Considering the Vaio FZ (Questions)

I am considering the following Vaio FZ:

Large Capacity Lithium-ion Battery (BPL8)
802.11a\b\g\n with BT
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium
NVIDIA® GeForce® 8400M GT
15.4" WXGA (HC) W/CMR
DVD+-R Double Layer / DVD+-RW Drive with Blu-ray Disc support
160 GB Hard Disk Drive (Price reflects discount of $50.00)
2 GB DDR-SDRAM (DDR2-667MHz, 1 GBx2)
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T7500 / 2.2 GHz

Price: $2,158.99


Before I pull the trigger on this, I have some questions:

The high capacity battery looks like it will stick out below the laptop: does this become annoying when using the laptop? What kind of battery life can I expect with the larger battery?

How is Sony with their return policy on things like dead pixels, excessive backlight bleed, or other defects?

Is the 160GB HD 5400 RPM?

Are there car/plane power adapters available for the FZ?

Are there any known hardware/software issues with this computer that I should know about?


Thanks.

 

All of these questions can be answered by looking through the various FZ threads in this forum.

Gary

 

Most of that can be answered by reading through the FZ owner's thread. As for the return policy, it can be done but will take a fight. I returned my first FZ190 because one of the 2 backlights failed. At first they wanted me to send it in for repair, but since it was in the first 30 days I insisted on a replacement. It took a fight, but they finally did it, and they paid for shipping the old one back. After another hassle on the same call, they also paid for overnight shipping of the new machine.

 

I've been using one of these for a couple months now. It works great for my old power-hungry K17, my partner's S460, and the new FZ. Includes both A/C and 12V D/C adapters, so you're good everywhere but on the plane. The only real disadvantage is that the plug at the PC end is rather large and bulky, so you have to be careful with it.

 

Thanks for the link. I think I'll get this one because it is cheaper and can be used in a plane too:

http://us.kensington.com/html/6330.html


For my other questions, I didn't want to dig through that long FZ thread, and I was hoping someone could answer these questions off the top of their head.

With the larger battery, does it make the laptop wobble when you type on it? It looked off-center in the pics I saw.

 

Thought I'd ask my question here. What is the maximum RAM you can add to the sony FZ?

 

4 GB of RAM

Btw, if your unsure about the FZ, wait a week (I know it's a long time!) and I'll be sure to give my 2 cents on it.

 

Is it awkward to type on this laptop when it is sitting in your lap with the higher capacity battery?

It looks like it might be unstable in your lap.

 

It is slightly at first but after you adjust it for a while, it isn't uncomfortable anymore. I have it on a flat surface right now and it is tilted because of the battery.

 

Does anyone have pics of the extended battery?

 

Here is a pic I got off the FZ owners thread:

http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/I/21D11U1j5dL._SS500_.jpg

Notice that it is not centered. This is my only concern since it seems like that would be awkward in your lap.

 

It is not centered, but it does not make the machine off balance at all.

Gary

(Using an F190 on my lap with the extended battery even as I type this!)

 

Wow that looks terrible. The FZ already has a natural tilt to it that that just takes it too far IMO.

 

Actually, I really LIKE the extra tilt. On a table top, it puts the keyboard at about the same angle (slightly less actually) as a "traditional" desktop keyboard. But then again, I have NEVER liked typing on a perfectly flat laptop. On my lap, though it doesn't matter. The angle of the keyboard is not controlled by the laptop at all, it is controlled by the angle of my legs! ...grin... And again, even in that situation the extra height is a plus rather than a minus for me. But that may be do to my short legs. ...big ol' grin...

Gary

 

Yeah, I was wondering if it would be comparable to a desktop keyboard with the tilt. I can't stand typing on flat keyboards either. Thanks for the info!