Are all TZ Made in Japan?

Can anyone here confirm this? I just recently saw that you can now configure a TZ to your needs at sonystyle.com, which makes me think that they are being built here now. To all thoes with new TZs pleas turn it over on its back and chime in on if in fact they are Made in Japan still or China. I have a CR and coming from a S460 I think it's junk

 

Firstly, sony doesn't make the laptop, another ODM brand makes it (Quanta, Compal etc) and then sony REBRANDS it, usually made in Taiwan. Second of all, they COULD be made in Japan, but NOT built here.

 

My TZ says "Made in Japan" on the back (2/08 build date), but like unknowntt stated it could be made there and assembled elsewhere.

 

I think you're wrong about Sony not producing the TZ. Check out the following link.

http://vaio-online.sony.com/prod_info/exclusive/vaio_tz_interview/index_01.html

I guess the Toshiba R500 is also made in China/Taiwan?

 

Trust me Marukai, most notebook manufacterers don't actually make the laptop. They REBRAND it. I am willing to bet my life on this one.

"A significant point to note is that the vast majority of laptops on the market are manufactured by a small handful of Original Design Manufacturers (ODM).[4] The ODM matters more than the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM). Major relationships include:
Quanta sells to (among others) HP/Compaq, Dell, Toshiba, Sony, Fujitsu, Acer, NEC, Gateway and Lenovo/IBM - note that Quanta is currently (as of August, 2007) the largest manufacturer of notebook computers in the world.
Compal sells to Toshiba, HP/Compaq, Acer, and Dell.
Wistron (former manufacturing & design division of Acer) sells to HP/Compaq, Dell, IBM, NEC, Acer, and Lenovo/IBM.
Flextronics (former Arima Computer Corporation notebook division) sells to HP/Compaq, NEC, and Dell.
ECS sells to IBM, Fujitsu, and Dell.
to HP/Co*Asus sells to Apple (iBook), Sony, and Samsung.
Inventec sells mpaq, Toshiba, and BenQ.
Uniwill sells to Lenovo/IBM and Fujitsu."

Source from wikipedia.

Trust me marukai, NO ONE THESE days makes their own laptops, they're ALMOST ALLLL REBRANDED!!!

 

I know that the Vaio UX and TZ series at least are all manufactured in Japan. I think the "Premium" SZs are also all manufactured in Japan.

 

Sony still keeps some production capability within Japan's home soil, just like most other Japanese notebook makers. I don't think all TZ are made in Japan, but a majority of them are -- when you make a laptop that features an optional lid that only one person on this planet can make (by hand), it's not going to make too much sense to take advantage the mass production benefit of China (and to a lesser degree, Taiwan).

 

Again, I can't say where it's made, but I KNOW that Sony does NOT make it, some Taiwanese company makes it, and then allows sony to put their name on it. That's all I can say for sure. It could be made in japan, I mean it could be made anywhere, but again, rebranded.

 

Quick summary:

Sticker on bottom of TZ (bought in the US market) will list the following:

Preconfigured TZ - "Made In Japan"
Customized TZ - "Assembled in the U.S. with U.S. and/or foreign components"

 

My old man always joke around that the sticker is "Made (Print) in Japan".

 

Heehee... That's a good one. :laugh:

 

if it says made in japan, it's made in japan. import laws require the country of manufacture to be listed.

sony did all the design work on the TZ, and i highly doubt manufacturing was outsourced to a cheap chinese company, otherwise it would say "made in china".

the TZ certainly isn't just a rebranded something else, it's 100% original to sony. if you can find another ultraportable that looks like it (which you can't), then i'll believe the rebranded chinese laptop story. this isn't an averatec. lol

 

All notebooks are outsourced......

A cheap chinese company? That may be true, but 99% of the world's laptops are outsourced, even the higher end HP business notebooks, lenovo's thinkpads, etc etc.

you must not understand the concept of how the notebook market works. All notebooks are outsourced....

