Style U.S.A. started offering it. Best Buy's version is over priced and not what I want. But after seeing it, no way.

Perhaps for the new VAIO owners, this screen issue is a non-issue because the VAIO is the nicest notebook they have ever owned. I'd like to think that everyone here involved in these forums is more than just the average consumer and do care more than the average consumer and either are and should be an informed consumer. Maybe I'm the bad guy here but I'm just being totally honest, providing an opinion and those who read it can take it for what they feel it's worth.

 

Thank you for the compliment. I really try to think through what I want to post and not just shoot from the hip. I am a Sony VAIO diehard and always look forward to the new stuff from Sony but if it is subpar, I'm not afraid to tell it like I see it.

 

You seem to have a way more serious problem then

Me - I don't care about the letters on the cover - as long as it gives me what I'm looking for - let it be named "Crapbag pro" for all I care.
I'm only looking for a reasonable quality under any name.

Let's hope that Apple will upgrade that 13" alu unibody "pro" version with an i5 or even i7 at a reasonable price and retain the good screen - that is all it would take for me to go that way.

But at the time being - Sony S seems to offer the most out of my priorities, despite the screen remarks and trackpad buttons. The HP is my plan B so far - it definitely has a much better and durable build quality, better hardware for nearly the same price and if not better, then the same screen quality + better resolution for those who insist on having such.
The only thing I don't really like is the rough, edgy design and the slightly bigger size + weight... The sony S looks way better - no doubt!

Let's see what time will show...

I had a look at Sony CW at a store today... definitely not my thing - the plastic was creaking, the display was instable... fingerprints all over the thing. Nope... definitely no.
Looking for a way better build quality.

 

Gracie, aren't you being a little harsh towards Apple calling their notebooks that name ? Jk.

 

All kidding aside, maybe when the S series becomes CTO at Sony Style U.S.A. and they offer a 1600 x 900 resolution option, then maybe the screen will be improved. From what I have read the backlights for the higher resolution screens are a bit brighter, hopefully providing over all screen improvements. I would like a silver one.

 

What about business women? ooo?
By the way ,are you business woman

 

Excellent questions ! I rep you.

 

To put some of my earlier comments regarding the S11 into context:

I have had many laptops, I have 2 others currently (including a Samsung NC10 netbook). The S11 was supposed to be my main laptop (excluding my work laptop - IBM X41T). Never ever have I had a screen that had such a poor viewing angle as the Sony S11. When sitting at my desk with the laptop in front of me with Windows booting and the screen pushed as far back as possible the Windows booting screen has grey background. Lifting the front of the laptop up (i.e. to tilt the screen further back) enables me to see the screen with a black background - which is what its supposed to have!. I am 5' 10" tall so fairly average.

I know a lot of the people posting in this forum dont have the S11 and have based their opinion on other Vaios'. I would recommend you try the S11 before you buy and you will see just how narrow the viewing angle is.

By the way before this laptop (S11) I never even considered the viewing angle because it was never an issue so I am not being perfectionist about this.

Cant tell you how dissapointed I am to be sending this back. I like the asthetic of this machine and it performs extremely well apart from the screen which by the way is also extremely shiny and reflects a lot of light. Didnt get to try it in bright sunshine as there isnt a lot of that around at the moment in London.

The general build quality of this machine (battery fit and non working 'A' key aside) was very good. It felt good in the hand and I liked it.

Have done a little more research tonight and cant find another similarly specced machine with 13.3" to 14" screen that I like. Could be tempted by the Dell Lattitude E4300. Not as chic but excellent quality, actually quite asthetic and very well reviewed - although uses yesterdays CPU's. That said I always overspec my laptops for the use they get - which I suspect is true of many. Perhaps I should downgrade and save myself some money!

Very sad

Francis

 

Paints rubbing off from the click button, shouldn't the colour of the plastic is mixed together before they molded it, or they simply spray over the blank plastic with colour.How about the palmrest or the keyboard???

Man never thought sony is this bad, whats next the screen is made from acer O.O!,that would be funny XD , keyboard buttons ejecting themselves like popping corns!! after few taps lol , getting my laptop in 11 days ,gonna extend the warranty XD.

 

Mate, I was 99% serious about buying this laptop just 3 days ago... now from all read - I'm back to 50% Such a pity! I really don't care about the resolution at all but if that viewing angle is really so bad as you all say and especially you saying that you've never paid attention to viewing angle before.
To be honest I have never until now either - sure when I move the screen back and forth, the colors do change more or less and I consider that normal.... but if it is really extremely.....

Just out of curiosity - how is the Sony F screen in comparison to the S?? Does anyone know? It is advertised as being better but is it?

Well the same You don't expect a business woman to play Quake on it, do you
To answer your question - not really or partially to be more acurate

 

I guess you are genius, tell us about your inventions...

