Considering Sony SZ and TZ

Me and my father are planning to get a Sony, either the SZ or TZ.
My father like sonys because he has had one that he has had for the last 6 years and it has never been a problems.
I like these two models because I believe they both come or can come with led backlight.
Please help us with some feedback on these to models.
We will probably configure them with 2.2 gigahurtz, 2.0 gigbites of ram.
Does the SZ and TZ use the latest processors or motherboards or whatever?
I do not know that much about computers but I want to have the latest technologies hence the led backlight being important to me.

We will use the computer mainly for browsing, some word processing, looking at pictures, music, watching a lot of youtube videos.
So screen quality is very important as well as multitasking ability.
Who makes the best screens right now? I am under the impression that Sony is pretty high up there.

Also, which versions of the SZ and TZ have led backlight? How do I make sure I'm getting it? And is it a good time to buy either of these models, are they gonna be updated/replaced soon? And are there any deals/sales going on for them?

Thanks and I look forward to everyones opinion

 

First of all you have to realise that the two laptops are very very different.

The SZ has a 13.3" screen and has standard notebook processors.
The TZ has a 11.1" screen and has ultra portable processors.

Ultraportable processors like that found in the TZ are designed to offer portability over performance and as such will never match the power of that the SZ can offer.

The LED is offered on all TZ models I believe and on all premium SZ models (sz650 and higher).

For what you recon you will be using the computer for you will probably find that the TZ would be fine, but the 11.1" screen is really small. I've had a 17", 15", 14" now on my SZ with 13.3" and my friend has a 12" notebook and I have to say that I find 12" just rather small.

 

This is a very important point! If you really want an ultraportable -- very light and small -- easy to carry with you and use "on the run" the TZ can't be beat! But, as has been noted it has a much smaller screen (nearly the same number of pixels and resolution but everything on it is much smaller due to its size) and cannot compete with the SZ6 series for power. It's also more expensive. I have an TZ198N now, had a TZ190N (both use the solid state drive) and I just sold my SZ670N -- the SZ was superb in performance and its display is quite good (LED backlit) but I got hooked on the smaller, lighter form factor of the TZ and the TZ display is so crisp, color saturated -- it just cannot be matched IMHO.

 

For the uses you listed, both notebooks would suffice, the fastest processor the TZ currently has is 1.2ghz and can take up to 2gb of ram. All TZ models have LED backlighting whereas the "Premium" SZ models have that backlighting. Is there a Sonystyle store in your area? Its a good place to test try both models side by side.

I would say Sony makes one of (if not the best) notebook screens, especially their LED backlit ones. The SZ currently has the latest Intel Santa Rosa chipset whereas the TZ has the older Napa chipset but I feel it will be updated to that early next year. But it wouldn't make a difference in the things you would use it for.

 

I would almost agree with that, the SZ screen is amazing and my old A series screen is even better, but the screen on my girlfriends CR is really poor, it has some of the worse vertical viewing angles I've ever seen on an LCD screen.

 

Me too I was between these two laptops. After seeing in a store the SZ, I was surprised how ugly is the keyboard . Excellent screen, absolutely powerfull machine but the keyboard is really cheap...well done Sony!
On the other hand the TZ is much more less powerfull but more portable and with very nice screen and keyboard. So, I decided to take the TZ in a few weeks. The screen really doesn't seem so small for every day tasks. Of course, if it didn't have the SSD, I wouldn't even looked at it.

 

Ahh, the SZ keyboard is not dreadful, it just takes time to get used to it. For sure it's not the nicest looking out there, but after a day of using it, I find the keyboard one of the best around and I've used a good number of laptops.

 

I just got TZ91 like 2 weeks ago. So far I really like it.

Having both SZ and TZ, I must say TZ way better. I don't know if its the new SSD HDD on the TZ is extremely fast.

I've been using SZ for about a year and I got use to the keyboard. At first it is very hard to get use to with the noise. After you use it for awhile you don't really notice.

The MOST amazing thing about the TZ with SSD is the battery life. I got the standard battery and I can use wi-fi, full brightness, Word process and watch tv show, last more than 6 hours. I can never do that on my SZ not without some optimization.

I really hope the new version of SZ have the TZ keyboard, that would be perfect.

Anyways thats 2 cent.

Ch28Kid

 

Exactly! SZ with TZ keyboard

You that had owned both...can you confront the portability between them? To me the SZ it seemed with a quite big footprint, but users of it claim that is very portable. Also, is true that SZ becomes very warm and the fan is often on?
Rahul, you told that is probably that the next TZ will include the Santa Rosa chipset. If a normal user will not understand the difference, in which terms is going to be a performance boost?

 

Hey bro,

I have both the SZ and TZ too! *laugh*
I love both of them. The SZ is perfect for leaving at home and for lugging around when I need the muscle. It's got a decent graphics card and processing power. And it's also one of the lightest in its class (Against the Asus and Dell competition)

The TZ, is another monster altogether. I got mine 2 weeks ago too. The SSD is crazy. I boot up my machine FASTER than my SZ. Other than the screen which is very small (you can't have a big screen and a small computer). There is really no competing product out there in the market. Nothing runs lighter, faster and looks at beautiful outside and on the screen.

SZ if you want great performance with decent portability.
TZ if you want superb portability with decent performance. You'll have to compare the TZ to all the other sub notebooks to realize just how powerful the TZ is. (Oh, get the SSD version or save your money altogether. The HDD versions of the TZ are too painfully slow.)

 

Now imagine the SZ with a 64gb SDD..... mmm lovley. $1000 more expensive though!

 

I hope that I can afford a SSD TZ. So far I'm waiting the price to drop so I can buy a SSD TZ. The wait is quite torturing

 

Isn't it possible just to buy a non-SSD TZ and swap in your own SSD at some future time?

 

It is possible, but you will need a 1.8" SSD with a zif connector.

 

VGN-SZ680N02 will this be fast enough?
T7250 160gig non flash drive

or do I need the at least a t7500 I know the cache is smaller on the T7250

VGN-SZ650N/C with the 160gig hybrid drive and the T7500 is only 109.00 more are the drivers and everything the same for both Im ont he fence and ready to pull the trigger

 

well I pulled the trigger called P1 even though I have 18 months interest free with sony or newegg, I decided customer service was more important. price was still lower then a same configuered VGN-SZ680 T7500 2 gig ram
160 hybrid drive, bloatware removal, clean restore disks , sony neo case, and they told me to call anytime for support something that really got my attention plus it will get full checkup burn in before it leaves

http://www.resellerratings.com/store/Portable_One_Inc

I just can't beileve we still have customer service in this day of press one for english

 

How hard is it to change the hardrive on the TZ if you dont want to spend for the SSD?

I know I read somewhere that the SZ is also a PITA when it comes to changing hardrive. I'm not sure if it's the same case with the TZ.

 

It's slightly more difficult, and it will take a lot more time.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=162085

 

That means the TZ HDD currently using zif connector also?

 

I believe so