It's outsourced, face it...

 

You totally wrong unknowntt because you are not using Sony.
Try do more research before giving a conclude.

 

Lol, okay, if you say so. Just because I don't use a Sony, it doesn't mean I don't know anything.

Think about it, does Sony make the motherboard? Does sony make the processor? Does sony make the hard drive? does sony make the LCD screen? Does sony make the plastic case? Uhh, NO they don't? They don't even assemble it. A taiwanese company ASSEMBLES it and it's outsourced by Sony. YOu seriously don't have a clue about how the market works.

A significant point to note is that the vast majority of laptops on the market are manufactured by a small handful of Original Design Manufacturers (ODM).[4] The ODM matters more than the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM). Major relationships include:
Quanta sells to (among others) HP/Compaq, Dell, Toshiba, Sony, Fujitsu, Acer, NEC, Gateway and Lenovo/IBM - note that Quanta is currently (as of August, 2007) the largest manufacturer of notebook computers in the world.
Compal sells to Toshiba, HP/Compaq, Acer, and Dell.
Wistron (former manufacturing & design division of Acer) sells to HP/Compaq, Dell, IBM, NEC, Acer, and Lenovo/IBM.
Flextronics (former Arima Computer Corporation notebook division) sells to HP/Compaq, NEC, and Dell.
ECS sells to IBM, Fujitsu, and Dell.
Asus sells to Apple (iBook), Sony, and Samsung.
Inventec sells to HP/Compaq, Toshiba, and BenQ.
Uniwill sells to Lenovo/IBM and Fujitsu.

scottyinco, yes, sony did the design work and all the stuff involved with designing it, but outsourced it.

Ngvuanh, you don't have a clue. Have fun with your TZ, sounds like a good laptop!

 

Hey unknownitt,
You are probably not understanding the term "re-branded"....according to the Wikipedia: "Rebranding is the process by which a product or service developed with one brand or company or product line affiliation is marketed or distributed with a different identity. This involves radical changes to the brand's logo, brand name, image, marketing strategy, and advertising themes."
Sony is no way near close to that. Sony Corp. has a number of its factories that manufacture its products. VAIOs were all made in Japan and recently Sony opened a new factory in China that is taking care of low end models and like it was said before, the higher end models are still made in Japan. There is also a factory in California where CTO (custom to order) models are being built as well. The only part you are right is that the components are not made by Sony, like any OEM Sony buys its components and assembles its products, however there are a few Sony made hardware parts that are patented, thus belong to Sony like some of their MPEG boards, Sony Reality Chip, etc (a lot used also in digital imaging and audio/video as well).
To sum it all up, check out this video about VAIO factory in Japan (forgot what prefecture it is located in): http://www.vaio.sony.co.jp/Products/Concept/VAIO_Quality/
If you know Japanese, it'll be clear to you even more!
So don't state something until you know the facts or at least dealt with it directly. Human err, so you are forgiven. =)

 

Lol I'm forgiven? Okay? Anyways, well, I can see your point and all, but everything is outsourced these days, I mean check out all of the semiconductors being outsourced by taiwanese companies these days. Fabless companies and what not. Well, I still think that MOST sony's are outsourced, with a few here and there being assembled in "sony" factories". Otherwise, sources wouldn't say that Quanta, Compal, and etc were outsourcing them.

 

Prove that! Wikipedia is not a definitive source of information.

I won't face it unless you can prove it about this notebook. I understand how the high tech industry works, and manufacturing in general. Everything seems to be made in China. But just because everything seems that way doesn't make it so.

 

Hey, you know what, I can't prove it, but I can believe what I want =D

I can't tell you where it's made, who made it, because I'll never have a definitive answer until I work for sony, and make one of those myself!

I'll tell you that it seems like a damn good notebook, but I still think that most, if not all, sony's are outsourced. I can't prove myself right, nor can I prove myself wrong. At the end of the day, I really could care less who made it or where it was made!