 

That is called consequential reasoning (vs. circular reasoning)

 

NO S review out yet,NO new mackbook pro out yet,NO sexy guys at forum,NO...what a boring life...

 

I didn't major in Psychology. Please elaborate how this applies to me.



4.2 What is consequential reasoning?

Here outcomes or ends are identified as the good and the means are selected to meet that good. The end justifies the means. This is associated with Utilitarianism and John Stuart Mill (1806-73). It is listed below as EndRight. Circular Reasoning – supporting a premise with the premise rather than a conclusion.

So I'm identified with the good and the means to make it good ? Sounds good, unlike the other :


Circular reasoning is an attempt to support a statement by simply repeating the statement in different or stronger terms. In this fallacy, the reason given is nothing more than a restatement of the conclusion that poses as the reason for the conclusion. To say, “You should exercise because it’s good for you” is really saying, “You should exercise because you should exercise.”

It shares much with the false authority fallacy because we accept these statements based solely on the fact that someone else claims it to be so. Often, we feel we can trust another person so much that we often accept his claims without testing the logic. This is called blind trust, and it is very dangerous. We might as well just talk in circles.

 

I don't understand the whole issue with viewing angles? Why does it create such a stir? I catch the bus everyday, and the last thing I want are good viewing angles on my laptop. I want to be able to see what I am doing and noone else!

If I wanted to share my experience with people around me I want a much larger screen.

All failing in the Sony range can also be seen as a bonus.

People will whine about the battery leak problem, but I can tell you from first hand experience, that a Sony battery lasts a damn long time compared to my Toshiba and HP laptops. I had a S series (the original) for 5 years without replacing the battery once. I have had to replace my toshiba battery every year for the last 3.

Sure it is annoying, but you have to work with the limitations that current technology offer you, and I think Sony (or Quanta) do that ever well.

 

But why must the current technology have limitations if the 5 year old tech was better ? Why must it move backwards, which in this matter seems to be the case ? I can understand not wanting a nearby passenger viewing your stuff. That is why they make privacy filters. A notebook just sitting on a desk shouldn't have this many viewing angle issues. Why must my 6 year 3 month old V505 have a better screen than a 2010 S series, or even CW series for that matter ? That bro is tech moving backwards, not forward.

I do find it surprising that this viewing angle issue has come up. And yes, I still feel Sony does it better than everyone else in the PC business but this is somewhat concerning, because I for one expect better and have seen better from them.

 

I understand you are saying the V505 does it better, but at what trade? I don't believe the V505 was LED Backlit? Did it refresh as fast? Did it have as long a life? Did it have less toxic materials? Did it cost as much to manufacture?

Sometimes technology takes a step back in some accounts, so it could move forward in others. E-ink is an example. If you had no idea what you were talking about you would consider the E-ink useless,but when you understand the battery life and the effect on your eyes, then you understand how powerful it is.

What I am getting at is, Sony would have had a good reason for this.

 

I don't think you can quite use the E-ink example as an argument.
It's targeting a different market and it's doing it well.
What we're talking about are clear improvements in every single aspect of mobile computing (cpu, storage, memory, graphics) except for displays.
I've heard often that Sony was renowned for having great LCDs back then but it's gone done, maybe since they stopped being a panel manufacturer themselves.
So I, like others, are simply frustrated that some notebook displays are this average. Even a cheap desktop display does better at vertical viewing angles than the mid-range S-Series laptop.

 

I am basically in the same position. I was almost 100% sure to order the S11, but then after reading some of the comments I waited to take a closer look at the notebook in the shop - which I have done this morning.

The overall quality seems ok, it is relatively light and small, although it's not as stylish as some other Vaios or Macs - but who cares?

Die viewing angles of the S11 are very ok for me BUT the colors look very washed out. If you use the notebook just for Excel and Word-texts its ok (but then you should buy some less expensive device) but if you want to view photos the color quality is unacceptable - I did some tuning with brightness and colors but the washed-out effect remains.

Although I do not care about a good screen, in this case the screen is so bad that I probably will not buy this notebook.

 

The S11 display look washed out if you leave the auto brightness functionality.
I've turned it off and colors are vibrant but I can't really tell if they're accurate or not.
I've bought the new Dell Ultrasharp U2711 for my desktop

 

I wonder what's stopping Sony to make a stylish designs for their VAIOS.
Should Apple have monopoly of well built laptops with sleek designs ?
If you look at Dell, Asus event Acer and HP they all seem to be making good progress with their designs.
For instance, the Dell Latitude range is in my opinion a great design for a business laptop.

 

Hey Daneel3001, where does yours s series laptop made from? my one is from china.

