Is A Sony Ultrabook Coming?

CNBC had a story the other day about ultrabooks and reported that at least a dozen manufacturers have them on the way for Q1 2012.

Anyone know if Sony is among them?

 

More than likely.

 

Q1? No. There's a lengthy thread on this, too.

 

Sony's Ultrabook is already here. It's called the Z2. Expect those other "ultra" books to be heavier and less capable although perhaps a bit cheaper.

 

Unlike the MBA, the Z2 can play a play a blu-ray with the PMD (and burn them also). When the MBA tries to play a blu-ray (with an external drive), MBA Fail.

 

Yes, but it's always fun to bring out an old dead horse and go back to beating it.

Er, um, I think you'll find in that previous thread that quite a few of us felt that the Z2 is in a class entirely by itself and that ultrabooks, love em or hate em, are very different yet likely to be popular because they are more portable than most laptops yet more powerful and capable by far than the best tablet. Don't see why Sony couldn't compete here without cannibalizing Z2 sales.

 

Crossing fingers for a ~$1.5K 11" ultrabookish X-replacement with Z2 DNA not far off from a tablet in terms of weight.

 

I could see that. The reduced size would distinguish it enough from the Z to minimize canibalization. Besides, a theoretical X2 would probably go the ULV route and be closer to an MBA than a Z in multiple respects.

 

Windows can't play Blu-ray movies natively either.

In addition to Blu-rays, Macs don't support cassette tapes, floppy disks, etc. Just sayin'.

 

The point remains, you can play a blu-ray of a Z1 or Z2 that has a blu-ray option. You can't do that on an MBA.

As for cassette tapes, etc., when there is a demand for that media comparable to watching an HD movie, you make sure to post it right away. Just sayin'.

 

As for #1, above, r u saying u can't hook up a USB Blu ray drive to a MBP, install the right software, and play Blu rays? A small USB BD is certainly no more inconvenient than that PMD, no?

As for #2, I think Shurcool was being, er, "ironic."

 

With respect to #1, I had posted a link to an article that said just that, that the reviewer was unable to get a blu-ray to play (on an MBA, not MBP) on a USB blu-ray drive made specifically for the Scrapple.

By contrast,

The article does contain an error about the Z. It sez that the Z

The Z2 can be ordered with a blu-ray burner right now.

 

It's just the Z2 is unfortunately a little too wide for some of my specific-use sleeves / luggage (including those I can't change easily, such as sleeves designed to be worn under clothing), and as long as it's an i7 ULV HD3000 with no driver crippling (thanks Sony-ATI) I've established that the OpenGL performance is adequate for what I use most of the time in terms of visualisation.

Ironically the Crapbook Air 11" is the near-perfect size. It's just that I need something more roadable, and also something which doesn't hobble me unnecessarily when using the non-Soccer-Mom OS.

I'd long looked at the X with a want, but an Atom was a non-starter. I'm hoping they come out with an 11" machine that I actually want to buy & keep (and that hasn't been the case since the TZ).

 

I think the Sony ultrabook should be 11" as well--not only to prevent cannibalism with the Z2 (ultrabook dimensions, better specs, higher price tag), but also to prevent cannibalism with the SA (marginally thicker than a 13" ultrabook, marginally heavier, same price, far more powerful).

 

I won't deny this is a bit of a re-tread from the past, but do believe the ultrabook concept is:

1) very thin
2)very light
3) 11-13"
4) 128GB (or less) SSD
5) ULV SB cpus
6) middling (or worse) screens
7) keyboard backlit - but sometimes not
8) Price: under $1,000, but Toshiba is already down to $799 with 128GB, backlit kb
9) Customization: generally, none! At most a larger SSD option. "KISS"

I don't see how you could make a notebook in line with these specs and come within a football field of a Sony Z or S. I mean, almost every 13" ultraportable can be seen to "compete" with anything else of its size, in that they're all getting thinner, lighter, more power/$, SSDs approaching affordable, etc.

But there is so much more to a computer, especially a laptop, than it's specs and capacities. As someone (name escapes me, begis with an "L") recently said of purchasing a Z2, "you can get pretty much the same power in a $500 SB notebook at a retail store," but that doesn't make it an either/or option.

I am actually inclined to give Apple its due (not my usual; see sig) and likewise to Intel. The former pioneered and perfected a form factor and the latter realized that it better get the Windows boys on it or they'll wake up one day and find everyone looking for ultra-portable computing using tablets with non-Intel metal or MBAs, which are as likely to jump to an ARM-based cpu for the MBA as they are to stick with Intel cpus. Even as Macs gain market share using Intel cpus, Intel shareholders have a lot to worry about if "wintel" brands don't stay competitive, and by far the hottest segment with the highest growth potential in the notebook market today is the MBA/ultrabook format.

So let everyone make the best Pancake notebook they can and drive prices down to tablet prices on the low end, and quality up to MBA on the high end, and let power users or budget-minders just observe and smile.

 

A Sony Ultrabook should be a TZ / TT with an SSD, i5 cpu, and 1600 x 900 display. No DVD required. Even though I have a Z13, I miss my TZ.

 

I wouldn't mind an i7 ULV either . But yes, I hope sony comes out with one... one can only wait... unless Beaups has prior knowledge (did he say anything yet?)

 

Yes, this is true.

