I May Get A Japanese SZ90

I need a laptop that can support 2GB of RAM for some work stuff I have coming up, and I love my blue Sharp MW-70J (Japanese version of the M4000 - limited edition color). The Sharp to date except for the keyboard is the best laptop I've owned, but maxes out at 1.5GB of RAM. That extra 512MB makes a difference for me since I run VMWare for things.

If I get a new one, it will most likely be the Sony SZ. The US models don't excite me as much. Why? Well, if you go here:
http://www.jp.sonystyle.com/Style-a/Ownermade/sz90/index.html
you can configure the Premiums (SZ90) in Japan! So you can only get what you want, including a silver English keyboard.

If you want to see the sliver keyboard in English on a Premium, take a look at the configurator simulation
http://tinyurl.com/qbn9j

Also unlike the USA, you can get a T2600 processor. The T2500 is top spec in the USA.

If you're curious as to what it looks like with the extended battery (which only adds .4), look here:
http://www.jp.sonystyle.com/Style-a/Pr/battery_sz.html

I have someone looking into it, but I hope they can get it for me. Here's what I'm looking at:
* No biometric (won't use it and don't need the battery drain)
* No motion eye (same as biometric)
* 512MB of RAM (I'll upgrade myself)
* 60GB HDD (I'll upgrade myself to a 100GB 7200rpm)
* Silver English keyboard
* Bluetooth
* Extended battery (seems cheaper to get it at first and not spend an extra $300 later)
* 2.16GHz Dual Core
* 3 year warranty with the accidental damage warranty

I'll let you know what they come back with in terms of price. I'll be pretty excited if I can get the exact SZ I want ...

 

Please let us know what you finally configure and how it turns out.

 

It'll be badass if you can get it the T2600 in your SZ.

I personally think the silver keyboard looks ugly on the SZ premium. It looks much better in black.

Non premium SZ might look ok with silver keyboard since it matches the computer.

 

seems like an expensive laptop. how much will you pay?

 

Why don't you get them to upgrade the hard drive for you?

 

It's cheaper to do it yourself and there probably isn't a 7200 rpm drive from sony

 

This is something I don't get in general. Most stuff Japanese companies sell in Japan seems to be cooler than what they sell over here. Is there any explanation to this? U.S. folks prefer cheap quality?

I just don't get it. You would think Sony (and others) could carve out a larger share of the U.S. notebook market if they sold those things here. Instead they let Dell, Acer, and such (not really synonymous for high quality notebooks) rule the U.S. market.

Maybe cause Dell, Acer, etc. sell so cheap so Japanese companies have to sacrifice on quality to be able to offer notebooks in the same price range? Even then they should still offer like a high end line or something for people who value quality over price. Sort of like Toyota and Lexus.

*scratches head*

Edit: Plus the U.S. web designers are schooled by the japanes page. The U.S. site looks like sh.. compared to the japanese one..... I'd rather not conjecture about customer service...

 

Thank you for the link to the extended battery pic.

It looks silly hanging off like a little nub.. but at least I know what it looks like now. $299 is such a ripoff for this.. but unless the advertised 5.5hr battery life ever comes thru (after USB patches), I may be forced to get one.

Any estimates on how long the extended will last?

And yes, I agree entirely. Upgrade all the components yourself. Best way to go. I actually liked the fingerprint reader, its very convienent to login that way. It sucks as a scroller though.

 

How are you going to get it to the USA or whereever you are.

I wanted to buy the Japanese version too. Because I like the configurations better, and wouldn't mind having a cool Japanese keyboard. Just couldn't read the website enough to figure out how to order it.

 

If i wasn't such a bastard I would have my girlfriend pick you guys up one when she goes back to Osaka, but hmm i guess I am ^_^

but yes that SZ90 case looks so sick!!!!!!!!

