How practical is the TX?

I'm looking into buying a new laptop in the next week or so. Saw the TX850 in store today and I'm really tempted to go ahead and buy it.

I'm just wondering, for those who own a TX or other ultraportables, how practical are these notebooks? I currently own a Fujitsu S6231 with a 13" screen so I don't really know what it'll be like going down to a smaller screen.

I'm a student so I'll be using this mostly for taking notes and writing assignments. Is it unrealistic to be working on these machines for more than 3 or 4 hours? I'm studying abroad and always moving so I'd prefer not to get an external monitor.

The battery life and weight/size of the TX is really tempting...of course, there's the "cool" factor as well.

My other option would be the SZ but side by side the TX just looks sooo much more portable. If anyone else was choosin between these two laptops, I'd love to hear what you think.

Thanks!

 

Processor differences:
TX850: 1.20 GHz Core Solo Processor, cannot be upgraded
SZ: Core Duo/Core 2 Duo (1.66-2.33 GHz) Processors, can be upgraded

RAM Differences:
TX850: Up to 1.5 GB
SZ: Up to 4 GB(?)

HD Differences:
TX850: 80 GB (?) 4200RPM HD, cannot be upgraded
SZ: 40-120 GB 5400RPM HD, can be upgraded

The TX is an absolutely awesome ultraportable. Optimized, I bet it could get quite the impressive battery life (5-11 hrs. advertised v. 2.5-5 hrs of SZ). Plus, I heard it can play DVD's and music(?) without starting up Windows. If you're doing just the basics--word processing, internet, media--the TX is the best choice. If you want performance and power along with a very respectable weight (3.7 lbs - 4.1 lbs), stick with the SZ.

 

Hey wcyu325 (^_^)

If I was you I'd play with those two machines for a few weeks in the store, typing and whatever you plan to do on them. For me it was a speed issue, the TX machines were too slow. Not really slow for its class but definitely sluggish compared to the SZ. I am spoiled by all my speed freak friends and doctors in my lab that have the latest and greatest machines, so I couldn't go slower. I only bike my laptop to the University and home so I like how lite the SZ is but the TX is a heck of allot lighter and the battery life kicks SZs A$$. If the TX had the speed and graphics options like the SZ I would have got that little girl.

 

Thanks for the responces~

I really don't need much in terms of speed since I don't do much besides the basic stuff...

What about the size of the screen? Has anyone used one of these for extended period of time? How straining is it on the eyes?

 

I'm on my TX all day long and it's fine for me.

It's probbaly up to the user tho, some people may be more sensitive twards it than others. One thing tho, the screen is -very- bright and the text is obviously small; that's formula for eye squinting for some people. Although if text is too small, one can always up the DPI to 120. (Clear Type font smothing helps too !).

 

*laugh*

We know which machine Nuntius would be buying...

wcyu,

You'd want to check out the screen of the TX most of all. I'm quite confident the processor power of the TX isn't going to bug you based on what you're using it for. (I'm using a Fujitsu P5xxx series now and the 900Mhz Pentium M is still adequate for working on the internet/movies/music)

Do remember that the S6xxx series by Fujitsu has a screen aspect ratio of 4:3 whilst the P series by Fujitsu and the TX series by Sony have a 16:9 ratio. You're not just losing over 2 inches of screen space, the whole vertical portion is going to be squished more than you think.

The biggest problem I have with my Fujitsu now is really the screen size. My eyes get very tired squinting at the screen even in a short while and I'm pretty sure any opto is going to warn you against such small screens. Changing your dpi to 120 is going to really mess up your real estate. The vertical pixels aren't a lot to begin with (It's only 768 - 800 pixels, that's much less than desktops which offer up to 1024 and above) so you're not going to get a lot of work done if you jack up your DPI.

Portability wise, it's a godsend...you don't have much choices in the world if you want a notebook which you can pick up and move around in one hand. Only Fujitsu's P7xxx series and Sony's TX series give you that with DVD burners embedded in.

I have both the SZ and the TX in my household. I'd say go for the TX if and only if you can tolerate the ultrasmall screen. The SZ is better value for money and doesn't torture your eyes as much.

Whether you pick the SZ or the TX, you must be prepared to find the screen more "squished" vertically. Both of them are widescreen notebooks.

 

I just bought it last week and is perfect for me, Im a student and Im using it everywhere, the battery is perfect and the screen and size is just right, but of course theres alternatives but I will recommend it..

 

Thanks for all the replies so far.

I went to check out the machines again and played around w/ both of them for a while. At this point, I'm leaning towards the SZ.

I love the TX and it is much more portable (the SZ doesn't seem to be that much smaller than my Fujitsu, maybe just a bit thinner) but I think the SZ would be a much more practical choice for me. As this will be my only computer, I think it would be a "safer" choice to go w/ a bigger and more powerful machine.

