My Z570 arrived ... initial impressions compared to my LG P300

UPS delivered my Z570 today ... I'm in Canada and ordered from a store in New York ... UPS managed to ding me for both taxes, GST AND PST, an extra $300 - ouch.

Getting it out of the box it seemed even smaller than I expected, the 13.1" screen certainly gives it a different look compared to a 13.3" screen. The first thing I noticed was its light weight of course, its feels just a little lighter than my LG but it has the DVD drive in it. People looking for super light weight will be impressed.

Opening up the notebook I noticed how low the screen sits compared to other notebooks I'm used to, I don't mind it I guess, it allows for the smaller size..

The keyboard; When I typed the first paragraph on the Z it was 'oh-oh' I'm not sure I'm going to like this. Now after to replying to emails and typing on it for hours I like it more. If you don't hit a key directly the tips of your fingers hit the edge of the chiclet keys, kind of like your pushing on something with an edge rather than on something flat. I don't know if I'll prefer it over a traditional notebook keyboard .. I think the chicklet keys are more of a 'unique/style' idea, not because you'll type better of faster.

After typing on the keyboard a few days/weeks I'll know better. I will say the first time I typed on my LG 300 keyboard I fell in love with it immediately, that and the mouse pad ... initially I can say for sure the LG's mouse pad works better for me, it's smoother, less jumpy ... from my little bit of using it I'd say the Sony touchpad is more like a Dell's and the LG touchpad is more like a ThinkPad.

The screen is bright, clear, crisp no question. Side by side is it a 'lot' better than the LG? In my opinion, no. The Sony's blacks are blacker, and the whites are white but I think the contrast of the LG is more appealing, perhaps 'softer' on the eye when set to similar brightness.

I think the Sony screen seems 'squatty', to me it's noticeably less real estate than the 13.3" LG and since Sony's resolution measurements are a little different it seems to stretch some photo's and put them out of proportion, you’ll notice it if you set a photo as a background to fill the screen.

I certainly would not want the font any smaller, I'm amazed Sony offers this machine in a 1600 x 900 version. I can't see it for office applications or business use. For watching movies, editing photo's or video sure, but this is a machine geared to business - right?

I was really excited and eager to get my 570, it's nice and I like it but it didn't 'wow' me like I hoped or thought it would. Whereas when I bought the LG P300 I wasn't that excited at all. I wondered why the hell I bought a notebook with a pink and black lid, lol. But, but when I got the LG home turned it on and starting using it I fell in love with it right away. Actually it’s the only pc I’ve used for the last month; I chose to use it over my desktop. Keep in mind I only paid $1439 for the LG and that's part of the reason it impressed me so much, its a lot of computer for the money. Now that I’ve used the LG for a month I think it's one of the nicest notebooks I've ever worked on. The Sony cost so much more so you expect it to be what it is.

I want the Sony Z to be the notebook I prefer over the LG. There’s been so much hype about it while the LG’s go unnoticed. A large part of the reason is they’re not available in the States for some reason. The Sony is about $1,000 more than I paid for the LG. At first glance I’m not sure it's worth it. I’d bet Sony is taking note on what LG is doing with their notebook line.

So after using the Sony and typing on it about 8 hours now I'm starting to like the keyboard, and getting more used the screen. I can't comment on the build quality or compare the components/performance in the two. I'm speaking strictly from a user's experience and remember I've had the LG for a month and the Sony only a few hours.

I was hoping I would think the Sony blew the LG on first impression. Definitely not the case, in my mind I'm thinking smaller screen, weird keyboard on the Sony, the screen sits oddly low and the Sony is small and lighter yes but if you had either in your briefcase you wouldn’t be able to tell which one by the weight.

Will I wish I kept the LG and saved myself a $1,000? ... Maybe. Who knows what I'll end up doing. I'm going to use only the Sony for the next 7 days and hope it grows on me. Otherwise I'll sell it and get another LG for myself since my wife is taking the one I was using. This Sony Z570 will be an easy sell in Canada ... with its spec's and the late arrival the Z555 maybe I'll get a good bid? lol.

