New S model with Core i3-330M CPU: Sony Vaio VPC-S11

Once they will put in a seperate graphics card (like they did with the sr later too), I might just buy one to have one, very nice design ^^

 

Well, they offer the option of putting in a 310m now, if you can call that a seperate graphics card.

It appears the new S does get an anti-reflection screen! This is something I really hadn't expected and is absolutely brilliant if true

Although now I have to start rethinking whether to get a Z or a S

https://www.sonystyle.co.uk/SonyStyle/VAIO-Laptop-PCs/S-Series-13-3/

Edit: Sorry for the double posting btw, hadn't noticed I was the last to post.

 

I hope the S comes out in the US soon and that SonyStyle stores have it before the old Z goes away. I would love to be able to see it and see how anti-reflective it trully is.

 

As I stated in the past, unless you absolutely MUST have a laptop over the next couple of weeks, I would just let the current Z go, if I were you. And then go with either the NEW S-series or the NEW Z, depending on how your budget is able to manage. The current Z is "old" and people who bought it over the past month or so are kicking themselves for doing so and now that the new one has actually been announced, I won't catch myself paying top dollar for the *old* model.

There are even folks talking about selling their current Z, before the general public realizes that newer models have been announced, and thus avoid taking a bigger hit than trying to sell it further downstream. In a couple of years, if/when somebody tries to sell their laptop, when one realizes that it contains the "ancient" Core2 Duo chips, the resale will suffer an immediate hit (again one of the side effects of going with "old tech", even though for right now, it will serve the purpose for the most part).

As far as the anti-reflective nature of the newer screen, I would trust their word that it is anti-reflective and leave it at that. It should be at least as anti-reflective as the current Z's screen.

Good luck with whatever you decide on.

 

I've got a SR59VG at home that I'm going to return, I quickly checked it out before deciding to return to get a S instead.
When I checked it out, I don't recall being particularly surprised by the glossy screen. I guess there is glossy and glossy around.

 

I understand what you are saying. But there are disadvantages to me waiting and getting the new Z. The first and major one is price. With them only packaging it with an SSD, they made it a little difficult on the pocket book. I have seen some people speculating the base model to start with 1.4 cpu, if this is true, then I would have to spend money to get a larger HD and a higher CPU. That most likely would push it out of the price range of what I want to pay. I think if they had gave a normal HD 7200 as an option, I would probably have jumped into the Z, because I could have lowered the price and gotten a HD that would be much eaiser and cheaper to replace at a later date.

I am actually now leaning towards either the older Z or the S. I think Sony priced some people out of the new Z, but that is just my personal opinion. I have a hard time spending more than 2k on a laptop, I didn't spend that on my 61" TV!!!! I am a big one on value for my money and getting the best deal possible. I just feel the new Z is not as good of a value unless I could wait 6 or 8 months when the price lowers a little for the new technology.

As for resale value, I kept my last computer for 5 years, so I don't think any computer will hold a reasonable value that long. I am not one to switch out my PC until I need to.

 

I doubt that the S-series has a glossy panel.....

And if, i would really consider this modell, if the build quality is also good.

But i really doubt it.

 

I really hope the S-series have a matte screen, we'll see.

 

Makes sense. However, don't compare the older generation Core2 Duo's higher clock speeds with the newer generation's clock speeds where one could be fooled into thinking that the newer ones have fallen behind. These are FAR more capable than the prior Core2 processors and gets a lot more work done per CPU clock cycle. And even the base i5 processor of the new-Z would beat the best that came on the older-Z, from a real-world performance standpoint.

Having said that, the current Z is definitely a VERY attractive laptop and you won't go wrong with it. Plus it does come with a HD, which is something I value too. But the new S-series is what I would settle on, given a choice between the Old-Z versus the new S, since it is relatively light, will be significantly less expensive than the old or new Z and taken in isolation, is a very slick machine.

 

The main weakness I see with the current Z is that you are paying extra for hybrid graphics, when the new integrated intel HD graphics on the lower end new machines does as well as the discrete Z's 9300GS in "speed" mode. Otherwise, the current/old Z is a great machine.

 

Yes, I see that as the main difference. Which I am not a heavy gamer, so I am not sure that makes a huge difference for me.

I totally understand that the i5 is better than a duo. But when looking at the one formula someone had somewhere on here, I didn't think the i5 1.4 was better than 2.66 duo. I could be wrong, because now I can't find that formula to re-calculate now knowing the correct numbers.

 

Anybody have a rough estimate on how much the S series will cost?

 

I'm curious about this too. How does i5 (1.4Ghz.) compare to Core Duo (2.66Ghz.)? Which is faster?

 

What 1.4GHz Core i5?

 

I just saw the specs in this link. It's actually a 2.4Ghz. Might have someones typo from a previous post.

