Change Sony brand to another?

Hi all
due to really bad experience of Sony customer support
I would to change brand laptop
I already have
VPCZ1 i7 M620 2.67GHz 8GB-RAM 256SSD BD writer Nvidia GT330M

what are you thinking which different brand can be compared?

any advice welcome.

 

I went from Sony to Apple.

The irony of it that while Apple has the best customer support, their hardware is so well made that you typically never have to use their support.

You can also consider Lenovo if you're okay with Intel 3000 graphics (in all but their huge&heavy laptop series). I like their TrackPoint mouse input (way better than any PC touchpad, other than Mac's), and the latest X200-series with 2nd Gen Core i7 and DisplayPort are pretty sexy.

 

Apple. Great hardware & the best customer support.

 

I find that the MBP's tend to overheat... turning your lap into a tertiary heatsink, then again my Vaio Z has thermal shutdown on me a few times while gaming(but the 13" MBP heats up like a beast on just intel integrated...)

in reply to OP,

if you're looking for something with discrete graphics, 13", 900p or higher display and under 4 lbs, there's not much.

There are the Acer timeline series with their beefy GPUs but, i question acer build quality and their displays are 720p only

Thinkpads, but only intel integrated (as stated above) and 720p

Toshiba Protege laptop, but again only intel integrated and 720p

13" MBP: integrated graphics 720p (albeit it's 16:10)
13" MBA: integrated graphics, LV CPU, 900p screen though!

Samsung Series 9: integrated graphics and i believe LV CPU...

Did i forget anything else? The only thing that comes close to your Z1... is the Vaio SA... or Z2... so... sorry!

 

^yeah

I wanted something else, but there IS no other 13" option. Maybe the Acer 3830, if you can get past the throttling issue (which caps its CPU performance below an ULV CPU).

The only real flaw of the Vaios, in my eyes, is Sony's hate for DisplayPort (or whatever other excuse there is for not including it).

 

waht about this one The Dell Online Store: Build Your System

 

Larger, heavier, slower, lower resolution display (this is vs SA and Z1).

 

Lg P330

 

Is that out yet?

I share your disdain and distrust for Sony support, but there simply isn't anything in the market that matches the Z's features and virtues. They don't break very often either. You might want to inquire about a Square Trade warranty. They have superb ratings - google them for info - and will provide warranties for used machines.

Every time Sony has pissed me off or I hear a story like yours I think about bolting, but every time I try out an alternate I decide to stick with my Z. As my sig makes clear, I am not a fan of Apple. There are Apple fanboys and the rest of us, who just have no love for that company or their gear. You make a number of sacrifices because of the "design philosophies" of their former leader.

Whatever you decide to switch to, I strongly recommend you hold on to your Z for the time being and only buy something you can return withing 14 days or more for a full refund. Even for companies whose policies preclude that, if you call in your order with a phone salesperson, they will often give you the right to return it. I bought a Thinkpad X220 last summer and decided it wasn't for me and returned it for a full refund after using it two weeks.

Good luck.

 

Maybe I'm a little late to the punch on this thread but I myself am in the market for a new laptop. I was so dead set on apple I almost ignored everything else but the truth of it is I love my current Sony along with windows 7 which has been rock solid for me. The MBP is $1k more then a loaded up Sony SE model with a warranty or comparable HP and Dell models. I just can't justify 1k more being that I'll still have to run windows on the mac.

So anyway, I'm seriously considering the Sony SE or the series 7 Samsung at this point. After some research though I think I'll be picking up a Square Trade warranty. 3 year accidental is 80 bucks cheaper then Sony's and from what I read of other peoples experience with it they've been fantastic with service and claims.

My point is that with something like an aftermarket warranty I feel like I have more options because I've eliminated having to deal with the manufacturer for service. Especially after hearing mixed results with sony directly.

 

Concearning Sony support and repair center my opinions:

I owned the old TZ, then TT from my father, then I witched to Vaio P and trade this one up for the Z1

So I own Sony Laptops since 2007 and I have never had to call the support...

