New G series or latest TX? Which Sony ultraportable?!

I currently have a 3 yr old IBM X40 ultraportable which has been the best notebook I've ever owned. Simply brilliant but it's slow due to it's age and latest X series hasn't evolved much.

Looking to replace with either the new Sony Vaio G11 or the latest TX5 (these are Europe/UK part nos). I know the G series is very new (just landed in the UK), but has anyone actually tried one? I can't make my mind up!

The spec and price of each is very similar but the G series has a 12" 4:3 ratio screen and the TX a smaller 11" widescreen. Both have XBrite screens but the G series is unusually matt not glossy like the TX (some prefer, some don't). G is slightly lighter but the TX has a smaller footprint. A key concern with the TX is that keyboard - I've got small hands but found it hard to use in the shop - my 12" IBM has a great keyboard despite being hardly any larger.

Sony Vaio TX5

Sony Vaio G series

Any advice would be most appreciated!

Dave

 

I think it depends on what you want in a laptop. If you do a lot of movie watching and/or prefer a widescreen laptop, there is no choice: a TX.

However, the TX can be nearly 1lb heavier than the G, which harks back to laptops like my old JVC or the Panasonic R series. So if you travel often, I'd lean towards the G.

What annoys me about both is that Sony has not adopted the ULV Core Duo in their ultraportables (either the 1.06 U2400 or the 1.20 U2500).

I'm leaning towards the G myself which isn't out in the USA, but am going to wait until the summer to see what the refresh brings.

 

The Vaio TX is just as small as the Vaio G in terms of keyboard size. It will take some time, but you will get used to the smaller keyboard. G is a new model, but the TX model has been a hit for Sony given how long the TX had been out for (since late 2005), plus improvements and upgrades. TX is probably more portable, because of the form factor. However, you also have to consider how heavy or bulky the A/C adapter is, because you'll be carrying that with you. Unfortunately, I am not so sure which model has a smaller adapter.

 

I myself would personally go with the TX, the display alone kills the G for me, a bland fullscreen with only 1024 X 768 resolution with no glossy coating, although that could be benefitial to some.

One thing I dislike about the TXs is the fan noise, I have a TX790P, which is equilvalent to the TX2 in Europe and two minutes after it loads into Windows, the fan kicks in and never shuts off, no matter what I do. I think this issue has been migitated in the later revisions however, as I know at least that the light leakage at the bottom of the screens has been fixed in later models.

I have no knowledge about the G series since its just recently been released, though it seems pretty solidly built, good battery life, decent business notebook. I think I recall that some models have a built in optical drive and some do not?

 

Hopefully when Intel releases the Santa Rosa platform in May, Sony will adopt the ULV Core Duo for use in the TXN series.

 

I'm from the UK and am also in the market for an ultra-portable.
The G11 is top of my list, but I'm also looking at the Thinkpad X60s.
I managed to have a 1/2 hour play with the G11 in a Sony store, and sat it next to the latest TX.

I didn't bother even turning the TX on!

Yes the footprint is smaller, what this translates to is a much smaller screen.
Side by side the screen on the TX looks half the size of the G11, but the machine weighs more!
Summary from comparing to two:

G11
Keyboard looks cheaper than TX (black plastic vs brushed silver)
Adaptor is TINY, shorter than an average pen and very very light.
Vista aero works OK (glass and 3D).
Comes with a nice leather case, but once you attach it, you cannot remove it.
The special edition brown version has 1GB RAM on board with 1GB RAM in the slot. The standard black version has 512MB on board so is only upgradable to 1.5GB RAM.
The screen isn't noticabley matt, but the res isn't the best.
G11 is noticably lighter than TX

TX
If size not weight is your main concern go for TX.
TX looks cooler and has a non-matt widescreen.

I'm looking for the lightest possible machine with long battery life, purely for business (no gaming or movies). G11 easily beats TX for my requirements.

I was looking to walk out of the store with it that day, but after trying I felt it just wasn't worth £1799 plus £230 for 1 extra years warranty.

I'm going to wait for the Thinkpad X60s with vista pre-installed. This has a Core 2 Duo (rather than the solo chip in the Sonys) which will still deliver up to 8 hours battery life (a new battery I have heard Lenovo are releasing soon). Weight is around 1.4kg (G11 1.1kg).
It includes 3 year warrantly and will be around 3 quarters of the price of the G11 (around £1500).

The G11 looks much cooler and is lighter, but I can't justify the massive price for a lower spec machine than the X60s.

If price wasn't an issue I would go for the special edtion G11 with an extended 3 year warrantly.