Enjoy using your laptop!

 

At the end of the day, you are just wasting everyone's time. The title of this discussion is about Sony TZ and Sony TZ only -- what Sony does to their other notebooks and what other manufacturers do to theirs notebooks are really irrelevant.

Sony TZ does use components that could come from anywhere in the world -- and that is true for every laptop like you say. However, that's not outsourcing or rebranding -- if Sony is doing outsourcing, then it would have to design its own CPU and then make them in China, and if Sony is rebranding, then it would have to use Intel CPU and says its Sony CPU. Clearly, Sony is doing neither -- Sony has not put their Cell CPU on laptop and Sony laptops still have that stupid Intel inside stickers.

What Sony does, like every one else, is using suppliers that did their own outsourcing. Now, it does make the "Made in Japan/USA/etc..." wording somewhat superficial and it is worth cautioning, but I think most people that come here and have more than 3 posts under their ID would have known that "Made in Japan" really just means "Assembled and Quality Checked in Japan" -- and seriously, if you have friends that actually work as the Quality lead of the Taiwanese notebook makers that you praised so much in their plants in China, you would have known just assembled and QCed in Japan make a world of difference in the quality of the final product delivered.

As far as the design work, which I don't think it really relates to the Made in Japan sticker, Sony does work with ODM/OEM so that their products are optimized within the manufacturing capability of the ODM/OEM. Again, it is a practice that is universal in this industry. The fine line lies in how much design ownership and know-how resides in Sony's own and, in this regard, TZ is as a pure-bred Sony as IFL90 is a pure-bred Compal.

 

You don't understand the definition of rebranding. The majority of OEMs still design their notebooks and maintain a tight control over production processes even if they have outsourced assembly and procurement to the ODMs.

 

Here are our options - assume that that a giant multi-national corporation is risking a huge lawsuit by lying about where they build their laptops, or believe a guy that concedes he has no real facts, and cites a wikipedia article it's clear he only halfway understands.

Hmm, tough call, but I'm going to have to go with Sony on this one.

 

Agreed. It couldn't have been put into words any better.

 

Just wanted to throw this chart out for anyone who's interested

 

I'm interested

 

Hey all of you who posted on this thread! I know most of you won't read this, and this thread IS kinda old, but I would like to make an apology because of how I was talking on this thread. I guess I kinda thought my opinion was right, and wouldn't take no for an answer. Sorry for strictly thinking my answers was the RIGHT answer, because it might have been, or it might not have been, but that's not the point, the point is I would like to apologize.

Whether or not this laptop, or any sony laptops are outsourced, I don't know, and I probably never will know, but it doesn't matter, and again, I do apologize for being rather argumentative, and not being open to any new ideas.

Thanks all =)

 

No problem man! It was a nice conversation and each of us learned something from it.

 

I remember I read this last year on a Chinese forum.
Recent models with LED back lid and carbon fiber are "Made in Japan" (at least according stickers). TZ, SZ, TX, UX... Those require hi-end technology to build.

 

Actually with sony laptops, they are usually not rebranded... since they create their own designs. But yes, the lower end of sony laptops are usully made in china and other asian countrires.. while they keep their top lines (most expensive ones) like the tz, sony sz premium, ux lines... in their home soil where is made there. Just like their cars. Their best cars are always tested before they ship and are always 'made in japan'. However for laptops, like the fz, nr, cr they are not made in japan... hence the lower cost.

 

And they don't make that many, so easier quality control is more important than cost...

Such thing is common - much like Philips shavers, lower end ones are made in China, but their better ones are still made in Holland. That being said, even "made in China" does not mean it is made entirely in China. Many companies like to bring in components from their home countries (or some other countries), and do final assembly (which is often the easiest) in "outsourcing" country.

 

Actually,most of them are made in China and Malaysia.