I hope I end up liking it enough to keep it .... I think the chances the chances of that are good.

 

Thanks for this detailed write-up, these are the two laptops i'm debating right now (actually the Z and the P310 which might be even closer to the Z technically than the P300).

When you have the time, could you play a game or two that you've played on your LG for comparison. I know the P300's gfx card is better than the Sony one, I'm just curious by how much.

Thanks

 

Good critical 'review'. Thanks for posting.

 

Excellent comparison..........that all i need to know!

 

Excellent, I placed my order for the Z590, then something came up and I had to cancel but later reordered for the same one. Original ship date was Sept 9th, the new ship date is all the way at the end of this month. Sucks to be me now!

 

Will you please comment on the noise of the fan, and how hot it gets? Can you use it on your lap after it get warmed up? TIA

 

I think the fan noise is a non issue really, you can barely hear it and it's not an 'irritatiing' noise. It is louder than the LG? Yes. The reason I think that's odd is because the LG is the machine with the faster card in it and should run hotter so you'd think you'd hear the fan more, but the LG is basically silent at all times.

The Sony is for sure cooler than the LG to have sittiing on your lap. With shorts on you can barely feel the heat of the Sony on your legs. The LG is warm and you notice it, but not so much that it's uncomfortable. Both are cooler than my old IBM Thinkpad and Dell Latitude.

 

Gaming - I don't have any of the newer demanding games but I did try testing both machines with everything I had. Both machines were flawless.

For Extreme gaming maybe you'd want a machine with 256 in it, but either notebook will handle everything I'll use it for I'm sure.

After using the two back and forth about a day now I can say I'm definately liking the Sony a lot more, but I'm not liking the LG any less.

If both were the same price it would still be a hard decision for me to make at this point. Considering the LG is quite a bit less I'd say for anyone where cost is a big factor that you'll be happy with the LG, you'd be saving a lot of money and you wouldn't loose a debate if you where to compare the two notebooks ...

One question I do have. Why does it take to long to boot up, or resume from sleeping? I think I know the answer... it's all the installed bloatware ... that's a little extreme ... the LG starts up and resumes from sleep mode MUCH faster.

Only owning the Sony for a day isn't really a fair compariso, that's why this is only a "first impressions" thread.

 

The LG is silent while running heavy games?

 

I wanted the LG P300 but as you've mentioned, it's not readily available in the US. Sure I can probably purchase it and pay all the taxes, etc. but what I was afraid of was what would happen if something is defected in my P300. It's certainly not supported by LG America. It would've been really cool to own a laptop that hardly anyone else has on campus (probably even in the country).

I would have preferred the LG but I think I'll be happy with my Z. Should be coming early next week!

 

actually the first and last time I heard the fan on the LG was when I was testing it with games ...


- I doubt very much you'll be dissappointed with your Z590 over the LG!

The more I type on the Sony keyboard the more I like it. The Sony definately has that 'cool' modern/cutting edge look to it, the small wide screen is the reason.

When you set the LG beside the Sony the LG looks awkward...like an old square screen, for example and old T61 sitting beside a T400 thinkpad, lol.

 

Yeah, Sony bloatware is pretty bad - it's a hassle to remove.

BTW, another advantage the Z should have is battery life (probably will be 1.5 - 2x as long as the LG).

 

For the battery life that's possible and I hope it's true.

One of the things that amazed me about the LG was it's incredible battery life.

On the first run through the Sony didn't last a lot longer than the LG, if I had to guess I'd say about the same ..... but .... keep in mind, I just got the Sony and I've only cycled the battery once, actually I just plugged it back in.

The only thing I'm sure of is at first try it didn't noticeably outlast the LG.
(I run the LG in battery save mode and the Sony in stamina mode when unplugged).

