Official VAIO Z Core 2 Duo Series Owners Thread

Haha, well I'd guess if Japanese keyboards were available in the US by US manufacturers that you'd have to pay extra for it... just think of it as paying for the higher quality Japanese CTO.

 

haha, but that extra is too much..
for the fingerprint +50
keyboard +50
webcam +30
plus, it only comes with 1GB

i dont mind paying extra 50 bucks for the lid, but the rest just kills deal for me =\

 

yes, the rest should be INCLUDED in the price, otherwise DONT get it

 

yeah, but come to think about it, i am paying 2400 for a Z with the same config..

so, i am not sure if i should pay the extra 400 bucks just for the lid..
i feel i regret not getting it a year down the road...

 

i am very tempted to buy order it from conics now, however, i am waiting for sony to credit my previous Z back so ill have $$$ to order from conics

 

The new 13.3 in laptop from HP supports up to 8 gigs of ram and is coming with a 420 gb 5200 rpm HDD.

Do you guys think Sony will include these things in their Z refresh?

I really hope the Z can support up to 8 gigs of ram like the HP. I don't care so much about the harddrive since I can upgrade it later on my own.

 

Yeah... I actually got mine from sonystyle here in Japan, and opted out of the fingerprint sensor.
btw my setup was

VAIO Z90S BTO
Windows Vista Home Premium
Intel Core 2 Duo P9500 2.53Ghz
nVidia 1600x900 256mb GPU
4gb DDR3-RAM
200gb 7200rpm HDD
DVD super multi drive
Lid design: Botanical Garden
English keyboard
Motion-eye Webcam

bringing my total to ~265,000yen -> ~$2500.
Are you going for the SSD and/or Blu-ray options?

When I found out they released the premium carbon lid like the day after I got my Z delivered, I was kind of upset, but if the premium carbon will eventually make its way stateside, I figure I'm going to keep my Botanical garden lid cuz that way it'll be more special when I take it back home to the states
I think the bigger issue is that sonystyle.jp is quite confident in their service quality and doesn't allow returns without a serious reason. Actually most places in Japan are pretty dang strict about their return policy, guess that's what comes from having generally excellent service.

 

I'm sorry, but I'm confused. If you order from conics, it'll be a CTO, correct? If so, why can't you customize it and pay the $50 for the premium carbon lid? I'm not clear with this extra $400 your speaking of.

Isn't the primary purpose to buying with Conics is to get that premium carbon lid. If your not going for it, then why would you return your current Z back to Sony just to simply get the same configuration and have to be forced to spend extra $$$$$ on those options?

 

@Jparity

I don't think there is 4GB stick for DDR3 PC3-8500 yet, so Sony can't offer it yet...HP dv3500t uses DDR2.

Sony probably will offer the 400/500GB 5400RPM HDD when they are available in the 9.5mm height.

 

You can get these in US without having to have it come from Korea. About the same price after shipping but with three different shipping options.
http://sgpstore.com/index.php/cPath/23_37/cate_id/23
I ordered one last night and expect it in a few days.

 

Are these skins easy to apply? It says its reuseable. Also, the "Vaio" name, did they already cutout that name from those skins. It looks difficult to properly position those skins perfectly and if you mess up, won't there be bubbles that would be difficult to iron out?

 

On the TT Thread, someone posted that there's a recall on the Z. What's the recall?

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=3988772#post3988772

 

I think someone mistakenly wrote Z instead of TZ.

 

Err... I think Sony should start supporting x64 OSes before we start worrying about 8GB max RAM.

On the topic of the lids, am I the only one here who thinks it's not *that* important whether you can see a weave pattern on the lid? I mean all the lids use carbon fibre for strength/durability... so it's purely a cosmetic thing that everyone is getting so excited about, n'est ce pas?

 

Thanks!

S

 

for me to get the same processor, webcam, fingerprint, and etc, i would have to pau 400 extra bucks compared to what i would have to pay if i ordered here...

 

indeed, its purely cosmetic

 

Please post some pictures later when you ge it. I'm really considering the learther top. thanks

 

yeah, the laptop skin looks nice, thinking on getting the dark leather
screw the premium carbon fiber

 

This happens to almost all electronic items purchased in the stores in Asia (I'm speaking based on my experience living in Asia for a number of years). It probably explains why people generally are firm with their buying decisions because if you purchase something & then find out you didn't like it, then you're screwed as the stores wouldn't take it back, unlike the stores here in the US. Even for expensive items such as a TV, computers, etc.

