Official Sony SB/SA/SC/SD Series Owners' Thread

yep, that was my experience with the R700 as well. super tinny sounding speakers and i couldn't believe this was on toshiba's latest. specs-wise the portege is awesome. but 2 weeks was enough for me to spot all of the weaknesses that i could never live with. too bad toshiba

 

I noticed that too. I really hope this doesn't end up screwing up my order or else I'm going to be pretty upset. Right now the order is still "processing", but I ordered mine over the weekend so maybe I won't be affected?

They gave me a 4/14 delivery date. Is that when the shipment is supposed to arrive, or when they plan on sending it out?

 

it is when they plan to send it out. when it actually arrives to your door depends on your ship method (expedited, regular, etc)

 

Does anybody know if it's possible to use the official AMD graphics drivers?

 

I just called my Sony rep and he said there's an issue regarding stock levels of the bundled Adobe software. I asked him if he can expedite my order since I don't care about it since I'll be installing CS5, but he said that was impossible.

 

Stock level? Is the guy serious? They just install images on the machines, there's no "stocks" to deal with. They just buy a license package from these software developers or wahtever they call it and that's it.

 

Then he was obviously telling me a c0ck-and-bull story, which confirms that these guys have no idea what they're talking about :-/

 

the reviewer did a decent job, but failed to talk about the wireless display capabilities. he goes on to say that the optimus automatic switchable graphics trumps the manual switch, but i know for a fact that nvidia is having problems making their cards wireless display compatible and the intel-nvidia lawsuit (although resolved a few months ago) isn't helping either.

 

Oh, did newmodeus reply on the caddy for SB?

 

This is the reply I got from one customer service guy regarding the screen type: "It is a glossy screen with a built in matte finish to protect with glare" - anyone knows what this means? I cant understand how you can have a glossy screen with a matte finish!

 

also, does anyone know which stores are carrying this series? I checked out bestbuy but they dont have it. the official sony stores are too few and sparsely located, nowhere near my area.

 

nope nothing yet...i'll keep you all posted

 

it's hard to describe without actually seeing it for yourself. it's a matte screen but not totally matte, there is a slight reflectivity to it.

YouTube - Sony VAIO SB Series Laptop Unboxing Review

jump to around 2:45 and pay attention to the screen as it reflects his camera and the lights behind him. as you can see, it's "matte" but reflections are not totally muted because of a little bit of a glossy finish

 

From my understanding when I previously looked into macbooks I think I might have something. They claimed they offered 3 types of screens:

MB Pro - standard 'glossy screen' - this is in fact a glossy screen with a glass cover, giving it the name 'ultraglossy' quite often
MB Pro - matte screen - matte covered screen to dampen reflections
MB Air - semi-gloss screen - sometimes called semi-matte, it's claimed to be a glossy screen without a cover which is reflective (i.e. not the shiney glass).

I believe the SB might be something like the MB Air, but I'm reading conflicting reviews as to the quality, so would believe of a lower quality. Some sites put it 'beyond praise' with amazing viewing angles and good colours, other sites (such as Notebookcheck) found absolutely lacking contrast, colour and viewing angles...

Edit: Mine is hopefully arriving this week, so will put it next to my 13.3 cheap Dell 13z to compare screens when I get a chance

 

from what i recall after owning the MB Air for a few weeks and my trip to the sony store last week is that the SB is more matte than the MB Air.

 

Ok.. Please update this thread when you do get your laptop. The screen quality is the only thing I am concerned with.

 

i'm not even going to comment on the screen because this seems to be an insanely subjective topic

but I personally like it just fine

 

so the problem should be? that they didnt buy enough licenses for their entire line that is served with the package.

 

The only things that are keeping me from ordering this laptop are the quality of the display (need to see more pictures and hear more of what people think) and that I am in the US and you need to spend $300 more to get the 6630 (because it requires you to have the i7).

 

Hi guys, I'm thinking of buying the SB, but worried about these issues:

- Build quality - Some reviews say it's great, some say it isn't... What do you, the owners, think?

- Fan noise and heat - A problem? I don't usually put a laptop on the knees, but it's important that the keyboard area won't get too hot. Plus I think a fan noise can be a problem...

And another question - Will the SA have the same starting price? I saw it's going to weight around 1.5 kg. The lighter, the better... Is it going to be a must to choose i7 core, 8GB RAM etc? A lot of people don't need it...

 

I have seen an SB in person and I was very pleased with how good the quality was when comparing with my Vaio E.

The fan was not audible to me.

The starting price for the SA is rumored to be of discontinued Z series - level, hence we should be expecting something close to £1,500.00 ($2,500.00) for the base model.

 

OK thanks vanmat. Wow... And I thought that the Samsung 9 is expensive...

 

So it looks like a bunch of us should be getting our SB this week!

I should be getting mine on Thursday and will definitely be posting up a review, can't wait!

 

I don't believe that the normal install would work, but people have succeded on previous Vaio notebooks by extracting the installer and letting Windows itself detect the proper libraries needed and update them.

The Canadian CTO doesn't have that restriction, infact the 6630 is ONLY avalible on the CTO and is only $50 more than the preconfig ($1050).

That's disappointing, I was hoping that the SA would be starting at around $1500, on par with a high-end SB, and just on the edge of my price range.

 

Does anyone know if there are pictures out there of the sheet battery on the white model? I did not buy the sheet battery with my laptop but I plan to do so. The only thing I'm worried about is that the black sheet battery might look odd with the white laptop. If anyone has a picture and could post it that'd be awesome.