 

It's a CTO. I was told it was built in Japan then shipped to NL before coming to London. Long trip

 

Well I have a TZ and a SR, and both have decent enough vibrant LED-backlit panels, yet if you look at them from above or below or from either side, the colours go off... As far as I knew, ALL LCD displays have limited viewing angles (with the exception of my Samsung TV )

So from what people are saying, the S and CW must be reeeally bad... Unless they are just being a bit too picky..?

 

I've seen the CW in the shop and it looks fine. If you really want to know how a LCD performs you really need to calibrate it correctly first. There are tools out there that you attach to your screen and run through a set of tests. All photographers should do that with every computer they use anyway.

 

E-reader sales are relatively weak due to consumer ignorance towards the technology. That is why amazon has taken 2 years to sell less 3 million units and Apple will sell 5 bajjion iPads in the first 3 months.

You can't compare to a cheap desktop monitor, because they are completely different. They are 5-10x thicker. They are heavier. They use more power.

Sony has indeed stopped making LCD's. They now buy there Bravia's from Philips (the tubes anyway). I don't believe they ever actually produced the Vaio screens though. Maybe if Vaios ever go OLED they might be made by Sony once again.

 

Oh yes... Maybe an even newer Vaio S, a couple years down the line..? With an OLED display..? That would kill the viewing angle debate in its tracks, lol...

 

After reading the comments on the screen quality I also feel very dissapointed, the only reason why I wanted a vaio was the screen quality, and certainly not the overpriced and usualy outdated hardware.
Since the S, E, and CW series have bad screens, I guess the Y series, which also belong to that price range, will have the same bad screen?
I'd consider the SR series, since they have a better screen than the S series, but I don't want it to have scratches because of opening and closing it...
It seems to me sony only delivers quality when you buy their high end models (Z series for example).

 

Yes, the latest offerings from Sony that seem to have increasing screen issues across their different product lines is a bit concerning. It used to not be this way. Sony probably has less to do with screen manufacturing due to outsourcing, and even then the end result could be a lot of inconsistency with the finished product depending on which factory it was manufactured. Who knows ?

As for the scratches and marks on the screen, I myself have accepted the fact that I'll use the foam across the keys when closing the notebook to protect the screen of my SR and AW and use the cloth for my Z820. For me it's just a minor inconvenience because only the Z sees the greatest amount of transport outside of the house.

All one can do is look at the particular model, and in this case we are talking about the S series, and judge for yourself on whether it's acceptable, if it's the best notebook they have ever seen, or find it not so great or whatever. I certainly would not purchase one of these sight unseen though. I saw it and chose to not buy it. I'm really trying to offer a mature, subjective, and reasonable view point and not just say something sucks, etc. and I'm not trying to be a hater. I still say Sony VAIO makes the best notebooks but I guess sometimes even the best go through subpar moments.

 

In this case, I would say that the S offers just the opposite - an up to date hardware + good build quality for a reasonable price! I do mean it based on the research I've been doing lately! And I still would buy it if the screen is at least average compared to all other 2010 models presented from different brands, whatever the reason for that quality regression could be.

What scares me though is that even though I'm not a Sony nut, it seems that everything brought to the market recently is no better (the example with the HP). Whether this is for a reason or not - should I go back to a typing machine? Obviously we might have to live with what technology is able to offer us in 2010, as good or bad as it is, or wait patiently for something better to come around.
I personally made a decision to wait for an opportunity to test it myself and decide compared to what I am used to. I'm currently using a 3,5 years old Acer, as my 4 years old Fujitsu-Siemens broke down completely and also a Lenovo T400 at work.
So if the Sony is no worse then any of those - I don't think it'd bother me much. And in the mean time - it's really about the time that Apple announces at least their plans for the macbook pros. They do have good screens - hope they retain them.

 

I give you credit for the 5400 rpm. HDD, but that is really the only outdated thing in the Sony S I've been using a 7200 rpm for about 3 years now, that's true The rest is a matter of price for quality... you should never compare with Acer, Fujitsu Siemens, etc, as those really offer a lot for less... but they never last long Sony is a different class and you can't expect to get the same configuration as an Acer for the same money There is really a reason for that, believe me

About the screen - that's what I'd like to know too, but I don't think anyone here can give you an accurate information about that.... we either have to look for a detailed pro review... or compare ourselves.

If you haven't yet - go back one or 2 pages here and find a quoatation posted by me from a review about that new HP model they will release in europe in a week or two...
And yet who is to say which one is worse and whether this could be a criterion for choosing between both for example

 

That is absolutely correct. We don't have to be professional reviewers for a publication or own professional screen calibration equipment as some have suggested to provide meaningful and honest feedback. As you say Gracie, we have to compare for ourselves.

 

some images of Sony s series laptop http://kunkoku.blog.so-net.ne.jp/2010-01-21