General

* Bundled OS: Windows (7)

Display
* Screen size: 13.1 inches
* Screen resolution: (1600 x 900)
* Aspect ratio: 16:9
* Screen type: LCD

Processor
* Processor make: Intel
* CPU family: Core i5
* CPU model: 520M
* Processor speed: 2.4 GHz
* Cache size: 3 MB L2 cache

 

I would definitely not order without reading a review first. I've been spoiled by my TT display so for my main setup i would demand that that display is very good also even if not quite as good as the display on my TT. When i use my SZ now i am a bit underwhelmed by the display although that has by no means a bad display.
I wonder what the real world weight is also and what overall build is like.

The bluray upgrade is very steep and i wonder which one it is. I hope it will be easy to upgrade the HD as i have one that i plan to use in this if i go for it in the future.

I wonder also does it have a docking station or not? It is a real shame as well that only the black model has a backlit keyboard.

These anti reflective displays you won't though get as much glare as you will get with super glossy displays like you get with some notebooks now. To some people’s eyes though they might still pass for glossy.

I've got two laptops currently a TT3 and a SZ7. Thinking about it some more the best thing for me to do is to wait until July to purchase a replacement for my SZ. I am going on holiday in July and well i could take advantage of duty free prices and may be get another small discount on top of that also.

It is between the Z and S for me.

I'm still interested in what other manufacturers will do also.

 

I just got an answer from Sony Denmark, the S-series screen is matte, that's great news, the bad news is that the version in my country called VPCS11 X9E/B does not have the dedicated graphics.

The European version with dedicated graphics is called: VPCS11 V9E/B

 

Then maybe this website is wrong:
http://www.computerpirates.com/laptops/sony/sony-vaio/sony-vaio-y/sony-vaio-s11x9e-b-vpcs11x9e-bnl3/

They say it has Nvidia 310m.

 

That is wrong, take a look:

VPCS11X9E/B - the low end version
VPCS11V9E/B - the high end version (dedicated graphics)

 

Sonystyle says it has no Nvidia chip so they are wrong.

 

In the UK the only S one can buy is CTO and I had the option to choose dedicated graphics, 310M, when I ordered mine.
Should be with me in about 10 days time apparently

 

One ready to order model at least when i looked was listed on the UK Sony website.
However,some outlets do list two models in the UK. It is a bit strange that.

http://www.oyyy.co.uk/product.php/1...windows-7-professional--geforce-310m---black-

http://www.oyyy.co.uk/product.php/1...ci3330m-2.26/5b394dab4b70589e6914f36670500320

Prices should be a bit cheaper when they start selling them.

 

According to Sony Denmark, ETA is late january 2010, so it's quite soon.

 

"We expect your VAIO order to be shipped to you between 12.01.2010 and 19.01.2010"

 

Cool, please post as soon as you get it.

I think the screen is glossy, when I read the press release from Sony it mentions that the s-series have the same screen as the y-series, and from the videos of the y-series it's clear that it's glossy, damn, it was perfect for me, but I don't like glossy screens.

 

I once saw a video of the Sony Z where it appeared to have a glossy screen, but in reality it's close to matte. Maybe this could be the case for that video too?

Edit: No computerpirates says it's glossy. Makes more sense too.

 

In the previous page of the topic you concluded computerpirates was wrong about the graphics. Makes more sense to me to say they are wrong here also.

I agree with what you said before the edit. ie. There is glare, glare with anti-glare layer and matte. And then there is now of course also Pixel Qi.

 

Yes they could very well be wrong.

 

Any guess as to the price for the s series in the U.S? If you look at the prices on the sony UK site and do a pounds to dollars conversion.....it appears it might be well over 1300 dollars?

 

That's with the UK luxury tax

 

I think it will start under $1000. You can never do conversions because of the taxes and other factors.

Yes, they have obvious mistakes with the Z on their website too, so i don't think all their information is accurate.

 

I think I've solved the glossy/matte discussion: in this PC Mag article there are three pictures in a slideshow with the S Series in them.

In each picture, the screen has obvious refractions of light in different places, and the closest up photo shows very definite circles that would probably be only on a glossy display. That's my conclusion at least.

 

Yeah, I agree, definately glossy.

 

Hi,

I'm very interested by this laptop, but I don't know which CPU I should take.

My priority is to avoid noise and hot temperature. I don't want to ear the fan and want to be able to keep the laptop on my knees.

So, i5 or i7 ???

 

This notebook looks very nice. First I was thinking about to get an Y-serie notebook, but when I saw the specs, I saw that it doesn't has an optical drive.

That's why I looked at the S-series and I like the specs. But I have seen something about intel wireless display. Does all the S-series have that option? And will it also be available in Europe? And does someone know when this notebook will be available in silver in The Netherlands?

 

Yep, the S Series has the wireless tv-link option. You'll need a certain box that it connects to in order to sync it to your television..otherwise a standard HDMI cable would work just like most laptops nowadays. It's available in Europe @ the respective sony websites. It's much more powerful than the Y series since it has the new Arrandale i5 cores. The Y series has the last generation low-voltage core 2 duo cores, that's why I'm crossing that off my list.