 

post pics/review when it come in the mail

as for mine, i ordered on apr 6 and scheduled to ship expedited apr 14, and my order status still says "processing" hmmm......

 

I ordered mine the same day and was told to expect 1.5-2 weeks max for the laptop to be built before shipping. Mine is also still processing (I'm from Canada)

 

Can someone please post the exact type of RAM that will fit the SB model? I would like to buy a 4Gb stick from crucial but their Memory Advisor Tool does not have the SB listed yet.

 

If only I could get your american prices, I'm at 1100 Eur (1600 usd) with the best i5 and 6470

 

Don't quote me on this but I'm pretty sure its just regular DDR3 - 1333Mhz (laptop size of course). Keep in mind that both of the memory slots are full so you will need to replace one of the sticks.

 

Thanks, I thought so. But I don't think that in 4Gb version there will be both slots full, as in such case there are 4Gb of memory soldered to the motherboard and one empty memory slot.

 

I was under the impression that they put in two sticks so they could have dual channel? I could be completely mistaken though

 

Yep, one 4GB module is soldered, and there is one slot free. I'm planning to buy another 4GB after-market too.

Only concern for me would be the screen on SB. Too bad that I can't check it out myself.
Does anyone know how this screen compares to sony's older X-BLACK displays?

Don't really know much about displays... got a FZ with X-BLACK, and it still looks great (at least compared to any other notebook that I saw around here).

I checked out some reviews on notebookcheck, and judging by that SB's screen is a lot worse (contrast for e.g. 600+:1 compared to 138:1 on SB... view angles, brightness also a lot worse).

 

good luck to the both of us, although i have a distinct feeling that it's either going to be cancelled or delayed

 

I ordered mine on April 8 (details in signature line). Stated ship-date is April 14 - although the ship-date for the ordered additional power adapter accessory shows as April 24.

And, status of order shows "processing".

 

Hi, I ordered the VPC-SB19GG

Spoiler: SPEC

Intel Core i7-2620M (2.7 GHz, up to 3.4 GHz)
AMD Radeon HD 6630M
256 GB SSD (2x128 GB)
6 hours of battery life
(I wondered why it's only 6 hours? the sonystyle.com version has 7.5 hours)

Only black color availabe, while the lower-end SB16FG has other color options, wondering why.
They said the price is still unknown, but no more than Rp18.500.000 (about US$2055)


if we look at the air vent (which is covered by the hinge), the air vent part has different-colored plastic (above the yellow sticker). Is it possible to remove that small piece of the plastic? So the hot air can go out through the bottom of the laptop.

All Sony VAIOs has "Sony Battery Care" function in "VAIO Control Center". Just open it, then enable either "Battery Care" or "Super Battery Care". With "Battery Care" enabled, the charging process will be stopped at 80% and with "Super Battery Care" enabled, the charging process will be stopped at 50%.

My 3-years-old VAIO VGN-CR23G still has 78% of it's maximum capacity thanks to the "Sony Battery Care" function, while my one-year-old Acer Aspire 4740G only has 70% because there is no "Sony Battery Care", or whatever they call it.

 

Agreed. I would be quite mad if they cancelled the order now considering I called several times asking the status and they reassured me everything was in order and the laptop was being built.

 

That's exactly why I was looking for the teardown-PDF. Unfortunately it didn't shed light on this question.

 

Hi guys, if I do not mind the slight weight, size and battery life downgrade, would the C series be a better choice for me?

EDIT: I'm going with the i5 2410 processor and 500GB hard drive

 

I think yes, the C series is cheaper. Which design do you like? Elegant-business style or eye-catching consumer? If you prefer the eye-catching consumer design, then the C is better than S for you.

The C and S has almost 0,8kg difference

 

Yes I ordered in the 8th as well and my status is still processing and still with a ship date of the 14th. Fingers crossed 

 

Mine is due to arrive tomorrow, shame I'm too busy to pick it up until the weekend, but will post initial impressions when I get a chance.

Looking forward to the speed jump going from 1.3Ghz C2D & Nvidia G105M to 2.5Ghz SB & AMD 6630M, finally be able to play modern games at native resolution!

I'm a little concerned about the screen, but as some owners have said, it's subjective so may be fine with it.

Only other area is the oddly placed heat vents, I don't really understand the point in having a cooling system which is >50% blocked every time the lid is open - if they pack up to Core-i7 & 6630M they can't not be expecting some heavy use on this, so how does it work...

 

And if you can cope with the glossy screen & use of more glossy plastic on the exterior

 

the key is to keep an eye on your credit card statement. basic contractual law says they can cancel your order at anytime without liability and you would have zero recourse for any pain/suffering for the cancelled order -- as long as they haven't charged your credit card yet.

 

Thanks for the reply. I also do not care much about the design in terms of its color and look and I think an added 0.8 kg weight would still be acceptable. The thing is, I wanted to know is whether there are other things which makes C different from S other than size and design? (That is, when I have already decided to choose the i5 2410 and 500 GB hard drive)

 

You'd better ask that in this thread, they might know more about the CA/ CB (same?).

 

i was about to order the C, until i looked at it a second time and hated the plastic look. ordering the SB tonight when i get home

 

Haha D: what colour are you getting?

 

black probably. but i was leaning towards white. but i don't want ppl calling me a macbook lover

 

I'm wondering if there will be a possibility to get the i5 processor with SSD? Why is it an option for i7 + 1GB graphic card only?