Anything coming out to replace the Z series soon?

Hello,

I'd like the fastest and lightest combo possible. I don't know when the z690 came out but before I buy I'd like to know what the latest model in the near future is?

Thanks

 

*waits for fanboys to come in saying the Z doesn't have to be faster or lighter*

 

The Z is getting a refresh for the Z7xx series. So it will be a very long while before it gets replaced.

They are accepting preorders for preconfigs at SonyStyle, stay tuned for the CTOs.

 

it's strange that US does not sell 8GB premade...

 

Going by previous models, the Z will stick around for another 2 years or so, getting a fairly regular spec refresh during that time. If you're looking for something that looks different, be prepared for quite a long wait.

 

Thanks - I see they have the new 7 to replace the 6 - not seeing any real difference although I could be missing it other than the uber expensive ssd drive that is too small for me to use. (I usually replace the stock drive with a 500GB seagate).

 

The Z is already pretty light. Any lighter you will be looking at the T series. The Z could get a tiny bit slimmer. Maybe be 1" all the way around instead of wedged shaped.

 

Yes- a little thinner would be nice.

 

A little thinner? I wouldn't mind seeing it a lot thinner.

 

Maybe the Z is about to be replaced. It took 2 years for the SZ to get into the 700 series, and the Z is already there. Maybe Jan/Feb/March when Arrandale processors are released, the Z will be replaced...

 

I would mind. Performance and utility > arbitrary thinness.

 

Well isn't the new Z700 line like now 3.3lbs vs the older ones which were 3.43lbs. So it is just a bit lighter.

 

Things were a bit different with the SZ series, it went from SZ1-SZ7.
In the US it started out at Z5 for the top end model and now is on Z7.
Z2-4 in the US were reserved for the lower end models.
In the EU there have been 3 series in about what must be coming up to 1 yr.

 

There is no rule that says size reduction = less performance

This is just Moore's law in action

 

Thin laptops always have drawbacks; price skyrockets (this is almost always the case), performance decreases, and/or DVD drive/ports are removed. Given a set of resources, the manufacturers have to allocate them in certain areas -- and allocating it on 'thinness' (which you probably won't ever notice) takes probably the most resources, evident in every light-and-thin laptop out there.

The Z is the only laptop that I know of in a 13" chassis where you can get up to a P9700 CPU that is 3~ pounds with a graphics card, with good battery life. It's pretty unique, there's no reason to change that.

 

Mark, I agree there is usually a drawback to lighter and thinner but the Z has a nice combination of speed, features (e.g. built in opticatl) and general physical form. Sony has improved from older designs, I see no reason they can't continue to improve upon their past success. Sony has many different lines so they can have heavy and cheaper, and lighter but more limited models. Technology improves so it would be inane to assume 10 years from now a laptop will still need to be 3lbs or more to be fast or to have and LCD screen or a spinning hard drive to get 500GB for that matter. I think most of us are just saying we'd like Sony to continue to improve their products, not lobotomize a series or limit a series - just continue to increase speed while reducing overall girth.

By this time next year I would hope that the successor to the Z includes a faster processor, USB 3.0, BT 3.0, more video memory, still has a built in optical, newer sata, larger ss disc drives (as an option), and reduced rear height to 1" instead of 1.3" I don't think I'm being crazy in my hopes. Hell, maybe they could include a slot type mouse - someone build a PCMCIA card mouse that charged in the PCMCIA card - something like that might be nice as I still prefer a mouse over the touch pad.

 

I understand what you're saying. However, I have to point out what you posted is a strawman.

We're talking about given a set of resources, where you should allocate those resources -- based on current technology. We're not talking about 'not improving the laptop ever', though I can see how you would misunderstand that.

 

Are you asking me what the could do right now to slim it down using current technology?

 

I'm not asking you anything actually. Currently, thin and light laptops are extremely more expensive than 'budget laptops' with better specs. Many can't fit a DVD drive or other utilities either, and some (Macbook Air, Dell Adamo) have crappy battery life to compensate for it's thinness. You pay a very hefty price for 'thinness' as it stands (half quotes because it's arbitrarily thin). The Vaio Z is unique in that it brings the best of both worlds, light weight (due to carbon fiber) and great battery life/specs, has graphics, etc. They don't and shouldn't downgrade it off for the sake of 'thinness.'

