Official Y series 11.6 Owners' Thread

It's the 11.6 YA15FG - I'd looked the larger Y when it was released but it was underpowered and in that size I thought the S or Z would be a much better buy. I use a 13.3 Vaio SZ as my main everyday home computer and wanted something more portable but with a decent processor, i.e. not Atom, and with a decent screen, as a 10 inch 1024x800 screen is a bit lacking for me.

@Falkowski83
In daily use at work I get about 4-4.5 hours out of the battery, with a typical load of several Excel, Word and PDF doc open, a web browser, 3G modem on USB, and a music player running.

@dmk2
My machine came with W7 64-bit Home Premium and runs fine so far.

As for removing the bottom panel, I've tried applying a bit of force to leverage it off but it isn't budging. I don't really want to force it too much and may pop down to the local Sony shop who might know something, or trying the online help.

Have to say that it is a lovely machine, runs well and with no problems at all, though I really want to upgrade to 4GB of RAM if only I could open the thing up.

 

I am wondering how much did you pay for it? and how is the screen?

 

Notebookcheck has released a review of the YA today.

Notebookcheck Link

 

thanks for the link, good review

 

I checked out the new Y 11.6 inch series that was on display at Sonystlye and I must say that I like how it looked and felt. It felt pretty well built and the screen was bright and vibrant.

 

hmm now I am unsure if I should opt for the YA or wait for something else 6 months from now, perhaps fall 2011

 

I picked up my version for 2100 Ringgit, which was about £470 UK Sterling. I thought it was a very good deal for a brand new model - a little bit more than a high level netbook but with a proper screen and CPU.

The screen is very sharp, great colour, though I find the 16:9 screen a little unconventional, possibly because it is my first go at using such a ratio. Unfortunately, the screen is very reflective so when in sunshine and the same gloss makes the viewing angles quite poor. The lid is also very sturdy and has no flex, with good, tight hinges.

The only thing I wish it had was an internal SIM slot - as more and more 11.6 machines are created I might pick up another one for work with an internal slot and use the YA as my home machine.

 

I'm a bit disapointed at how fat the YA series looks in the photos. It's 25mm/1inch thick which is pretty fat when you consider it's supposed to be an ultraportable without optical drive. I think Sony should have tried harder to compete with the new 11" Macbook Air, even if it pushed the prices a bit higher.

 

They couldn't make it slimmer because of design i.e. cylindric hinge and lines (all ports are located under keyboard "layer"). But next design concepts (SA/SB) are more flexible in terms of thickness, so we have to wait for second generation of YA/YB

 

I am not sure the thickness bothers me that much, since I like the design and think it looks great. but I fear that 6-8 months down the line a new model will arrive, not necessarily a new YA/YB. but some other model with similar size but more or less same specs.

it is nice that the ram and hdd are accessible from the bottom not under the keyboard.

 

Product Comparison : VAIO Notebook & Computer : Sony Thailand

This is what you get in Thailand at the moment. They look the same apart from the color. The cheaper version comes with Win Starter and uses the AMD E-350. The price difference is about US230. Only thing is that for about US35 more than the cheaper AMD version you can get the Acer 8172T. Similar size but with Intel i3-380UM, Win 7 Pro, a 500GB HD...

 

I have the YB15KX and put in an Intel X25M 80GB SSD. It is much more responsive and boots to a usable state with wifi in roughly 45 seconds. It's no Macbook Air, but it's definately no slouch.

 

thanks for the info, on the notebookcheck review they have the YA info and the processor comes in at 4.8, which is nice, but ram is at 5, graphics 3.8, gaming graphics 4.8 and primary hard disk at 5.9. So it appears that even though the intel cpu is better, it is slower in the gfx dept.

 

The YB is the one with W7 32-bit.

It will be interesting to see how Apple does with the 11" MBA. It sure looks slick. But they sacrificed connectivity, battery life, and any upgrade ability to make it so thin.

Sony tried to make a super-thin 11" before with the X. It ended up being too compromised and too expensive and didn't sell well. Meanwhile, Acer sold a boatload of 1410/1810s. I think Sony is going after that market now.

I also think that beyond a certain point, making a laptop thinner doesn't really provide any advantage in portability. It just becomes a fashion statement.

