Sony X Series Official Owners Thread

Thanks for the information on the batteries. The L seems like a perfect compromise for everyday use. 4 hours is much better than 2 hours. It seems to weigh less than 1/4 lb more than the S. I hope that it's available in the US. Any thoughts considering its high cost?.

thanks,

Don

 

I have the 2GHz, 128GB model (Signature Collection). My observations mainly for people considering buying it:

- Build quality is very good. Solid.
- Screen is super nice
- This thing is extremely light and thin

But that is where good things end. Here is bad:

- Keyboard is very cramped, don't plan typing much on this unless you have child sized hands
- Touchpad could be larger but instead it is cramped as well. The worst is the lag where touch-pad stops tracking finger movement for second. And it does not even support two finger scrolling. What's the point of multi-touch feature then?
- Machine is quite slow. If SSD was SATA II it would help, as it is machine is on slowish side even for netbook category. I compare this to my HP 2140 netbook with Atom 1.6 GHz with OCZ Vertex SSD and my HP that looks slower on paper is actually faster in use. Go figure.

So, I love build quality and size but with cramped keyboard, laggy touch-pad and slow performance this is not worth $1500 to me. You can get refurbished MacBook Air on Apple site for that much with much better specs. Also, my $399 HP is more usable and not much heavier. I will in all likelihood return Sony X.

Hope this review helps someone that is thinking about buying, but I suspect you will not know whether it is for you or not unless you try it out.

 

Hello don482,

Did you buy your Vaio X at Sony USA?

If so does it have the Sim slot under the battery?

 

After fresh installed Windows 7 Pro, I almost satisfy with my X.
I agree with devexpert about the keyboard. I have small size hand but typing is also annoying when compare to my Z790.
About the performance, Sony website has new driver for GMA500 build 2015.
I installed it and check youtube video. Both HD and regular video play smooth in windowed or full screen in both Basic or Aero.
Even though, when Aero is on, you will see a bit lag of desktop rendering.

Video with KMPlayer (Aero off, standard configuration, built-in codec)
DVD format - smooth with both windowed and full screen.
720p mkv - smooth windowed, skip full screen
1080p mkv - skip both windowed and full screen

 

There is SIM slot, but it's covered.

 

Does this mean I can or cannot use the vgp-bpl19? I bought my vaio x at Sony Style USA.

thanks,

Don

 

You can use all three batteries in X series.
However, US model has S and X batteries. They don't have L battery.

 

Is the L battery available in the United States?

thanks,

Don

 

I don't see any L battery in the US so far.

 

I get much longer than 2 hours! How bright do you have the screen? If you have brightness levels high, that will suck up some juice.

 

How viewable in direct sunlight ?

 

Touchpad could be larger? No, it can't be made much larger because of the battery design! The battery takes up almost all of the bottom of the machine with a small indentation in the centre for the trackpad and memory card slots. If the trackpad was made bigger, then the physical size of the battery would have to reduced. Likewise, the keyboard area cannot be increased due to this tightly integrated design. But I do wish that Sony had chosen to use slightly bigger individual keys though...

Multi-touch is an Apple trademark and they also own a whole load of patents for touch gestures, which may include 2 finger scrolling. So this is maybe why Sony either didn't want to, or couldn't use this type of touch gesture. But there's no doubt 2 finger scrolling would've been a great feature on such a small Vaio X trackpad.

don482 is using the US Vaio X with battery, which is half the capacity of the [L] battery on UK machines.

don482- Sonystyle USA online shop doesn't even list any batteries yet. So, it looks like you're gonna have to phone them again to ask - hopefully it won't take an hour and a half like last time...

 

So you're saying a little creative dremel work to the cover will allow me to use the Sim slot with my own card after unlocking the modem?

 

Probably YES.
I have to look inside before I can make it sure.
With the design, you probably have to solder a SIM slot onto modem board.

 

I've had my X for a few days now, and wanted to add a few observations (been following this thread with interest).


- There is a little "nub" on each hinge. When you have the small battery installed, and you open the screen past 90 degrees, the "nubs" act as the "feet" for the rear of the laptop, thereby creating a small angled incline that changes based on how far you push back the screen. The angle change is quite small.

- If you pick up the laptop from one of the palmrest corners, you can hear a slight "squeek" and feel the laptop flexing a little. If you have it on a table there's no "squeek" or flex from the palmrest.


- The laptop, because it is so light, feels flimsy, but it isn't. The build quality is excellent. It's so light that often, when I open the lid, the rest of the laptop moves upwards as well.