 

gotta love the US

 

lol, it's all because stores don't want to lose money when customers just come in, and return stuffs that they used for days.

 

Yes, it is so true. I was born and grew up in Hong Kong. When I came to US, I still felt weired and un-sure that I could just return something I bought. It took me a while to get used to the US return policy.

 

There is 007 edition for the Z.

Seems like the only special is the small 007 sign on palm rest.
I'm finding a similar 007 sign sticker online so I can make one 007 Z for myself.
BTW, my second Z has not get on my hand yet. I ordered it on Sept 25 from Portable 1. As of this morning, they still haven't ship it. Before I placed my order, they said it took 2-4 days to ship. It is a lie.

 

I got my Z last week from Conics. Totally awesome, by far the best electronic purchase I have made in a long time - definitely the best laptop I ever bought. Long gone are the days when I bought a 9 lb Dell Precision M50 for 4k USD.

Anyway, the only thing I have a complaint about is not being able to do a clean install without having to go through all the procedures outlined in the forums here.

Please someone convince me that the clean install is painless and glitch free.

 

hey human668, where do you live? im about to order a VAIO Z from P1 as well, and I live in Canada, so I wonder if that ship 2 - 4 days still apply to people who live outside the states?

Also, does anyone know if models ordered from P1 are made in japan?

 

I can't comment on a Vista clean install, but I downgraded to XP using the Sony guidance and it worked like a charm with very little junk installed afterwards (no McAfee trial, no Office trial, etc, etc).

Yes, they're made in Japan but if you order certain custom options then the work will be done by P1 themselves as they are an authorised Sony workshop or whatever. Hence you can get them to upgrade your HDD or something and you won't affect your warranty.

 

how long did it take from the day you ordered till the day it arrived?
did you have any problems with customs?

 

Put it this way, you see this lid for its functionality in keepings things internally safe, whereas, those including myself see it not only for its function, but its style. The overall design and presentation of that lid is absolutely awesome. So aesthetically, it is somewhat important.

 

Yep, I have to agree. I personally like the premium carbon design lids just for its design only. This is similar to buying a car & choosing between having a rear wing spoiler or just not having the spoiler.

 

OK, I get the point. I guess my priorities are just different. I mean, I would probably pay an extra $50 for a nicer looking lid at the time of ordering...
But I wouldn't be willing to go to all the hassle of returning a perfectly good laptop just to re-order one with a nicer lid. I guess it's a personal preference thing.

 

I double that. I am so glad stores here are so lenient with returns. That's why I'm gonna wait for that premium carbon to hit the U.S.

yeah, I traveled through Asia. And they are so stringent. I wanted to exchange a T-Shirt for a larger size, about $12usd. and they wouldn't let me. I was back the following day.... And they are always starring at you like your gonna steal from them. The shopping experience is AWFUL, but they do have the greatest gadgets.

Hmmmm, there's gonna be something different on that Z to get the "007" nameplate. Was the lid the same? I can't believe Sony would charge extra just for that "007" decal. What's that decal made of, "premium plastic"?

yes, definitely agree with you. People who see this lid design as important are design-visionaries. These are the one's that should actually have those specific jobs in design (at least one of the criteria). They can make things ordinary very sexy.

Here's info on that Special Edition 007 Z...

http://news.softpedia.com/news/Sony-Announces-Limited-Edition-Bond-Z-Series-of-Laptops-94669.shtml

 

I admit, the looks matter somewhat to me. I would love the premium lid, but as mentioned ... the price difference is more than $50 compared to the same config. from the US. And don't forget the other trade offs. I don't think I can give up a warranty in the US, having to ship to Japan for every fix and hope they will cover it ... that's a big trade off as well. (On top of it all, I am pretty sure I read on their site that you also have fees involved unless you do a direct transfer of $ through PayPal, which involves giving up your trusted CC protection, etc.)

SO ... I hope the US magically offers this within the next few weeks (no, I don't think they will), but otherwise ... I think I'll have to love the regular lid. LOL. I don't think all those things are worth it for a slightly better looking lid.

 

yeah, i kind of decided not to send my Z back, just hope there won't be any surprises soon like the SR had in its refresh

 

The 007 version has 128GB SSD so if you have a huge amount of cash it's a way to get hold of one in the UK

 

@faberge, How did you get your Sony Vaio Z11VN/B with BluRay? CTO imported?

