Get TX2 and return TX670 ?

I recently bought a new TX670 last month for $2,499. Now I read news of an upcoming TX2. My question is whether I should try to return my TX670 and wait for the new TX2. Is this worthwhile? Just the larger 80GB hard drive alone is tempting. I called the local Sony store, and a rep tells me the new TX2 isn't coming out until sometime in March or so. Also, the TX670 is currently out of stock. Thx, Casey.

 

Is it even an option to return it? I think the TX2 is appealing, but it's not revolutionary compared to what you have.

 

Returning my TX670 is probably no longer an option. I simply have the disease of wanting the latest and greatest. Although I will say that I really like my TX670 a lot. Everything works just fine with no problems. I only have 1 minor gripe which is all the start up junk when Windows boots up. Actually, the useless Cingular antenna on the side is another minor (and constant) irritation, since I use Sprint myself. I won't be changing to Cingular any time soon.

My entire system only had approx 50-52 GB of free space available to start with. After downloading a bunch of must have apps, including Photoshop CS, and a bunch of videos and pictures, I'm quickly down to 25 GB of space left.

Since I don't fully understand the newer technology of the TX2, I don't know what I'm missing. But I sure do know all too well from experience of constantly running out of memory space. I realize that going from 60 to 80 GB is maybe not much of a big deal, but every bit helps.

 

you can return sony laptops within 30 days, no questions asked. i have the same compulsion to have the latest gadgets as well

 

The only new thing I've noticed in the TX2 is that it will have no fan, like the new Fujitsu Lifebook P7020s. Pretty interesting as I've heard several reviewers and users complain about the older TXs fan noise. I really felt that the TXs were rushed, due to them now having their fans removed after being on the market only since September. I personally find the TXs to be my least favorite of the Vaio T series, like their TR and T series a lot more but thats just me.

I also think they will soon begin to put 1.3 ghz Pentium M ULV in them in addition to the 80 gig hard drive.

 

I really don't know what the noisy fan fuss is about. In the past month I've been using my TX670, I have not noticed any fan noise. The only noise I notice is when I place a CD into the optical drive, and I can hear the spinning noise...but that's really about it. I find my unit to be very quiet overall. Did I just luck out maybe? Therefore, the newer fan-less technology of the TX2 doesn't seem a big of deal for me. By the way, how will the new TX2 eliminate heat, if no fan exists? Does it simply not produce any heat due to the newer technology?

As for the new LED backlit screen of the TX2, this too seems of questionable importance to me. My TX670 screen is very sharp and brilliant, especially for doing image enhancements in Photoshop. I have not yet done any color calibration to my screen yet, but I find the default colors to be pretty good, and don't have any complaints here. Also, I read a reviewer's comment that LED backlit technolgy might possibly produce unwanted light leakage on parts of the screen. I don't remember where I read this, but it may or may not be a valid issue.

As for the reputed longer battery life of the new TX2, this too is a question mark for me. Will it reaaaaaally have 7+ hours of usage time on a single charge? I have read reviews that the current TX models are suppose to give something like 5,6,7 hours of life. But even on a full charge, when I move my cursor over to the battery icon, my TX670 only shows something like 4.50 hours of battery charge left, which seems pretty darn good. So why are others saying that the TX models have much more battery life?

As for the new duo processor chips on the TX2 model, this does seem like a leap in technology. Will it really be able to multi-task with added speed without crashing? Can I replicate the same performance by simply adding another 512MB of ram memory for a total of 1.5 GB of ram? Does anyone have guesses on this? If the newer TX2 can have faster processing, wouldn't this theoretically produce more heat maybe? If so, would not having a fan be a potential detriment?

The larger 80GB hard drive is without question an improvement which I can actually utilize right away. But for now, I am considering saving space by archiving images and videos onto a dual layer DVD, which I can keep stored in the laptop's optical drive. Also, I have a bunch of stuff stored onto a 2GB Memorex USB external drive too. These USB drives are really useful, and I recently bought a 2GB Memorex USB external drive for only $109 at Staples.

I actually have all 3 internal drives filled with various memory cards. The PC slot is filled with a Lexar 2GB 80x speed Compact Flash memory card (with adapter, of course). I use CF cards for my D-SLR (pro model) Nikon D1x and D100 digital cameras. The SD slot is filled with a 2GB Sandisk Ultra II SD memory card, which is used for sharing data files for my Palm Treo 650 cell phone. The SD slot is also used for my pocket Canon SD400 digital camera. The Sony memory stick slot is occupied with an adapter so I can slip in the tiny Sony memory card used for my pocket Sony T1 digital camera.

Anyway, in summary, the immediate consideration for not doing an exchange for a new TX2 is that it simply doesn't exist at stores at this time. By the time the TX2 is in stock, it will be past my return policy time, if it hasn't already. The fact that the TX670 is currently out of stock at my local retailer makes me think twice about returning mine. It's almost hard to believe that these $2500+ units are flying off the store shelves. Obviously, enough people want these things for the stores to be out of stock.

By the way, may the person who dies with the most gadgets win!

Cheers, Casey.

 

Well the current TX line is already LED backlit.

As for the processor, I don't believe you'll be seeing Duo Core in ULV form for awhile maybe the Solo Core.

The only difference I see in this new TX2 will be that it's fanless and maybe a bump up to a 1.3ghz ULV processor and possibly better battery life b/c of the fanless design.

 

Whenever in press releases they say "can get up to 7 hours of battery life on a single charge with the standard battery", they mean that is the absolute max battery life that can be attained, and thats only possible when you have the lid closed and are listening to music I guess, so 4-6 hours is for real world usage.

I've heard some complaints about the new LED technology in the TXs where some colors are shown incorrectly, such as bright reds looking like murky browns but those could be faulty units, besides, this is a new technology and we all know the problems that arise from adopting brand new technology, time is needed to iron the bugs out.
The TX and TX2s use the same screen.

The TX2 may not have a fan, but there will be some way to cool the system, Sonys not that stupid to just let it overheat. There are other, though few notebooks out there that use fanless cooling as well.