 

The intel wireless display will only sold via Best Buy, they have a 6 month exclusive agreement. I am not sure if that deal is international though.

 

Can't wait for detailed reviews of the new Z an S series.

 

A Best Buy worker just posted on another section of this website what she read off the box of the S Series they just got in which are the Blue Label 2.0 laptops: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=449411&page=2

 

A few pages back I brought up this point about the hefty pricing of the blu-ray drive:

In a search for answers to that question I contacted their mail support. Today I got the answer, delayed due to a problem with the system.
Anyway, the pricing is an error on the site, which they are working on to get fixed:

If prices for the bluray-drive upgrade drop to a reasonable level, the S-series becomes much more interesting.

In addition I heard from the Dutch mail support that they will soon be offering the CTO option for the S-series, as well as other models. (Currently only the F and W are available with CTO)

 

The CTO is possible on the french website for ths S-series:

https://www.sonystyle.fr/SonyStyle/Ordinateurs-portables-VAIO/Serie-S-13-3/

and then, click on "configurer" to configure each modele.

 

I believe the bluray drive of the F-series goes for around $150, while the one for Z-series etc sells for $400.

The reason is very clear. The F-series is a standard sized machine and its bluray drive is probably freely available when trying to source from the vendors.

But a bluray drive in a 13.1" (or 13.3") laptop with all the associated miniaturization for the small size, is something that is EXTREMELY rare and thus costs significantly more money.

If I am paying this kind of money for such a high-end machine, I will definitely pay the price for the blu-ray burner (which can also play/burn CDs and DVDs). If you try to add it on later, I believe it costs well over $1000.

 

I was told my CTO S-series was currently being built, in the Netherlands.
As long as this doesn't disrupt the build I'm not bothered as to when CTO are available in the Dutch website

 

"Breeze through everyday office and leisure tasks on the lightweight VAIO S-series. Easy to hold and carry with sleek styling. A notebook that thrives on efficiency with real wide anti-reflection screen and VAIO everywair 3G mobile broadband on select models."

Wouldn't that imply the S-series doesn't have a (high) glossy screen ?

 

No, anti-reflection for Sony just means that it doesn't reflect as much as other brands glossy screens, but it's still glossy. I have complained about this to Sony, I doubt they will change their marketing policy about this though...

 

Thanks for the information! But IZZYB68 said in his post, that best buy will have an exclusive agreement about WIDI. But he didn't know if it will be international. Does anyone know if it will be international or will Europe get her own exclusive agreement? And i saw someone of best buy spoke about the specs of the notebook of Sony, but there weren't great. I hope that Sony will come with nice specs, a silver colour and WIDI S-serie. If not, i think i will pass the first range, and i will hope that the second range will have the 3 things that i want.

Today i spoke a friend and he said that his brother said that you need to pay for WWAN of Sony. Can anyone tell me how WWAN of Sony works?

 

One of the CTO options on the French site is nVidia 310m, worth only 70 EUR. However, the option is written as if the nVidia card replaces the internal Intel HD graphics. Any idea as to the graphic switching capabilities of the new S series? Does it offer the same autoswitching as Z?

 

I have a feeling that the "auto-switching" part of what the Z does, will be available across the board for all models that have a dedicated graphics card, especially since with the new generation of i3/i5/i7 Intel chips, there is a certain amount of graphics ability built into the chip. And the firmware will be designed to auto-switch between the in-chip-graphics and the dedicated graphics card, depending on the "graphics load" of the application in question.

However, what the Z also offers are additional switch options that will allow one to not "auto-switch" and force the laptop to be purely using either the in-chip-graphics (stamina mode) or the external graphics card (speed mode) - in other words, user-selectability on which graphics option to use.

 

@jojo1309: Thanks for the link

It's easier to purchase within the limits of the national borders though. And I don't really care whether they are available now or in a few weeks, as I want to see one in stores before I purchase one anyhow. For me it will do that they will be available soon.

The bluray burner upgrade for the F costs 100 euro in the EU, which matches the $150 you mention here.

You're right slim drives cost more, and I agree $400 dollar is ok for a slim bluray burner, but 490 euro amounts to $710, which in my book is a bit too much. Don't forget this is only the added cost over a slimline dvd burner, not the total price you pay for the drive. I'm glad the folks at Sony appear to think the same.

Now why is that?

@wii:
Thanks for the information about the marketing trick. This means I most certainly won't buy a S-series without seeing one first.

@roweraay:
If it was built in with the core i, wouldn't Intel have claimed the innovation, as opposed to letting Sony and Asus get the PR? Also, to me the auto mode sounds like a step down from being able to control it yourself. Not really something fitting a premium brand.

 

That's exactly what I was thinking. Z specifically advertises the auto-switching capability (current Z has only manual switching IIRC), but with all core i's are getting intel HD anyway, so why not at least mention it, since it should provide substantial battery savings against a discrete video card.
If the S series software settings will allow for a manual choice of video card, it will most likely replace my current SZ, since the Z is horridly expensive