 

You think america has it bad? asutralia is the worst the price and the specs are so mismatched i got one from Hong Kong instead. And now hong kong is full of people who love to be tech saavy but even they have models not as well configured as the american models. it is really strange and i dont know how sony decides on these things but it really needs to be fixed up!!

but i think u may be right that maybe they need to lower specs to try and fit the market price range but still doesnt make much sense i could get the sony SZ160 have a relative ship it over and it would be the same as buying an australian model and then updating it to meet specs

as for customer service - Hong kong was great from what i expreinced no problems at all and the laptop was delivered in a very reasonable amount of time (5 days after my pre order) - Australia however they still have not even heard of the SZ even though its advertised on their website

now my next trip to Hong Kong is in aweeks time so i cant wait to get my hands on that baby waiting for me

 

No idea - I'm getting a quote. I figure around $3k, but the SZ160 is $2500 without the nice warranty, so it should be roughly equivalent.

 

Because Sony does not have a 100GB 7200rpm drive option. Just 5400rpm. Plus, Sony gives you 533MHz RAM and charges an arm and a leg for it. I can get 2GB of 667MHz RAM for about $250 including shipping versus the $600 Sony will charge. So for about $400 - $450 I will get the two upgrades I want, one of which Sony doesn't even have.

 

Well, this would be my fourth (possibly) Japanese laptop - a U70, the JVC 741, the Sharp, and now, maybe the SZ. No complaints. I have a bad back and travel for work a lot, so a light laptop is what I need. I realized in going through the U70 and the 741 that I need more power. 4lbs is my max weight since you figure you need the AC adapter, etc. The rock they give me for work just won't work. Since I've gone light, I've pretty much had no problems, so I don't mind paying a bit of a premium since it's related to my health. The Japanese definitely know how to do small and light!

Oh, and for customer service, the little white nubby thing came off of the touchstyk on my U70. Sent it back to the place I bought it from and in a few weeks time (factor in shipping to/from Japan), it was fixed, no issues. Sony Japan is good.

 

No problem

I don't think it looks that bad and quite honestly, with my 741 I had the battery stick out a bit so I'm not really worried about it.

I agree that $299 is a ripoff. In Japan, in the configurator, it comes up as 20,000 yen which is about $170 - $175 with today's exchange rate, so I think it's worth it. So if I'm going to get one battery, it might as well be that one. I refuse to pay Sony's $299 here.

I think I read 10.5 hours, but again, that's probably ultimate best case scenario. Given the problem with the dual core and power management (assuming it may be a problem or crop up), less. I usually take 1/3 off, so I figure you'll get 7h real world use.

I won't use it, and like the Motion Eye, it's just something else that may consume some battery. I'd rather pay extra and get the laptop I want than have stuff I don't.

 

Importer who I've dealt with in the past is getting me my quote. It may wind up being too much with what they want to add on top (they need to make *some* money), but I'd prefer to get the Japanese one if possible.

While you don't have access to all parts of the config, GeekStuff4U will allow you to get the Japanese model:
http://www.geekstuff4u.com/product_info.php?manufacturers_id=&products_id=332 and you can get it pretty much how you want.

 

Japanese companies have a tendency of saving the best of technologies for their own country. Even if a particular high-end electronic product is released out of the the country, it's pretty much gaurenteed there's going to be one better (if not faster, better built) exclusively for Japan. Thought this was common knowledge by now?

 

People were asking about cost. Well, I'm having the final number confirmed but here's the breakdown:
-Win XP pro
-Carbon black
-intel core duo T2300(2.16GHz)
-512mb
-60GB
-no bluetooth
-no motion eye
-no security sensor
-english keyboard/silver
-enhanced battery (10000yen less for the standard battery / so figure $100 less)
-Wide warranty: both natural caused problems and other problems like water,fire,drop

Give or take, it's going to be about $2950. Then add the 100GB 7200rpm for $200 and the memory, so it's probably about $3500 total.