 

To be fair the 11" Macbook Airs battery lasts longer than the YA&YB, the SSD and 320M make it a very quick machine. Personally have just sold the latest 13" MBA which was amazing but I am awaiting the Sandy Bridge Macbook Pro's (fingers crossed for thursday). The 11" MBA is selling by the boat load apparently, but then isn't everything apple make apart from the apple TV lol.

The X was lacking in performance, although impressively designed. I think sony need to have a big rethink lately in the design dept, they used to have the smallest, slimmest and most impressive notebooks but apart from the Z it's all a bit dated on the design front.

I havent come on here to be an Apple Fan Boy, I was considering picking up a windows machine out of curiosity more than anything, as I haven't used windows since Me Edition

 

I assume you're waiting for the update to the MBP 13"? That's the one I'd go for in your position, and give Win 7 a try through boot camp.

To be fair to Sony, they did try for years to build a market for ultra-ultra-portables with the X505, TX, TT, X, and P. None of these sold well because they were too compromised. It seems to me that ultra-portable buyers with a flexible (i.e. large) budget want the smallest and lightest laptop they can get without making sacrifices. And 13" is about as small as you can go in the widescreen form factor without tossing features and reducing performance. That's why Sony's flagship is the Z.

There are some things about the MacBook Air 11 that I really like. For instance, the keyboard is a long way better than any other 11", including the Sony YA/YB. The screen is also excellent. But I couldn't get myself to accept the battery life or the lack of connectivity, and because it's not upgradeable you're almost forced to go for the $1300 configuration.

I think the battery life of the YA/YB is also too short, but it's more of an issue with the MBA 11 because the battery is built into the computer. And as Ars pointed out in their review, Apple is effectively gaming the battery life tests by not shipping their machines with Flash. Once they installed Flash, the best they saw was 4 hours. If they had just made the MBA 11 about 1/8" thicker and 0.5 lb. heavier, they could have probably fit a 5000 W-Hr battery and the necessary ports to avoid dongle hell. What is the point of making it so thin & light if you have to carry around dongles for Ethernet, SD cards, HDMI, and possibly VGA as well?

 

No this time I am going with either 15" or 17" as I am looking to replace my 13" Air and 24" iMac with one machine. I rarely take my laptop away from the house so portability is no longer a real issue for me.(I have previously owned 2 13" MBP followed by the 13" MBA last october) Sorry to everyone for going off topic, promise last none YA/YB post.

 

That power button is out of place with this netbook. Why dont they make it smaller? It looks ugly.

 

because most people either don't use them or don't even think about them when buying the lappy. its good marketing really.

 

don't forget that the MBA also has an SSD which helps add about an hour to the battery life.. i would assume that if it had the same HDD as the YB, it would get the same or worse battery life

 

I assume this is teh right thread to discuss the YB series with the new zacate APU?

If so, does any one have this model:

Sony VAIO 11.6" AMD E-350 Laptop (VPCYB13KDS) - Silver : 13" Laptops and Smaller - Future Shop

What is the wifi chipset, and are the HDD and RAM user accessible?

 

Atheros AR9285 802.11n

The HDD and RAM are user accessible.

And yeah, you have the right thread.

 

Does the yb come with 6 or 3 cell battery?

 

I believe it's a 3 cell. Capacity is 3500 mAh or ~38 Wh which is good for 4-5 hours, which is about 90 min. less than the competing HP and is probably the biggest weakness of this model.

 

Has anyone install this on a 64 bit OS? Any problem using the 32 bit as Sony doesnt have any drivers for the 64 bit. Amazing!

 

Is there one or two DIMM slot on this new Y?

 

There are two DIMM slots on the machine. See http://www.notebookcheck.net/typo3temp/pics/84b4099e35.jpg

 

Thanks. Is it worth the extra $50 to go from 2gb, 320gb hd to 4gb, 500 hd?

Another 2gb memory is $10. I already have a 500 gb hd.

 

If you already got a good 500 gb drive and another brick of memory is $10, I don't think there is a point in paying $50 extra. Depending on if you are going for the Zacate or the i3 version, there is a different maximum memory (4 gb max for the Zacate or 8 gb for the Intel version), at least in the official spec from Sony.

 

Zacate or i3? The current chip is AMD and its a dual core. What you taking about?

 

Zacate is the AMD version. Over here (Sweden) we will eventually have two versions: one AMD and one Intel. Only Intel available right now here. Options are probably different in different parts of the world.

Sorry if it was confusing.

