Highly interested in purchasing the New Sony Vaio Z Series

I am interested in purchasing this notebook for college. So I am wondering if I can expect a price drop/ more customizable options by summer time?

I am just curious because currently I can likely purchase it, however budget is tight. Any recommendation would be appreciated

My planned purchase:
i7-620M 2.66GHz processor
Windows 7 Home or Windows 7 Premium w/ Fresh Start (+$50)
Premium Carbon Fiber (+$50)
128 GB SSD - I planned on purchasing an ext. HD so smallest size shouldn't be an issue
4 GB of ram - is it possible to upgrade in the future?
CD/DVD Burner
Verizon Mobile Broadband (+$100) only if I don't need a plan
Is large capacity battery worth it (+$100) and will it make it heavier/bulkier and by how much. Should I just purchase an additional battery?
3 Year Express Ship Service Plan with Accidental Damage from Handling Protection (+$400) is this warranty worth it? Is any warranty needed?

So it can cost $2099 with no warranty no battery, no broadband

or $2699 with all of that

My questions basically are:
-By summer can I expect a price drop?
-By summer will there be more customization options?
-Is Fresh Start worth it?
-Do I need a plan with Verizon Mobile Broadband or will I get 3G coverage with just this built-in?
-Is large capacity battery worth it?
-Will large capacity battery make it noticeably heavier or bulkier? Will it stick out?
-Would purchasing an additional battery be better?
-Is Sony's recommended warranty worth it?
-Do you recommend any other warranty or should I purchase none?

Once again thanks for all the help and sorry for the confusion. I will see if I can tighten up the post.

Thanks, Mo

 

What country are you in where Fresh Start is available for anything but Windows 7 Professional? Which of course costs $50 more than Home Premium. And I'm not sure what you mean by "Home" *or* "Premium", there's "Home Premium", "Professional" and "Ultimate".

RAM can be upgraded. By choosing 4gb you may get 2x2gb or 1x4gb (latter would be ideal for your later upgrade, and is currently what you'd get from US CTO, but I don't think that is a perminant deal).

The large battery sticks down a fair bit more than the standard battery. Some people like the increased typing angle. If you need long runtimes you need the big battery, but if you don't think you'll need it I'd go for a standard battery (so you can opt to keep the system as small as possible) and get the extended later as an accessory.

Buying the warranty might make it possible to get more of a discount on your purchase in the US (still don't know where you are really). Warranty is warranty. Myself, I bought 2 extra years in Canada and put it on a premium card, which will give me 4 years in total. In the US since the warranty is handled by a third-party company you wouldn't be able to add the credit card warranty on TOP of the extended warranty.

Price drop - no, unlikely. There will likely be a model refresh by the summer, perhaps with slight option differences (however no core differences).

More customization options - maybe, since North America is already running a bit light on options. Perhaps the HDD option will come out, or the 1080p screen. Hard to guess.

Fresh Start - all it does is not install all the trialware (MS Works, Norton, crappy paint and video editng programs and so forth) that most professionals don't want anyways. Apparantly someone mentioned that a couple slightly needed Sony multimedia applications weren't installed either. I went for Fresh Start myself (doesn't cost anything on top of Professional in North America).

Can't help on WWAN.

 

Hi, Mo,

Just a few answers. To begin with, while new folks often have many, many questions, for the best chance of getting good responses, don't pile too many into one post (the worst I've ever seen was effectively asking ~150 questions in one post, AND that was just about one hour ago!).

Just a few answers, but mainly questions:

- Price: No one, including the folks at Sony, yet knows what price reductions will occur, nor when.
- Customization: We can hope so, but again, no one yet knows.
- Yes, you can easily upgrade RAM.
- Verizon: No, you don't need a plan unless you actually start to use it. Then you'd need a plan.
- Fresh Start is a personal choice. How much work do you want to do? How capable are you? How much are you willing to deal with some inconvenience vs. ease of use, for best performance?
- The large battery will add ~6 ounces of weight, and give you 40-45% more battery life. It will stick out below the unit by just about 1/2" or so. Is it worth it? That's up to you.
- Warranty. This is awfully expensive. Is it worth it? How careful are you vs. how klutzy? Do you sit outside in thunderstorms a lot? Your choice as to value.
- You didn't ask, but is a fairly small degree of performance worth the $150 CPU delta for a college student? Your call.

Good Luck!
Mark

 

Generally prices do not drop but instead better specs are offered over the revisions in its life cycle. This is true in Asia. I guess this has to be with ensuring that sony's revenue either grow or at minimum stays flatline.

 

sorry I am in USA and I meant Windows 7 Professional. Thanks for answers to some of my questions. Also I may be a college student, but I am looking to do alot of stuff with the notebook. I was saying I am a college student because I want the notebook to last at least 4 years.


Well I know now I will cut the Verizon Mobile Broadband and perhaps the warranty as well. I still have to choose about the battery. Maybe I will buy an additional instead.

Also I am a generally cautious and careful guy, but I will have to do more research on the warranty and what it covers. I am worried because of roomate etc. + I had my Sony PS3 in perfect shape for 3 years and it just died. Should I expect something similar with Vaio's or should it be healthy as long as I don't drop it or do stupid stuff with it?

everything is on backorder now, what is up with that?