Curious what the differences between Z11's & Z21's

I have on order a Z11VN/B but I have just seen that they have details on their website about the Z21VN/X.

There doesn't appear to be a whole lot of differences, but as there have been a number of discrepancies between DDR2/3 memory etc in the past, I thought I would ask if others knew primarily what the differences are.

Comparing the pages :-
vaio.sony.co.uk/view/ShowProduct.action?product=VGN-Z11VN%2FB&site=voe_en_GB_prof&category=VN+Z+Series
vaio.sony.co.uk/view/ShowProduct.action?product=VGN-Z21VN%2FX&site=voe_en_GB_prof&category=VN+Z+Series

Z11 = Display Type X-black LCD with LED technology
Z21 = Display Type X-black LCD with LED technology with enhanced durability
Z11 = Graphics Memory Total available graphics memory of Approx. 1500MB* with dedicated Video Memory of 256MB
Z21 = Graphics Memory Total available graphics memory of Approx. 1500MB* with dedicated GDDR3 Video Memory of 256MB
Z11 = Built-in WWAN HSDPA 7.2Mbps WWAN modem card with Rx diversity
Z21 = Built-in WWAN Wireless WAN 7.2Mbps (HSDPA, UMTS, EDGE, GPRS)
Z11 = Sound Reality YES
Z21 = Sound Reality - Not listed
Z11 = Integrated Bluetooth (Version) 2.0 + EDR
Z21 = Integrated Bluetooth (Version) 2.1 + EDR
Z11 = Battery Life - Graphics mode (min) 270
Z21 = Battery Life - Graphics mode (min) 210
Z11 = Battery Life - Stamina mode (min) 325
Z21 = Battery Life - Stamina mode (min) 330

So apart from 'enhanced durability' screen, and some weirdness with the quoted battery life, a slightly newer Bluetooth version, it all appears to be a little odd really.

Im curious if I should cancel my Z11 and order a Z21, but wondered if there are benefits others know about.

Regards
Rich

 

I would check what the 'enhanced durability' means, since I always say LCD is the most important part of the notebook and even this new one is only 1% better, go for it.

 

Both Z11 and Z21 have Duraview coating - enhanced durability.

The only important differences are CPU and HD upgrades on some models.

 

the /x designation indicates a premium carbon fiber lid. I would swop.

 

the z21vn/x has a 320gb 7200rpm drive
while the z11vn/b has a 320gb 5400rpm drive

 

Hi,

I am in the same place - ordered VGNZ11VN/X.CEK & now find today listed VGNZ21VN/X.CEK as newer model & £150 extra

I see also the web cam is improved, bluetooth & HDD now 7200rpm.

So, I may stick with my order but curiously; I cannot find details for the 320Gig HDD in VGNZ11VN/X.CEK - is is rated at ATA-300 (or former ATA-150), as this makes a later difference in performance.

Anyone able to advise ?

Cheers, T

 

No does not make any difference. All the 250GB/320GB 5400rpm drives Sony uses perform the same.

 

im confused as well..i was about to buy the z11vn/b, and now the z21vn/b shows up....though i feel there is not much of a diffrence between the two, and now CTO's launching in the UK...i am thinking to wait and maybe see if I could cusotmise one...

 

Hi,

I have given this some thought & because Z11 is 'in stock' and £200 less cost, plus with no difference in processor, form & minor spec changes.

Also, later Z21 shows less battery life at 3.5 hrs with Z11 at 4.5 hrs.

Finally, although Web shows 10days for delivery of Z21, this is not confirmed.

Cheers,
T

 

I think you can ignore their numbers on battery life. If the Z has the same CPU and similar hard drive, the battery will last as long.

Unless they've changed the battery.

 

is this normal for sony..to introduce a z refresh wihin 3 months from going on sale?
i find it quite strange

 

Are you sure about this? It would be great to see the premium carbon lid in Europe.

 

It seems to be normal for Sony. (Just not normal for most manufacturers!)

At the time of its release, most Sony aficionados on these boards were saying there would be a Z refresh before Christmas, and they were right.

 

Hi,

Anybody able to confirm ''real life'' expectations on battery life for Z11 -

I would welcome any feedback?

I have experience of many laptops and find the quoted 3-4hrs only seems to delivery about an hour or so.
I am hoping the battery is much better performance on Sony Z11, than the HP Pavilion laptops I currently have.

Many Thanks,
T

 

With my Z11VN/B running XP SP3, I can get 5 hours easily (sometimes touching 6 hours) if I use power saving features, brightness approx 30%, etc, etc. That's with WLAN enabled and doing light browsing/office type usage. (Using WWAN instead of WLAN, it seems to knock that down a bit, probably totalling 3.5 hours of constant usage.)

I use the standard 6 cell battery. With the extended battery, you should be able to get 8 hours easily.

Doing CPU/GPU intensive tasks and running the DVD drive full tilt will both eat up the battery pretty quickly - I doubt you'll get more than 2 hours that way.

 

according to Sony.co.uk webcams are totally same, where did you get this info on webcam upgrade?

 

It's probably the old typo about 0.3 vs 1.3 megapixel webcam reappearing. I wouldn't expect them to have changed it at all.

 

Hi,

I compared products on SonyStyle website

Z21 has:
Built-in "Motion Eye" Digital Camera (15 frames per second, 0,3 Mega Pixels) with Motion Picture Function (max. resolution (pixels) VGA/640 x 480)

Z11 has:
Built-in "Motion Eye" Digital Camera (30 frames per second, 1 Mega Pixels) with Motion Picture Function (max. resolution (pixels) VGA/640 x 480)

Difference is minor, greater FPS & pixels,

Cheers,
T

 

Yup, I believe it's just that SonyStyle have got some problems putting accurate and consistent specifications on their product pages. I doubt there is any real difference in the cameras, or even software.
We saw it when the Z was first released and with the TZ before that (and probably other models too).