- The brown base is noticeable, but it isn't bad. I would've preferred they made it even darker, but no big deal.

- On the sides of the battery, when installed, there's a small "gap" from the battery to the side of the laptop. Having said that, this gap is quite small, and the rest of the fit and finish is excellent.


- For the extended extra large battery, the two "screws" stick out from the battery--these are spring loaded and screw into the bottom of the laptop. Swapping batteries takes a few seconds once you get used to it.

- The wireless switch has a little dot or hole beside it--I believe it is supposed to light up, but mine doesn't. There's a small indicator light at the front of the laptop--that one lights up, and my wireless works fine, so I'm not worried.


Overall, I'm quite happy with this laptop and plan on taking it everywhere. For my uses, it is the perfect compromise in terms of screen size and battery life (along with the multiple battery options).

I had considered the Sony P, but found the screen to be too small and wide for me to work on it for extended periods of time. The light weight is good too, and the performance is as expected for an Atom processor.



For context, this laptop makes my MacBook Air feel like a brick (with a larger overall footprint as well). I used to use a Sony TX, but since I don't need a DVD drive, I prefer the smaller size of the Vaio X.

My laptop bag is heavier than my X with the small battery in it!

In Canada, the only option is a 64 gig SSD black lid model, with the 2.0 processor. In addition, from what I've been told, all Canadian models have the bilingual keyboard. No GPS available.

 

The hole is a microphone underneath it.

 

I don't think that model has WWAN/Mobile Broadband? If it doesn't, then it won't have GPS, as this feature is integrated with the Gobi WWAN chip.

 

Yes, sorry, I should've clarified. Canada models don't have Mobile Broadband/GPS as an option.

(For the Sony P, we don't have any versions with the SSD--so I assume that for these lower volume niche laptops, Canada gets one main version, because of our smaller market size, etc.)

That makes sense, thanks!

 

I purchased an X but I first forgot to see if it would drive my 28" external monitor. Is anyone using an external monitor when your home with the X?

Thanks,

 

It should work, but it will probably only display at 1024x768 or a lower resolution. I believe it's due to limitations of the Intel graphics chipset/driver.

 

Thanks for the reply. Do you think that the screen will look blurry at that resolution? What would the optimum size screen be at that res?

 

I have Samsung 26" and X can output up to 1920x1200.

 

iTunes Trademark Notation Unified Update Program version 1.0.1.09180

"What does it fix?
This update has several stability and functionality improvements, including MPEG2 playback issues in Windows 7 Home Basic.
It also corrects the iTunes trademark notation."

 

Thats good news. I am in the office 50% and on the road 50%.

Thanks,
Shawn

 

I asked SonyStyle if this laptop would run YouTube and Hulu on HD settings and they said sure.

Is it true that normal settings on YouTube are choppy or dont work? Im in advertising and some of the research I do on old commercials are on YouTube or some industry sites like it.

Is it really true....

 

If you do a fresh install without sony bloatware (X doesn't have much bloatware, but not at all), you will be fine to play Youtube HD windowed. Full screen will be a little chopped.

 

I am really pleased with the performance of the X for my purpose (stock trading, web surfing). Its faster than my 2 year old lenovo X61 even with its core duo processor. My only complaint is the standard 2 cell battery. I am hoping that Sony will make the 4 cell battery available in the US since it runs twice as long but only adds 1/4 lb to the weight.

It seems that Dell has finally released the Adamo XPS. If that had been available I might have ordered that instead of the Vaio X. It's twice as heavy however and has a much larger footprint (and a bigger screen), poor battery life and doesn't come with a built in broad band modem.

I guess I'll keep the X even though it might have been nice to have the better performance if the XPS.

Don

 

Adobe have just released a beta of their Flash 10.1 player which accelerates HD video in sites like Youtube and Hulu. It doesn't work properly with our GMA500 yet but it looks like the support is going to be there in future betas (and of course the final release). It will mean absolutely no problems with HD, either windowed or fullscreen. Without GPU accleration I can't even get windowed HD video in Youtube to play smoothly.

 

OFF TOPIC, But, have you seen the New Dell Adamo XPS? Dell's MBAir. This may also be Dell's answer to the Sony X and Z models - Providing more screen space than the X (@13.4), but lighter than the Z at only 3.2lbs. The design doesn't look bad, if not for that keyboard.

 

Hmmm that's not going to sit on my lap very comfortably! Would suit as a replacement for a Z I think, if you're always using your computer on a desk. But the X (in my biased opinion) is perfect for portability and lap usage

 

this looks like a joke to me.