And it is one of the factors that should be considered when making a computer purchase decision. There are tons of such factors, including the software libraries available, the user interface, ease of use, tech support, build quality, battery life, whether it can play Blu-ray movies, how much OS upgrades cost, responsivness of the touchpad, how customizable the OS is, etc. etc.

If watching Blu-ray movies is the _ONLY_ thing you ever do on your computer, then it probably should have a weight of something close to 100%.

If it's something you almost never do, or you can get by with Netflix, iTunes, torrents, or other options, then it'll have a weight closer to 1% so all the other factors are likely to overshadow ability to play a Blu-ray.

Personally, I'm a fan of going completely optical-media-free because it'll allow me to reduce clutter and have less headaches. I happen to have a Blu-ray reader in my desktop, but I don't have the (non-free) software required to play Blu-rays installed cuz I feel that it's a piece of crap bloatware that'll ruin my clean OS install.

P.S. One of the reasons I dislike optical media is that it's the only way to purchase movies and still be forced to watch commercials/trailers at the beginning. I prefer Netflix or iTunes where I pay to have a clean ad-free environment.

 

That's best the best description of an ultrabook I've seen yet.

Absolutely correct. I'm not so sure about the S, but the Z is one of the very few consumer products in a popular category that lacks any true competitor, i.e., other products with similar specs.

Of course not. There's a reason why any number of people choose to pay a huge premium for the Z over far less expensive quad-cores. It's also reason why people who can afford the say are often better off with more capable, less expensive machine at least in certain situations.

As am I. Which explains my scorn for Apple hardware, software and obnoxious, moronic followers.

As am I. That makes the design wrong for some people but great for others. Since some people, not unreasonably, compare Apple and Sony products, they should be aware that Apple lacks some fairly basic but not essential functionality. I note that the blu-ray is useful not only for entertainment but also for low-cost media-based storage which some people who find useful.

Ha! No way I can challenge that.

 

?? Would you be so kind as to restate it in the form of a description?

The S may have competitors, but none of them are ultrabooks.

?? Would you be so kind as to restate it in the form of a...statement?

Whew, glad I didn't actually praise their hardware or software nor count myself as a follower, even if I am moronic. Still, if you don't consider the design and performance of the current MBA 13 worthy of admiration - for what it was created to be - then you may risk being called moronically - or at least reflexively - hateful of anything Apple.

As aren't you?

(Don't blame me; I had a great role model )

Merry Christmas, Louche!

 

If you aren't familiar with zenesque concepts, just say so.

I confuse the Z-wanna-be Esses from the C plus E =SE

Eggnog is tasty!

Any such assertion would cast groundless aspersion on my charcter in attempting to make me an object of derision.

Please don't misunderstand the overarching issue underlying the crux of what I said.

Mr. Jobs was a brilliant man and highly influential in both computing and culture. In some regards, fused computing and culture. He revolutionized the role of design in marketing of consumer techology. And I don't blame him for the horde of technozombies that developed when he tapped into the deep seated need many people seem to have to become followers when faced with something new and scary.

Ho, ho, ho.

 

The Panasonic J series is just about perfect if you want a portable powerhouse - T sized with no ODD, 1366x768 10.1", full i7, proc, and up to 16GB of RAM, under 3lbs, good battery life.

 

I couldn't find it. May I trouble you for a link?

No kidding! I believe I was the first one here who actually tried out the Z, last summer at the Vaio show in Manhattan.

How rude! If you actually read my OP, it was written in response to a CNBC report, not anything posted on this website.

 

Well if we're going to split hairs, you can't really call it an ultrabook since it breaks practically all of the major prerequisites of the other entries apart from weight and general size.

I think it needs a different category.

Uberbook?
Extremebook?
Awesomebook?

 

Awesomebook works for me. If the gold were available in the US with 8GB RAM, it could be called a PimpBook.

 

I thought the gold one with 8GB RAM already had a name, SpaceCowboyBook.

 

Nobody is more interested in pimping out their computer than a SpaceCowboy.

 

So I saw this on the Verge...

Sony VAIO ultrabook prototype shown behind glass | The Verge

Looks like a Z but it's not, behind glass like always with Sony, no doubt this will be coming in the near term like the SA and SB were also "prototypes" back in CES 2011 Seems thicker than the Z, I hope Sony releases it with Ivy Bridge and not Sandy.

This looks ok, was hoping for something thinner but I guess sony does not want to play that game.

 

Sony has played that game with both X releases (old and the newer one with the Atom). The power vs. portability thing is always a funny thing. If Sony would just reintroduce the T series, people would now call it an ultrabook, not an ultraportable (which is what it is).

 

I'm down for another T series, as long the cpu is no lower than ulv, and has the same great matte display(i.e. good contrast and high color gamut) of the TZ/TT.

Can we tell from the pics if this 13.1in like the Z, or 13.3 like the S-series? I hope the screen on this is more Z like than SA(even if 1600x900 is optional), and isn't plagued with the color issues some of the current laptops with IPS display have.

 

I'd be willing to bet money that this is a 13.3".

 

you'd win that bet.

 

Can you say at leas if it is a compact 13.3in or a standard size 13.3in?

 

13.3 is 13.3? It's a compact laptop, per the ultrabook requirements.

 

Well you know how there are now like 14in machines that take the space of a 13in machines and such. Is this closer to the dimensions of the Z, or SA should have been my question, I guess.

 

Dimensions closer to SA but thinner.