FW 290 CTO with XBrite Full-HD is now available!

Sony have just put FW 290 CTO on their website for sale.

http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs...Id=8198552921644564390&parentCategoryId=16154

Estimated shipping date: 10/01/2008

 

Great! I HATE splash edtion and Eco-display!

 

Grrr, my 190 CTO is only a month old. Don't mind me, I'm just bitter. I should have expected this as any computer is obsolete in a month after it comes out. lol.

 

it comes in more than just the splash version lol just scroll down

this BLOWS !!!! i bought my FW140D when it first came out and i love this computer lol, its my first laptop ever and i couldnt ever be happier with it...

but i must say i would of loved to have the 3650 in the machine i have

the 3470 is great and rips through everything i throw at it but future proof is much more with the 3650 lol

 

is the full-hd goint to be hard to read? right now i have an SZ with 1280*800 and the font size is perfect. Im afraid the 1920*1080 would be too small.

 

Going FullHD is optional, even if you have the HD screen. Just go to your desktop and you can chose your resolution.

 

Does anyone know if the HD screen is simply an eco screen with more pixels, or is it comparable to the hi-color screen with more pixels?

 

I am on the same boat as you man. I wasn't willing to get a laptop with anything less than the 3650 but I sacrificed it for this amazing laptop with the assurance that Sony was ditching the 3650 for North America.

Major buyer's remorse here.

 

This is the exactly same question I want to ask! Does anyone here know something about this?

 

no buyers remorse at all for me, i love my FW, i just would of liked the option to future proof it a little more lol

and its much cheaper now for better stuff

oh well... thats computers right

 

I could be wrong about this, but I just check the sonystyle website (since this new model seem enticing) and the new fullHD screen is just that-an eco screen with more pixel. The Hi-color screen has a double lamp...which makes the screen...more bright/colorful (take your pick, I haven't seen the Hi-color screen in person, only the eco)

On the website, if you scroll down to the last FW model and check the specs, you will see that it comes with fullHD capabilities AND a hi-color screen... (with the new models, hi-color is only available with the pre-configured model with a $1700s pricetag).

 

You mean FW290JRB http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs...10151&langId=-1&productId=8198552921665507468 ?

That one is Hi-Color at 1600, so it is not Full-HD.

Display

* Resolution : 1600 x 900

* Screen Size : 16.4"6

* XBRITE-HiColor™ Technology : Yes

 

oops. I guess it doesn't come with fullHD then.

 

Actually, that is exactly what I wanted. But until they post the spec in PDF, I will hold my order for a little bit more. Too bad that they don't offer Hi-Color at 1600 with FW290 Configure To Order Model. I want to be able to configure everything.

 

Yes configuring everything is better since some of the expensive memory update you don't really need or could find a better deal and installing it yourself.

 

The XBRITE-FullHD display (1920x1080 resolution) is Hi-color. The only other option would be the Eco-display. What about the Hi-color display with a resolution of 1600x900? Why isn't there an option for that?

1920X1080 will make the text very small and it will be very difficult to read. I have a 1650x1050 display on a 15.4" notebook right now, and you have to increase the DPI to be able to read it without being close to the screen. 1920x1080 is too much for a 16.4" notebook. That would be a great resolution for something like the HP HDX (20.1" display), but not a notebook like the FW.

What is Sony doing? First, they didn't have the better graphics card. Now they have it and the resolution is too big. Why are they doing this?

 

I agree with you. According to Monitor Pixel Density Calculator, your notebook display with 1650x500 with 15.4" will give you 126.9 Pixels Per Inch. Sony FW display with 1920x1080 with 16.4" will give you even worse, 134.3 Pixels Per Inch. That's nearly 6% smaller than what already small fonts.

 

I disagree, gentlemen. WUXGA resolution is fantastic on a 15" and up notebook.

The M1730 I had had WUXGA and it is truly wonderful to have a high resolution laptop...

 

Thanks for the information.

This makes the Xbrite Full-HD display even less readable. I can't even imagine what the text on a 16.4" (1920x1080 resolution) display would be like in terms of size. I saw the older FW models with the 1600x900 displays, and I thought that was overkill.

 

Again, it's all about personal preference.

WUXGA resolution is great for watching movies, but in the long run, it isn't very convenient. You'll have to use a magnifying glass or something to be able to read text at such a high resolution, especially on a 15-16 inch display. The small text will strain your eyes. Increasing the DPI to make the text bigger isn't that great either. Not all programs work well with it, and the quality of the text itself deteriorates. WUXGA resolution is only good for 17"+ notebooks.

 

And the "overkill" display density is, guess what, just 111.9 Pixels Per Inch ! So, the 1920x1080 fonts would be 20% smaller

 

I guess we'll have to wait and see how bad it really is when people start getting the 290 models and reviewing them...

 

does anyone know if the new XBRITE-FULLHD screen affects battery life any? they quote battery life with the XBRITE-ECO screen at around 5.5hrs (which is great!) just wondering if there's a big difference