 

Really? I rather have an Intel chip. Dont know why it is AMD here and would we get Intel here too?

Has anyone run VMware on this machine? Does it run very slow?

 

I am about to get a Sony Vaio Y.

It is going to be my backup machine. At home I will use it for Skype. Maybe play 1080p movies.

I just wonder what the performance when it runs in Vmware.

I really wish it can run in 64 bit. Will the 32 bit driver work fine in this?

 

I have to assume they installed the 32-bit OS for a reason, and that if you install 64-bit Win 7 there may be some kind of driver or HW compatibility issues. Plus you'll need a separate licensed copy of Win 7, and there may be some bundled software that is only installable through system restore which you would lose.

I would not assume there is an easy upgrade path to 64-bit.

 

I use to have other Sony and there would be lots of input and user experience on how to get the 64 bit thing to work.

I guess that the Y is just not a hacker or nerd computer where most people would like to get?

I will be the experiment rat or pig to try it out and let you all know. I wish I know in advance. If you got this experience with the 11.6" Y, please share.

 

The YA comes with win 7 64, so perhaps the AMD is not able to run the 64 bit OS?

 

The AMD has 2 gb of memory as standard, so Win 7 32-bit is probably more appropriate (maybe saves some money too?) whereas the Intel has 4 gb as standard, so it has to come with Win 7 64-bit. The AMD can run the 64-bit os, too. It is only to be able to make it cheaper price-wise.

The price difference here between the Intel and the AMD is about 215 - 270 euros (700-750 euros for the Intel and 500 for the AMD).

 

I will get a 2GB and put it in. It is about $10 the last time I check. I know 32bit can see 3.5gb, but I like to see 4gb of it.

 

I just order a Y 11.6". I only got the basic one with 2gb and 320gb. I will upgrade it on my own later. Its $489. After cashback and a opening a Sony CC, I will get it for less than $250. Will take 3+ mths.

I have been waiting to do this trick and I remember this: For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (How true and thats how I can get a good deal on it!).

 

Thinking of getting one of these for my GF. Couple of questions:

1. How noisy is the fan?

2. How is the speaker sound quality? I have a Z13 - it's atrocious.

Thanks

 

I just call the online store. They said they dont have it in stock, yet its able to order online. She said it will be a week before they get more in.

 

I know you've been waiting a long time now for a deal on the Y you can't pass up. Hope you enjoy it.

Did you really mean 3+ months?

1. Unfortunately, I've only experienced the YA so I can't really say. The YA is quiet. I suspect the YB is too, considering the early reviews say it runs cool and gets about the same battery life as the YA.

2. The speakers sound tinny and don't play very loud. But come on... really, it's an 11" ultraportable, what do you expect the sound quality to be like?

 

Yah, it takes 3+ month for the money to be rebate back to my cc. I am still waiting for the Y to come in stock at this website just to save that 3%.

Dont forget the speaker is at the bottom front.

 

I just watch this video clip of the YB and it is not bad at all.

YouTube - Sony Vaio YB review, with AMD Fusion inside

It can play games with no drop. Sound is fine.

I wish its 64 bit so I can get the full 4gb out of it.

My order is still on.

 

Sounds scarily like the Z13. Please tell me it's not that bad.

My old 10.6" TR1MP (as seen on The Social Network) has vastly superior sound to my brand new Z13.

I know that much.

 

For those who have the Zacate version:

1. Any luck overclocking the AMD Radeon HD 6310?

2. I've heard a lot of reviewers complain about the keyboard, does the size bother you?

 

From what I read, the keyboard is nicely space out and not feel cramp.

 

I don't know about the keyboard, but to me it looks a bit small, but then again these things are very personal (like that I feel that the enter key on the MacBooks is too small - not that I don't hit it when I need to but... you know... brain plays you tricks).

 

This is my first time buying a laptop w/o actually checking it out at the store. I hope the keyboard is not cramp. At home I use it with a 24" monitor and wireless keyboard n mouse. Perhaps not as cramp as a 10.1" notebook?

My laptop ship today. Will get it on Tuesday.

I need to get another 2GB PC3-1066 laptop memory for this. Any will do right? Which one did you all get? What is the timing on the original?

 

I think it will be much better than a netbook keyboard. And if you have an external keyboard when using it at home, I don't think you'll have a problem with it. It'll be interesting to hear what you think of it.