 

I agree about the Z. I love my Z.

No joke and not a prototype either. You can configure at Dell.com. I just had to share those photos. Interesting design, huh.

 

How will this feel compared to my X41 in viewing and typing? I know its smaller but can you surf or work on it without an external monitor for a few hours without getting a migraine?

Does it feel stable on your lap?

 

Has anyone here in the US purchased the larger internal battery for it yet?

 

I'd never use my own money to buy a Dell! Never. Ever.

 

I got my new 128gb x today. Its pretty friggin amazing how they packed so much into something so thin. I was a bit worried about the size but its perfect for what I will be doing with it. Youtube normal res works perfectly fine. HD does tax the resources of the machine but they do play and look pretty good. I found that you can barely scroll when the hd video is running. Its funny how all the reviews on the web, except for one said it was over priced. The price point on this is probably dead on. Push this above 1500 and it might feel a bit pricy but not way over prices as many reviews have stated. I actually think only one person did a reveiw and all the others used the same comments.

The death of this machine could be that I have to put PGP on it. Ill be doing that on Monday or Tuesday. Are any of you x owners running pgp?

One last comment. The keyboard feels good but there is a learning curve.

 

What kind of slim case is available for the x? A sleeve would be great.

 

Why no 4 cell standard battery and 256 ssd in the US?

 

I've been wondering this myself; any of the smaller 11 to 12 inch smaller cases I've tried in shops have tended to be a bit big; needs to be a comfy fit. Anybody know of any cases purpose built for the X?

 

Here they make some great custom build! http://www.becase.com/
You can even have your name on it!

 

Official Sony case would be VGP-CKX1 (will be available on Sonystyle.com in mid Dec) is sold everywhere else in Europe and Japan. Actually in Japan they have two cases for it one leather and one cloth (CKX2), they also recommend TT case for it.
http://www.vaio.sony.co.jp/vaio/products/VGP-CKX1/
http://www.vaio.sony.co.jp/vaio/products/VGP-CKX2/

 

Fun day at Starbucks with the new X. Instead of walking in with 4.5lbs plus a power cable I walking in with 1.5 lbs and nothing else. The only problem is that I had 3 people ask me what I was working on. The hardware is still satisfactory for me, any of you have more comments?

 

New drivers for the WLAN module of the VAIO X available on the EU Sony Support site

"What does it fix?
Under certain circumstances, your system may show a blue screen when adding a new device."

 

Vaio X Teardown:
http://techon.nikkeibp.co.jp/english/NEWS_EN/20091110/177444/

 

Is it easy to upgrade my notebook to Windows Biz or Ult? My work wants me to have Windows 7 Biz.

Thanks,
S

 

You can use Windows Anytime Upgrade to move up to the Ultimate edition.
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/products/windows-anytime-upgrade

 

Hi Im newbie here and wanted to know if anyone else sees tearing in their video playback besides me. It happens with h264 or xvid hidef 720p movies during random fast camera cutting scenes.

Also during 720p playback of "lost" episode this thing happens where the picture freezes while audio keeps going. Picure catches up seconds later in a messy disarray of macroblocks.

anybody know why this is happening and how I can resolve this?

thanks!

 

have you tried latest GMA 500 drivers? Somebody posted them here and should improve video playback

 

This is the Zeroshock III (10.6"-11.1") Notebook Inner Bag by Japanese accessories giant, Elecom. It's a zip up case with "low rebound elasticity" shock absorbing memory foam. The nice fabric texture on the exterior of previous versions of this inner bag has now been changed to a water-repellent polyurethane - Elecom describe it as, "luxurious", but I'm thinking more along the lines of a cheap CD/DVD holder look from Asda/Walmart...Still, the smooth plastic surface should be a cinch to wipe clean compared to the old fabric covered version, which got dirty fairly easily. There's also a handy zip up pocket on the front for all your little accessories. How does it fit the Vaio X? Well, the recommended max inner dimensions are L=275mm,D=40mm,W=215, and the width of the Vaio X is about 185mm, so it's just a little too wide. But it doesn't really slide around inside too much during normal use though. The Vaio T series fits okay into this 10.6"-11.1" size too, so I guess a Vaio X with extended [X] battery might fit as well.

The weight of the Zeroshock itself is about 274g. In comparison, the official Sony leather case, VGPCKX1 weighs 320g.
Price is around £15, so it's pretty good value for money, and a decent buy, as long as you can put up with the slightly 'tacky' plastic finish.

 

Have a look at this post on Engadget, an InsanelyMac forum member managed to install OS X on the X (but Wifi is not working )