 

I agree - it is a nice combo of thin and light although you do pay more for it then others of the same processing power to get the thin and light and I'm willing to pay that difference in price as that is what I want for a laptop. I however do think their engineers could probably figure a way to improve the thermo dynamics of the unit so they could indeed make it even slimmer though. I'm sure slimmer screens are available as well that don't necesarily have to be any degradation from the current units in terms of pq or responsiveness. That isn't to put their engineers down - the Sony Z is my favorite laptop, however things can always be tweaked and I imagine their engineers already learned a way to improve the design of the unit which will be available in the successor to the z series without sacraficing anything. Every time I design a new system, I learn from my past set ups and research what others are doing to improve one each time. It doesn't mean the others were set up poorly but there is always room for improvement and tweaking.

I'm looking at a prius and even though the new model is better than the old model, they engineers already know the battery technology that is available today (and was available last year) that could be used in the 2011 model if they wanted to improve the mpg by over 25%. If they ever get carbon nanotube batteries properly designed I'm sure they could more than double the MPG of the prius as they also improve the electric drive of it as well.

 

What I think he is saying is Sony possible used some wasted space, and could make it a bit thinner of they wanted to while keeping everything else. That maybe true, but then arises the issue of fan noise or heat if it got a bit thinner.

 

Well, that's an unproven and most certainly an unsubstiated statement. The Z is already up there in efficiency, to the point where I have yet to see a laptop rival it in that department. There's no reason to take your sentiments seriously until you demonstrate why that's the case.

I'd wager, if the resources were there, other companies would would attempt it as well. So far, what's available shows that it's not the case.

In fact I would say it's the opposite. Those who have attempted to 'thin out' the laptop, like the Macbook Air and Adamo, have sacrificed everything for it. Given it's hefty price, it appears to be as efficient as they can make it. Allocating resources towards 'slimness' takes a big toll on the machine.

That Sony can somehow make it (arbitrarily) thin, while keeping everything the same, despite the fact that no other manufacturer has done so, appears to be a wrong statement.

 

OK - then - fire all the engineers at Sony - Mark has determined that there is no room for improvement No need to waste money on them if we've reached the pinacle of laptop development.

 

Another strawman. I never said there is no room for improvement. I'm saying they've allocated their resources as efficiently as possible in the area they're focused on -- and that is lightweight with amazing specs and utility, while not placing any emphasis on 'thinness' (as if that mattered anyway). The products that every other manufacturer has released agrees with my statement.

 

The first thing Z should get is a new cooling system.

 

Of course you're not going to see any other 13" notebooks with close to the Z specifications & form factor mainly because of the "small group" of industry ODMs, the market demand, & the competitive notebook makers' individual market strategy.

Fire the engineers at Sony? The thing is that Sony & almost every other companies have contracts with ODMs to design & manufacture their notebooks. It's not like there are tons of ODMs so that is why we're seeing the notebook product designs in the market to be "more or less similar." Yes, you'll think I'm just BSing because you've probably see that those designers, when interviewed or something say that they are Sony designers, etc. but one has to be aware that they have to say so because they are bound by the contract their ODM company has in place with the said product company, which in this case is Sony & so on.

You'll be surprised to see how many of the notebook companies are contracting out the notebook design work to the ODMs rather than just letting them manufacture them.

 

Correction: You'll (probably not) be surprised to see how many of the notebook companies are contracting out the notebook design work as well as the manufacturer to the ODM's for their lowest-margin products.

There's plenty of room for improvement on the Z, if not in terms of function/weight right now but in terms of look & feel combined with it's technical attributes.

 

Strawman! Strawman! I'm going to use the word Strawman even though it is in the wrong context! And misuse "quotes" too! Just kidding - I agree that there is room for improvement even though for me it is the best laptop available.

For some reason others want to pick an argument about nothing.

 

Agree. Look and feel can change in different ways, it's also subjective keep in mind. Changing the 'thinness' is radically altering the laptop.