It's too early for me to tell, in a week I'll mention the battery again.

 

Notebookjournal measured 145 minutes for LG P300/T8300 and 270 minutes for Z/P9500 under the same circumstances. (30% CPU utilization.)

 

Well obviously the Z's Nvidia GPU is less powerful and so less power hungry than the LG's and also can switch to Intel graphics for further power savings, its a no contest where the Z wins in battery life but the LG wins in gaming ability.

 

I am aware of those facts. I was responding to uniquestco who said battery life was similar.

 

Haha, after reading your first impressions comparison with Z and the P300, I think so too! Probably can't go wrong with either one unless gaming is extremely important (P300 wins that).

Since I do plan to play some games, albeit not maxed out of course, I originally waited all summer for the P300 to make it to the US. I saw the report on engadget back in January that the P300 should hit the states pretty soon. Didn't happen. I also tried to wait for the new Macbook Pros but it looks like the release is in October. I had to make a purchase soon and I was pleasantly surprised with the benchmarks and gaming performance of the 9300m GS so I went with the Z, in addition to other reasons such as build quality over the SR and small footprint.

 

I just checked out the LG (we've got stores that carry them here in Canada). I was impressed. The screen is great, they keyboard is REALLY REALLY good, as the original poster said, the build quality seems great, & overall it seems like awesome value for the money.

But personally I think I'd rather pay extra for the Z:

- I think the 1600x900 resolution might actually be good for me, as much as people have complained about it (I work with huge spreadsheets, & have good eyesight as far as tiny things are concerned).
- Having the integrated DVD drive isn't essential, but... sometimes you don't know when you'll need it, & if they've found a way to squeeze it in & still make the computer as light or lighter than the LG, then why not.
- I like the fact that the Z's screen sits a bit lower. It might make it marginally easier to use on a cramped airplane, when the guy in front of you has his seat angled back...
- I haven't seen the Z in person yet, but I like the aesthetics a lot more. The LG is a good looking machine, too, but I really like the looks of the Z (though maybe I'll be disappointed once I actually see one, who knows...).

 

@ Hybr1dz, may I ask, where did you get your Z?

 

It still didn't arrive yet, hopefully Monday or Tuesday it will, but I purchased mine at SonyStyle.com (USA version). The price doesn't include tax or the 3-year Accidental + 2 accessories I purchased. So the final total came to about $2.7K

 

cool, now that we know notejournal stat's it will be interesting to see how it compares in day to day use ... I'll test them one day this week.

145 minutes is about 21/2 hours ... my LG gets more than that for sure ... but my activities aren't a heavy drain ... replying to emails, working with docs, spreadsheets, pp, publisher and surfing the net ... so its heavy multi-tasking, not gaming, watching video's or anything like that.

This little Z is working well, I've got it hooked up to a 22" monitor now, when using it as the only monitor the text looks great, I'm getting used to the chiclet keys and starting to like them a lot more.

That's all good news for me ... I have to remember I used the LG for a month non stop, the new Z is going to have a different look and feel to it for a while, so far so good I'd say

 

Btw, you mentioned you ran the P300 in power saver, and the Z in "stamina", and got similar battery life. The Z's "stamina" switch afaik just changes to a more power efficient video card, you'll also have to select "Power saver" mode to get full battery savings.

 

yes, you're right, i have it set to got into battery save mode when i unplug it

 

It's funny that this is what seems to be happening to 99% of the people.

After having the 'chiclet' keys on a TZ and MBA I even think it's superior to any normal keyboard.

 

So how do you like the screen? Are you happy with the 1600 x 900 or would you have liked the 1366 x 768 better?

 

i hope youre right, since my z is coming very soon... oh by the way PF, i was able to spend some time on my friend's MBA and i was actually really impressed with it! i generally have disdain for apple, but that's just personal preference.

anyhow, this is a good thread... more objective than those fanboy posts (no offense, i'll be one soon too). any updates?