The SZ180P only has the T2500 and comes with stuff I don't want and is, base price, the same. I'd still have to buy the 2GB of memory and the hard drive, so it's net/net equal. Plus, no idea when the SZ in a base config I want and can customize will show up on these shores. And come to think of it, the extended battery is a $300 add-on here in the USA, so the US config will be more expensive!

 

It is not nice to use words like Bas#### just like we should not shorten country names .
stu

 

Who did that? In my posts I always put Japan or Japanese. I also just did a search on the shortened, and I can't find it in any post.

 

Wow $3,500....That's alot of money...arguably for a very nice notebook. Hopefully there is nothing wrong with it and you don't have to send it back for inspection or something.

 

Won't be a problem with the warranty. But if I got the US SZ160, it would be $3k for me with the memory and hard drive, or $3500 for the SZ180 - both WITHOUT the extended battery. The SZ160 with the battery is going to be $3500 so it's really no different as well. Even the SZ120 which is like $2k would be closer to $3k with the extra battery, memory, and hard drive.

 

So here's the breakdown: the SZ90 is going to cost me $3050 including shipping with the following spec:

-Win XP pro
-Premium Carbon case
-intel core duo T2600(2.16GHz)
-512mb
-60GB
-no security sensor
-motion eye (required for the premium case)
-no bluetooth
-english keyboard/silver
-enhanced battery
- Wide warranty: both natural caused problems and other problems like water,fire,drop.

On top of that add about $250 for 2GB of memory for a total of $3300; I have the 100GB 7200rpm hard drive already (I'll take it from my Sharp and put its original back in).

If I, say, took a SZ160 and configured it similarly, here's what I get:
-Win XP pro
-Premium Carbon case
-intel core duo T2600(2.16GHz)
-1GB (would be replaced)
-100GB (would be replaced)
-security sensor
-motion eye
-bluetooth
-english keyboard/black
-standard battery

That's $2499. Add $199 for the onsite cover everything warranty, $299 for the extended battery, $250 for memory, a lesser processor, memory and hard drive I'm not using (like the Japanese), bluetooth and the security sensor which I don't want, and you have $3247 + tax, which in MA is 5%, so $3409.35. The Japanese one is cheaper AND I get a better spec and exactly what I want.

 

When configuring the SZ90, is there a difference between "premium carbon" and "black carbon" besides just color?

 

Premium = thinner/better screen (a la SZ160).

Plain ol' black carbon is the thicker in the Japanese.

 

huh, ok. I thought model SZ90 implied an LED backlit screen w/ carbon fiber casing (a la SZ160)... and that SZ80 implied thicker/non-LED screen (a la SZ120). But I can't read Japanese, so

I dunno, black fiber just sounds 100% self-defeating to me. And these guys only knock 50 bucks off for apparently hobbling your SZ90 into an SZ80. You'd think that would earn you more than 50 bucks

 

FenderP,

About swapping the HD, do you have any info on which HD to select. Also do you know if this would make the HD protection thing not work? Or are you just waiting to see once you do it?

 

Well, pretty much any HD will work. I have the Seagate Momentus 7200.1 in my Sharp now which I was going to reuse. Having said that, I saw that the Sony is ATA-150, and Seagate makes an ATA-150 version of the 7200.1, so I'm considering that one.

The HD protection thing I think is a driver or SW program which you seem (according to some posts here) get only by the base Sony image or recovery media. Since my laptop is being converted, I probably won't have it anyway. To be honest, I'm not sure how much a piece of SW is going to protect my hard drive anyway.

I've swapped hard drives on literally every notebook I've had with no issues.

 

Well no kidding - you are literally like one click away from a SZ80 or SZ90 depending on your config. If I had pushed the no motion sensor, it would have wound up being the black carbon/SZ80 (non-premium).

Too bad SonyStyle US won't let you configure a premium like the Japanese will. I would have bought it from them.

 

What is this black carbon that you're talking about? I'm guessing it's the same casing as the SZ120?