 

There's a SR refresh already? What did Sony upgrade on the SR?

 

HDMI port

i think maybe, blu-ray compatibility, 256mb VRAM for GPU, but not sure

 

it added a HDMI port and redid the keyboard area in silver

 

Stronger,

I live in Shanghai, and being that the Olympics is over, no problems at all with customs. But EMS service sucks here. It was in my hands 20 days after payment was recieved, including 2 days for shippping. Overall good service, and this 2.8 GHz CPU rocks!

 

Infy,

Do you notice any significant speed boost with the downgrade to XP?

ap

 

finally got to view the Z yesterday. to be honest i was just not blown away - i was hoping i would be as it would make things so much easier.

it is a lovely notebook though and nicely built.
slightly heavier than i expected, and the flexy lid was 'odd' though i think i'd get used to it pretty quickly. the screen colours didn't grab me either and overall it seemed dull but i found i was having trouble with the lighting and reflections around the room. it wasn't the matte at fault though as i've seen matte screens before and tend to prefer them to glossy. i couldn't play anything on it so didn't get to see how it portrays videos. would probably just have to fiddle with colour settings.

the resolution is tiny but it didn't bother me for the 20 minutes i spent playing with it. tried looking for web sites with ultra tiny writing but the text was still so clear i don't think it would be an issue (1600x900)

the only aspect i did seem to have issue with was the keyboard. i didn't have a problem with either the SR or TZ so i'm not sure what it is here. it just didn't feel as comfortable somehow.

comparing it to the SR sitting next to it i found the Z to be much nicer in overall looks and sturdiness.

i just wish it blew me away

will get a chance to see both TZ and Z again next week so hopefully i can make up my mind what to do.

 

13.3" screen!? If it's true, great!

But maybe it's just a typo...

 

I copied and pasted that directly from the link. I'm sure (13.3) it's a typo, but then again, it is a "007 Special Edition Z".

 

Yes, but I don't know how much of that is due to the Vista install I tried being full of crap (McAfee trial, Office trial, Adobe Acrobat, etc, etc). I didn't try clean installing Vista first because I didn't have media available and it seemed like hassle compared to just using the XP downgrade disc provided in the box.

In short, using Vista vs XP for file operations seemed similarly quick. But productivity was slower for me just due to me not being used to how to do stuff in Vista and also of course the many UAC warnings at every step.

The main improvement though was the startup, shutdown and hibernate/wake times - in XP these are significantly improved compared to Vista, in my experience.

 

Yes I can second all of that.

And I found I was also slowed down in Vista by how 'busy' all the visual elements of the OS are - the transparency and blended patterns in title bars and so on - so unneccesary.

S

 

A few months down the line i plan to get Sony in the UK to put a 128 SSD drive into my SZ. You can buy these drives for like $300 in the US. If i had planned it properly i should have had my lid and hard drive done at the same time but never mind. Some of those SSD drives decrease battery life so i have to look into this aspect a bit more.

I also looked at my shipping label and the Sony repair centre in the UK is situated in Colchester although i doubt that they would see to anyone in person if they just turned up there.

The specs of the 007 laptop look good but what a price eh.

 

rachuk,

Do you know roughly how much Sony charge to change the HDD?

S

 

I don't know for sure Stevod but i imagine that if you bought your own drive that they might charge you £123 plus VAT. I will ask them though when they call me at some point later today.

 

I bought Sony Z17 (similar to Z590 without Blue Ray and SSD) in Singapore for $4299 (US$3000)
http://www.sony.com.sg/microsite/vaio/products/vaio_z/product.html

but with tax refund (5.6% off) if you hold foreign passport and all those gimmick they gave you (extended battery USD249, mouse (USD40) Privacy filter USD60, overseas waranty (around USD50), SlimBag (USD39) it will round down to USD2410. Some store even give you free thumbdrive (SandDisk 8GB) and maybe other free stuff like MS office for Home and Student which will make the Unit price down even lower to around US$2250, which to me is pretty ok deal if you need those
Some store even will give you more stuff like some ppl here (from Singapore). Hint: he posted the pic in early thread with sony wireless mouse etc hehehe...

That is why I decided to purchase it in Singapore on Sept 26 (I got a chance to see F1 for free too, provided by my company)

Is there an after-thought-regret-feeling after getting this? I will write it in different topic