Anyway I find the VAIOs very attractive:

good design, overall good build quality and in Germany 2 years standard warranty!

So why you want to switch???

 

That pretty much sums it up although the screen quality of the SA just isn't in the Z's league even though the resolutions are the same. Some people have good experience with Sony's customer support, I have, others have had poor experiences -- pretty much the same as Dell, HP, etc.

[emphasis added]

Why would you want to? What special...whateverness does the Apple have to justify that kind of price premium?

There are a number of posts in here which indicate substantial satisfaction with Square Trade.

 

It's not all Apples; it's just the MacBook Pro line. The MacBook Air 13 is priced in line with the Vaio SA and the Envy 14 Spectre. The iMac all-in-one is priced in line with the Vaio L and the HP Omni Quad. It's just the MacBook Pro lineup where prices are roughly twice that of similarly-equipped PC machines (comparing MBP 15 to Vaio SE and Envy 15, and MBP 17 to Vaio F and Envy 17).

I like and respect Apple products, though I use PCs primarily myself. But we'll always have Apples in my house, because that's what my wife and kids prefer. But right now, I just can't recommend the MBP line for anyone except those "no budget" people. The MBA and the iMac are the smart values on the OSX side of the fence.

 

Care to share what happened with Sony support? or are you just wanting a slicker looking laptop? Gosh I cant imagine what they could have done to offend you so bad to switch from 1080p.... raid 256gb ssd... full i7 cpu... real gpu...

 

I can't speak for the OP. But for my part, I absolutely love my Z11--best computer I have ever owned. That being said, after I purchased it, I told myself I would never buy a Sony Vaio again because of the nightmare I went through with them. The customer service at this company is abysmal. I will hang on to my Z for a really long time because the product itself is simply amazing. But I can't bring myself to reward their behavior when it comes to customer service by remaining their customer. My general experience was that no one "takes ownership" of your issue and pushes to resolve it. The buck passes from one uninterested party to another.

Now, in fairness to Sony, I don't think the industry itself has placed a large emphasis on "excellent" customer service. Par for the course seems to be to do the bare minimum to get you off of their backs--never above and beyond, which is very unfortunate. Still looking for a laptop maker that goes against that grain...

 

This is interesting... I've own 3 sony computers. z1, S and Z2. S had a weird keyboard problem and they replaced it without question. My z2 had a green stuck pixel on the 1080p screen and they replaced it even though it was just one pixel. I'm actually considering extending my warranty just because they seem to be very helpful when I need it... its too bad you guys have had worse experiences.

 

^ do u have an tips or secrets when u deal with the customer service? also do you onsite or mail it in?

 

Hmm the keyboard thing I seriously just called and told them so. They will let you know if they have an available person to fix it or if not they will send you a box to send it in. I know its annoying when they cannot fix it right then but w/e all companies have the instance when you cant have your machine back the same hour or day.

For the z2 I called in and said there was a bright dot on my screen that wouldn't go away. they had me pull up the bios to check that it was still there and that was it. They ordered the lcd part and the included me in the shipping so I was able to track the part to see when it was delivered to the repair facility. Then they just called me to set up the repair and they actually visited me at work to fix it. I had them go in a conference room to do it and it was done within an hour...

 

Thanks. I had the old vgn-z and the repair people Sony sent totally destroyed it when they came to do the onsite repair. I eventually ended up having to mail it in to have it fixed again. Took forever.

 

I think you have to be very careful here when reviewing Sony tech support.

Keep in mind that the support is not the same in every country.

I had a few problems with a few Zs, Sony support has been amazing here in France.

Their latest achievement: I send a 1 yr old laptop (Z12) in for repair of the headphone jack (broken), they replace the whole MB, fan assembly, and sound board, for FREE! The original repair should'n't even have been covered by the warranty...

In other words, be precise. I realize that NA Sony Support is crap, but here in France they really are up to par with Apple.