 

Yes, its the non-premium version...which is featured in the SZ120.

 

"Black Carbon" is the color of the magnesium case. Yeah, kinda confusing when there's an actual carbon version as well.

 

Why not order from Dynamism directly for 3199 USD
Here's specs:
The Sony VAIO SZ90 features sytle and power. The chassis is made of carbon-fiber, the same space-age material used on jet fighters and space vehicles. It's better at heat dissipation and has incredible rigidity--very light but very strong. It looks fantastic. Thanks to its strength, the SZ90 has an incredibly thin (4.5mm) screen.

The SZ90 incorporates Intel's latest technology, with a Core Duo 2.16GHz processor. It also features DVD±RW, and 120GB (max) of storage space with NVIDIA's GeForce Go 7400 graphics card and 512MB RAM (2GB max). Considering its desktop-PC performance, the SZ90's 3.73 lb (1.69 kg) weight is quite an achievement.

Available now from Dynamism, the SZ90 includes a special three-year Fedex rescue warranty and unlimited toll-free tech support.
Technical Specifications
Sony Model: VGN-SZ90
Motherboard Features CPU: Intel Core Duo 2.16GHz
L2 Cache: 2 MB CPU integrated
RAM: 512MB (2 GB Max)
Chipset: Intel 945 GM Express
Storage HDD:
Optical Drives:

60 GB / 120 GB
DVD±RW
Graphic / Video Features Chip:
VRAM:
Display:
Resolution:
Ext Resolution (RGB):
Ext Resolution (DVI):
NVIDIA GeForce Go 7400 with NVIDIA TurboCache
128MB (shared with main memory)
13.3" WXGA TFT
up to 1280 x 800 pixels
up to 2048 x 1536 pixels
up to 1920 x 1200 pixels
Sound system Sound Card: Built-in Stereo Speaker
Interface PCMCIA:
Modem:
Integrated ports: Type II x 1 CardBus compatible
56K V.90/.92
802.11b/g Wireless LAN; RJ-11 x1; LAN x1 (RJ-45); USB2.0 x2; VGA x1; microphone x1; headphones x1; I.LINK x 1; Memory Stick Duo x 1
Input / Output Devices Keyboard:
Pointing Device:
Battery Life: 86 keys, 19mm pitch, 3mm stroke
Touch Pad
Standard Battery: 7.0 hours
Enhanced Battery: 10.5 hours
Power Consumption:
A/C adapter: 69W
100-240V / 50-60 Hz
Physical Features Size:

Weight: 12.4 x 9.2 x 0.90 - 1.33 [inch]
315 x 234.3 x 22.8 - 33.7[mm]
3.73 lbs / 1.69 kg
Other Package contains:
Operating System: A/C adapter; standard battery; English manual;
Windows XP Home (English)
Windows XP Professional (Optional

Current cart subtotal ( 1 items ) : $ 3199.00


Notebooks TruePrice™ WEIGHT
[VGN-SZ90/60] Sony VAIO SZ90/60 (Intel Core Duo T2600 2.16GHz, 512 MB RAM, 60GB HD, DVD±RW, WinXP Home, Bluetooth, Silver or Black English keyboard, Premium Carbon Casing)
This Model Only: 3 Year Dynamism Warranty.
$2899.00 3.73 lbs / 1.7 kg
[VGN-SZ90/120] Sony VAIO SZ90/120 (Intel Core Duo T2600 2.16GHz, 512MB RAM, 120GB HD, DVD±RW, WinXP Home, Bluetooth, Silver or Black English keyboard, Premium Carbon Casing)
This Model Only: 3 Year Dynamism Warranty.
$3199.00 3.73 lbs / 1.7 kg
None [ Accessory Order Only. ]
Accessories / similar items related to this model:
[SZ90-1GB] Upgrade to 1GB RAM
$199.00
[SZ90-2GB] Upgrade to 2GB RAM
$799.00
Software:
[WINXPP] Upgrade to English Windows XP Professional
$150.00
[OFC2003BAS] Microsoft Office 2003 Basic Edition (Word 2003 Excel 2003 Outlook 2003)
$259.00
[OFC2003SB] Microsoft Office 2003 Small Business Edition (Word 2003, Excel 2003, Outlook 2003, Powerpoint 2003, Publisher 2003)
$449.00
[OFC2003PRO] Microsoft Office 2003 Professional Edition (Word 2003, Excel 2003, Outlook 2003, Powerpoint 2003, Publisher 2003, Access 2003)
$499.00