I also noticed that, side by side, the SZ (premium) seems to have a much better build quality than the TX...there seemed to be alot of wear to the keyboard area of the TX.

whwtan, as owner of both, what are your thoughts?

 

Everything about the TX is fantastic except for the minuscle screen and the lack of a dedicated GPU.

If these two aren't important to one, then the TX is the best machine you can buy with money.

Just for thoughts, between the SZ keyboard and the TX keyboard, everyone who've tried both when I showed it to them felt the the TX keyboard was infinitely better.

 

The TX was only bought 5 days ago.

Glad you pointed out the wear of the keyboard. Because I'm really concerned about it.

They keys are very beautiful silver polish in look but my experience with such stuff is that they look aweful once they wear off. And we all know that keyboards are made to be used, not just for display.

The touch to the keys though, is another matter. The TX keys have a very special bouncy and solid feeling to them compared to the SZ. (The SZ keys are very weird, you can shift them very slightly so they feel like they can drop off. Whether this is a design thing or that they didn't spare much though into it is anyone's guess.)

I'd say the SZ's keyboard is going to last longer for looks but the TX is a pleasure to type with. 5 other people agreed with me so far. (But 6 people isn't exactly a statistic. )

I would lean to the SZ myself...and gun for the ultra premium if I have the cash. The CPU, GPU and the far bigger screen of the SZ totally outweighs how cool and light the TX can be.

Do remember that for your case, the SZ's GPU wouldn't be that useful since I don't see gaming as one of your priorities. But you're much safer in the upgrade path. Vista's Aero interface totally wrecks any none dedicated GPU from what I've tested so far.

(But then again, Aero is pure eyecandy. It doesn't contribute to your productive output.)

 

whwtan,

I definitely noticed the better keyboard on the TX...it feels much more responsive than the TX keyboard and it's suprisingly comfortable to use for an ultraportable (definitely doesn't feel cramped). This just makes my decision more difficult...

 

definitely go for the tx unless this is going to be your only computer. i have have the old s-series and 2 tx's (tx651p and tx850p) and almost never take the s out anymore. laptops are for portability and 4.2 vs 2.75lbs is a huge difference. if you are playing games.. why would u play on the 13.3" 1280x800 screen with a <3hr battery life? thats what ur rediculously overpowered big screened desktops are for. btw.. my tx651p is almost 1yr old with heavy usage and shows no sign of keyboard wear.

the screen on the tx is the best LCD i have ever seen. its definitely improved in the tx850p. the tx's have a 1366x768 resolution (which actually displays more pixels than the 13.3" 1280x800) which is 16:9 ratio and displays movies perfectly on the screen with no black bars.

the instant-on feature for movies/music/pictures is a must have and im really surprised that no other laptop on the market has copied this feature yet after a year.

the fingerprint scanner on this little monster definitely pushed me to upgrade from my trusty 651.. AWESOME for password protected accounts on the net.

good luck with ur decision.. feel free to ask me any questions.

 

Now if they can only give us some specs on this:

http://b2b.sony.com/Solutions/product/VGN-TXN15P/W

 

Hi HerbieC,

Your experience is probably going to be different from wcyu.
Not many people have the luxury of owning 2 notebooks at the same time.

I have the TXs, SZs, Fujitsu P5xxx, Fujtisu P7xxx, Fujistu S7xxx in my household.

If I were to choose one notebook to bring on my business trips, it'd still be the SZ.

The TX is absolutely fabulous if you have a primary computer at home your intention is to walk out of your house and come back by the same day. The TX would torture me as much as my P5xxx is doing right now due to the minuscle screen size. It's alright to me if it's one afternoon, but anything more than a few days and I'd be crying out for a larger and more practical screen.

You have to bear in mind that the higher resolution in the already extremely small screen isn't a bonus. It's actually working against you if you're trying to get work done. The pixels are tiny as it is...squeezing more ito the screen doesn't help. wcyu intends to take lecture notes with it, the bonus of the movie not having black bands or the instant on feature are much less important in my opinion. Sure they're nice and I never fail to rave to people about it when I talk about the TX, but I'm trying to prioritise work productivity over entertaintment here since that's his real objective.

 

Hi wcwy,

The keyboard will be your primary gripe against the SZ.

If you're willing to suffer the tiny screen while taking your lecture notes, the TX would be perfect for you all things being considered.

In my experience, the TX has been a far better ultraportable multimedia dream machine. It's extremely light and small with the ability to play widescreen videos really well and has a long battery life. I could perhaps do a little bit of light internet surfing with it but I've never really managed to get serious work (preparing reports, presentations, image editing) done in a reasonable amount of time or without squinting my eyes.

 

Hey guys, thanks for all the input.

I ended up getting an SZ premium...it was just a more practical choice given that it'll be my only computer and I spend up to 4 or 5 hours at one sitting sometimes working on papers or doing notes (the life of a law student)...

It was a hard choice but i would've definitely gone w/ the TX if I had a desktop.