The only one misunderstanding is you. You've used the exact same strawman twice, when I've clarified twice that we're not talking about 'never improving the technology,' we're talking about allocating existing resources - balancing price, performance, and profit margins. The fact that somehow you don't understand this boggles my mind. Or maybe not, since you've acknowledged that they're 'not allocating existing resources as efficiently' by asserting Sony designers can somehow make the laptop 'thin' while keeping everything else the same (despite the fact that there are 0 thin laptops as powerful and functional as the Z) -- then when called out, fell back to the "you're saying they can't improve it at all!!1" Reallocating resources into thinness is a major resource. Sorry your assertions suck? You also seem to have no idea what a strawman is.

TLDR: You asserted something, you couldn't back it up, you resorted to logical fallacies.

 

Alright girls, back on topic, which I believe is the Sony Z replacement.

 

Is it true there will be 32nm processors and updated graphics card for the Z in Q1 2010?

 

i have read that sony will announce new notebooks on october with new windows 7. Maybe they will refresh also the z with touchscreen. I also wanted to buy a z, but i think is best to wait for new series in 2 months. Has anyone heard somethink more?

 

I hope it happens soon because I'm a college student in dire need of a high-quality, portable laptop. I think I'll wait after the windows 7 launch, but they usually refresh the laptops before Christmas, right?

 

Yes, most laptops from all the manufacturers will get this update in Q1. It is rumored that Intel will announce the processors at CES which is Jan 7-10th.

 

What is the usual wait before the product is on sale after it is announced?

 

Anyone remember when the current Z design was released? I'm thinking it was around February but I don't recall.

 

July 2008, last refresh was the fourth one with Win7.

 

Z is relic. Envy changed the game.

 

Envy? Gotta be kiddin )

 

Surely you jest. It may be the first ripoff that's better in terms of function than what it's ripping off, but it's a ripoff nevertheless.

 

Hi!

Great forum I must say, nice discusions taking place here and for sure some good information can be found here.

Currently I own a TZ series laptop but I am thinking of switching.

Any news yet on a Z replacement? I thinking of changing from TZ to Z. It seems that the Z has everything I missed in a TZ - speed, performance, slightly bigger screen, bigger res, BD... Could it be even bettered any time soon?

And of topic: If I decide to take the 2.5Ghz option will I be able to upgrade it later to the 3.06 Ghz option or are only hard drives and RAM upgradeable?

Thanks!

 

I just set up an X vaio for a client. While it was pretty slow compared to the Z series I have, I have to admit it was freakishly light! I took it out of the box and figured it didn't have the battery attached. It is also wonderfully slim however it only had a 128 GB drive and I'd need 500GB. Hopefully we'll see SSD drives get cheaper and able to store far more data soon.

Mind you I want faster and I want a built in optical drive but I do have a little envy of that little x laptop. I wouldn't want an external DVD like I had to get for the client with the X but he probably won't need to burn a lot of boot DVDs or the like. For browsing the web and checking e-mail it is an excellent laptop but I need a to do a good amount more including burning discs on a regular basis but I wouldn't complain if they did manage to make the next Z a tad lighter and slimmer.

 

With the coming Intel integrated graphics and what will be released for netbooks my SZ is starting to show its age. The coming IGP will be better than the 8400GS in my SZ.

This is what i would like

13.3 (i would like Sony to move back to this size but i cannot see it happening)
DVD drive (removable) if it wasn't removable i can live with this
no more than 3.8lbs
1600x900 res
switchable graphics
6hrs battery life with a decent rated battery at least 58whr.
WWAN etc

If Sony brought out something like this i would replace my two year old SZ early next year.

 

I think 13.3 is now designated for the SR, but that doesn't come with the nicer matte-ish screen, or resolution option of the Z, not to mention no switchable gpu so battery life takes a hit. It weighs 4.3lbs but I bet if Sony wanted, they could easily drop the weight down to 3.8 and still keep it around the same price.

 

Sounds like all you really want is a Z but with better discrete graphics (minimum g210m, but g230.40 would be even better.) Hopefully we will see that at CES, since the sz upgraded graphics mid-cycle from the 7400->8500.) I guess we will know next month, although I'll probably buy a Z before then...

 

I'm not a big 16:9 fan either, but that seems to be where everyone is heading. The SR at 16:10 is almost like a throwback.