 

I am getting it from them, just with a different spec. I've ordered 3 notebooks from them already. Neither of their "standard builds" was what I wanted. It's good enough for 99% of the folks out there, mind you. I've had zero problems with Dynamism on anything I've bought in terms of sales, service, or repairs if it needed to be sent bacxk to Japan.

 

I just called Dynamism and they are backordered 2 weeks.

 

they said "maybe april 15th" to me. so who knows. still no way to get the 160 either. anyone one want to suggest an alternative: under 4 pds dual core, 100gb hard drive, BT etc?

 

The SZ90 is a custom build. So 2 weeks to get isn't bad. Dynamism just decided to carry the line so it's going to take a bit.

 

I also ordered from them and they told me 2-3 weeks.

The difference between ordering the SZ90 or SZ160(from sonystyle) for me comes down to $100. This is calculating all the upgrades I will be doing, (2GB Ram/7200HD). Acctually if I get the SZ160 I wouldn't upgrade the HDD since it already comes with a 100GB one, so if I did that upgrade on the SZ160, it would be more expensive. And remeber that the SZ90 comes with the T2600 processor (and silver keyboard, though that doesn't really matter).

This is assuming you get everything else the same (bluetooth/camera/fingerprint/XPPro) , 3yr warranty(though sonysytles is really overpriced), overnight shipping (again sonysytle is more expensive, and its acctually 2 day shippin not overnight). Right now sonystyle says they will have SZ160 by late march, looking at their track record they probably deliver that by early may . So thats why I decided to go with the SZ90, just hope that Dynamism comes through.

BTW, FenderP I was wondering if they ship it with all the bloatware also? I'm guessing that they don't but wasn't sure.

 

I thought the GeForce is supposed to be 128MB dedicacted and 128MB Turbocache. And it is only supposed to go upto 1280 x 800 pixels so where did the 1920 x 1200 pixels come from?

 

Correct.

That's on an external monitor - there's a VGA connector on the left hand side of the case.

 

Dynamism only puts what's necessary. WHen I got my U70, it had all the Sony power management stuff, but not, say, Sonic Stage Mastering Studio. It's a pretty vanilla install. I would be shocked if it got filled with bloatware.

 

So the laptop that you're buying from dynamism comes w/o the video camera? When will you be receiving your SZ90 then?

 

Mine will have it ... only way to get the premium. I wanted it w/o, but then I would get a standard one. No thanks.

 

Well, my SZ is in the US and being imaged. My 2GB of RAM and 100GB 7200rpm ATA-150 drive is ready to go. I should have it by next week, and I promise to do a full review of it, and do a comparison with the Sharp ...

 

I just picked up my SZ90 and flying back from Japan back to USA later today.

 

How much did it cost in dollars, please?

 

I am about to order my replacement SZ. I am waiting to here from those who ordered theirs from Japan. For example, how long from the time of order before you received yours. Thanks!

 

About 2 weeks from order to door.

 

I take it that you have received yours. Many of us are looking forward to hearing about your observations. Cheers.

 

Yup - plan on doing a formal review vs. the Sharp ... so far, it's great.

Doing things like dealing with changing out the hard drive - pain. Not from the physical hard drive side, but in the transfer process because the drives are SATA. I'll talk about that, too. I want to get a few solid weeks in before I officially weigh in, tho.