Bought new Sony Z (1920x1080, no SSD, 8GB RAM, etc.)

My Z configuration:

Color: Premium Carbon (non-glossy)
Palm rest: Silver
CPU: Core i7-620M(2.66 GHz)
HDD/SDD option: 320GB HDD with no optical drive and no SSD
LCD: (1920×1080)
Keyboard: US English with backlight
Memory: 2x4GB (8GB total)
USB: 3 x USB
Warranty: 3 year Standard (no upgrade) valid only in Japan
OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit Japanese
Wimax: Yes (ieee 802.16e)
WIFI Lan: MIMO 2x2
Bluetooth: Yes(default included)
attery: Standard (S)
Pre Installed software: Japanese

Damage: $2,579.00- (Included USPS Domestic shipping fee)

I ordered this through a Japanese import service company that didn't charge me an arm and a leg like some of the other known importers out there.

http://www.users-side.co.jp/USA_WEB/index_en.html

They are not as well known but they provide awesome service for practically anything that you want to obtain from Japan at a very reasonable service fee.

Hit them up if you're interested in getting a Z configured like mine but don't want to pay upwards of $3000. They don't offer the Z on their website but if you specify it with the details in the "Inquiry" section, they will get back to you and get it ordered for you.

I will post a short review once I get it. It should arrive around mid April.

 

Thank you for the link

That's quite a contrast: silver palmrests with the rest of the laptop black / dark grey...

 

Not a problem. I thought it may help you guys that are interested in configuring the Z to what Sony Japan offers.

As for the colors, I prefer it this way. My current notebook, a 14" Asus, has similar color scheme...

 

How much for shipping to the US?

 

Isn't there a warranty issue if you source a computer from Japan? Seems an extended warranty would not be an option...

 

only japanese warranty for 3yrs and each visit would take a month.
Also win7 version is japanese not english

 

The Z configured to my specs was about $2350 at Sony Style Japan after conversion from Japanese yen. Users Side tacked on their service fee + international shipping + USPS domestic shipping and that came out to $2579. This is actually very good since the next best place, Conics, charges about $500 more for an identically configured Z after shipping charges are applied.

Users-Side will help you get your Z shipped to and from Japan if it came to that. They have offices in both Japan and US. You will have to pay extra for international shipping fees, however.

I think the first year is world wide, meaning it doesn't matter where you purchased it. Not 100% sure about this though. Better contact Sony to make sure.

It really doesn't matter to me though since I'm going to open the thing up to change out the HDD with a Vertex SSD. I'm sure I'll void their warranty by doing this. I'm also installing English Win7 Ultimate 64 so OS being Japanese
is another irrelevant factor.

 

agree it is a good deal . The warranty is Japanese only for 3 yrs and it takes a month for each service approx.

 

What about the International Repair Service Program?

 

I'm not at all familiar with this program. There is an option to choose a different warranty which requires additional $200 or so when you order the Z from Sony Japan. This warranty might be what you're referring to.

 

I believe the first year of the 3 year warranty is International. Interestingly - if I buy from Japan, my country, Canada, is covered under the international warranty. But if I buy from the States, Canada is not covered. Makes it all the more compelling to look at sites like users-side.

The extra $200 warranty (at least at Conics) is their "wide" warranty, which I believe covers some accidental damage.

-Peter

 

quick question - how do you plan to install the OS? i mean, i know you are just gonna plop in a new sdd in there, but since there wont be a dvd drive, are you just going to plop the new SSD, and put a thumb drive in and hope it boots off the thumb drive?

sorry, i know its a dumb question, but i haveta know cause i wanna do the same thing and order...

also, how much did you have to put down?

 

would keyboard mapping from japanese os to us english os be an issue?

 

This is the IRSP website. As said before, you should qualify for a year of coverage with most new models, but their coverage isn't entirely worldwide.

 

This is extremely interesting... I might have to send them a quick message to see what my configuration would cost. And I'm not worried too much about the warranty, since its possible to pick one up from Squaretrade for not a ton of money. But I guess that one year "international" coverage would be nice. Anyone with any experience in getting that?

 

I have a usb external dvd drive. I've installed Win7 to my lanbox with it since I built that without an internal dvd drive. What you mentioned works also since I've installed Vista 64 to my current notebook via the thumb drive method.

As far as the cost of the new Z, it cost me $2579 with shipping.

I'm not sure what you're asking here but under windows, keyboard mapping has never been an issue. You need to install the language pack for the language you are trying to map the keyboard to. You can only do this under Windows 7 Ultimate (feel free to correct me if I'm wrong here).

As far as keyboard options go, you can configure the Z with English Keyboard with or without backlight, Japanese characters only (I think), and English with Japanese characters.

 

Good info. Thanks for the link!

 

And this is the list when purchased in Asia. The list of countries is different - not sure why. And one list isn't a subset of the other - there are unique countries in each.

-Peter

 

I have asked the user side in cali and they have told me the warranty is only japanese for all the 3 years.

 

not worth that kind of hassle.

then again, I just got my refund check in the mail from Sony for the full purchase price of my Vaio. after 8 months of ownership...and 3 months of waiting to get the check. clearly, my experience has not been the best service and support...so buying a Sony and putting yourself in the position to need to ship all the way to frekin' Japan and back...seems like a bad idea unless this is going to be a lightly-used travel machine.

 

Thanks for the list!

I recommend you contact Sony directly and ask them about the warranty of Vaio Z purchased in Japan. There is an International Warranty program that Sony offers so you might not need to ship it back to Japan for the first year. Again, it's probably best to get with Sony directly for this.

Sorry you had such a terrible time with your notebook. I have an Asus 14 incher that I've abused quite a bit since I've owned it. It's usually in my backpack and goes everywhere with me. I've traveled to different countries with it and even dropped it a few times. It got thrown one time about 20 feet after a bicycle crash. So far, I haven't had one hick-up with this machine.

Then again, I'm not your typical casual user I guess. I've pretty much torn the entire thing down and built it back up again. I've changed out the TIM on the CPU and GPU and modified the heatsink a little as well to promote better cooling.

I've owned it for over 1.5 years and have not an issue other than the incredibly "heavy" 5.8 lbs. I've gotten tired of this ridiculously heavy beast and the screen, although quite nice at 1440x900, definitely could be better.

Weight and screen quality has been the main reason why I'm going with the new Z.

 

thanks for the timely response... another quick question though - how much did you have to put down? As in like, did you pay the amount in full, or did you leave a deposit?

 

I paid in full. I don't know if they will accept partial payment.

 

Unfortunately, it turns out that you only get IRSP coverage if you bought it in your home country:

Not surprising; a lot of companies do this sort of thing so they can maintain jacked-up prices in countries like Australia.

 

The three times I've had to take my Sony notebooks in for service (two times were my fault), I've never had to wait more than 4 days, including weekends. Are you including the shipping time to/from Japan?

The keyboard map is determined by the driver. The Japan models are available with US or Japanese keyboards, although the layout is pretty similar.

 

Nope, countries like Australia charge a heavy import tax to favor local industry. Companies are legally forced to not to cross sell between countries for fear that the incoming item doesn't get properly taxed. In reality the Z the original posted brought should have been taxed at 20% or so but was likely illegally marked as "gift" to avoid the import tax.

 

~70% import tax? I doubt it.
The actual taxation is likely a 5% duty + 10% GST, but that's definitely not reflected by Sony's Australian pricing.

 

The exact import tax rate is 15.5 % (it is 5% on top of GST, which equals 5.5%)

I prefer to "illegally import" and save around $1000.