New SZ110 Keyboard Sucks

I just purchased a Sony SZ110/B and I am really disappointed in the keyboard. How could Sony charge so much for a laptop and have such shoddy build quality. A friend had an older Sony that was just terrific. I previously had an IBM Thinkpad that had an incredible keyboard. Anybody else disappointed with their SZ keyboard?
Build quality in general seems a bit weak: Loose battery, lots of flex. I'm afraid this thing is going back to the store even if I have to pay a restocking fee. Oh well you win some and lose some.

 

Battery loosenes can be quickly and completely fixed in 30 seconds with a few small sticky pieces of felt, the kind sold in stores as feet for the bottom of things (I'm not sure why so many find this issue such an unsurmountable problem since it is so easily rectified).

As for the keyboard, I have no trouble with the one on my SZ160. It feels different than any other notebook keyboard, yes, but after using it for a few days I'm perfectly comfortable.

 

Well, frankly I have absolutely no problems with the keyboard. I have been using HP for last two years, but had really no issue adjusting to SZ keyboard. I actually like the fact that it is a full keyboard... especially the dedicated Home/PgUP/PgDn/End buttons in the last column.

So, yes the keyboard feels different, but definitely not bad. (But yeah, if you ask me, the metallic keys like in TX would have made this the Ultimate Dream of a Laptop )

 

If I were you, I would definantly return it. Silly to spend that kind of money, and be so dissatisfied with one of the 3 primary interfaces with the machine. I happen to like the kbd just fine on mine.

 

hey, i was wondering, is the premium SZ keyboard any different? I went out to a computer store and saw the non-premium model, and the keys would take some getting used to - but I really didn't like them at all.

The "H" key, and several others, could slide from side to side by a 3-4 millimetres! On my Dell laptop right now, the keys just sort of wobble when I push them to one side, but the sony vaio SZ (non-premium) really was soo bad and hard to touch type on.

Since I'm really considering buying a premium version, hopefully someone can tell me if this is normal for sony sz premium keyboards?

cheers

 

well, i can't slide my keys that far from side to side and
though they wobble a bit, they spring back to the ori-
ginal position when i stop touching them (sz1xp/c here).

 

Same here man, HP before and Sony now.
No issue with the SZ Keyboard whatsoever

 

I tried the SZ at Best Buy today, and here was one thing I noticed:

I use the trackpad tap instead of clicking the buttons, and when I was doing so, the whole piece felt like it was rattling slightly. It would make a rap whenever i tapped. When I held the trackpad buttons in place while I tapped, it cut this noise in half, but still it was around. The keyboard does seem a little cheap, but I think I'm willing to deal with that. The rattling trackpad (again, this only happens when I tapped either the trackpad itself or when idly drumming the case surrounding the trackpad) is enough to give me second thoughts.

One thing I wondered-- do other people hear this on theirs, or might this have been something a little loose from the store demo model? It didn't seem to be flawed, (ie, this seemed to just be the design of the case) but I figured I'd ask and see what other people thought.
The other VAIOs on display (no others were SZs) did not exhibit this effect, nor did any of the Toshibas or other machines on demo.

Thanks

 

The keyboard on my SZ110 really reminds me of that on my 12-inch Mac Powerbook. Feels a little "clickier" but otherwise very similar. It's not the best I've used, but after a couple of weeks, I'm pretty used to it now.

 

Does anyone have any input on my impressions regarding tapping on the trackpad? Can someone at least confirm that this noise exists beyond that store demo model?

To further describe it, it sounded like if two pieces of thin plastic are on top of each other, and tapping the top one causes a sharp rapping/rattling with the one right below it.

It might only affect people like me who prefer to use the virtual click by tapping on the trackpad, and never use the actual buttons below it.

Also, am I correct in assuming that the SZ140 would have the identical shell as the SZ110 I saw in the store? Or, since I would not order the biometric scanner, might it be a different case that might not have this rapping sound?

Thanks for any input!

The $1500 SZ140 on sonystyle is VERY tempting, but this is one point I'm concerned about.

 

I notice the clicking sound more on my SZ150 (with fingerprint scanner) than the SZ140 (without a fingerprint scanner) that I had. I do tap the touchpad but the sound doesn't really bother me. I only hear it when I tap fairly hard. It's nothing to worry about.

The SZ's that don't have a fingerprint scanner have larger buttons. Other than that the case's and palm rests are identical.

 

My SZ also had the trackpad clicking problem. It comes from the relativley thin plastic mouse button (as you suggest) against the small plastic button mounted under it. I put some tape between the two, so far so good (okay, only 2 weeks).
I'm tempted to take a similar fix-it-yourself approach to the keyboard flex with a couple of stiff rods.

 

could you post where and how you put the felt to tighten the battery. that would be great

 

First off the sticky felt I used was the tunner option (the stuff I bought came in thin light green and thick dark green variations). I put half a medium circle on the left and right sides of the actual battery - there's not too much flat surface to stick to on the sides, so it can't be too big (and be sure to check how the battery slides in, so you don't put the felt in the slot). This stops the small amount of side-to-side movement that's possible.

Then, since most of the battery rattling is due to up-and-down movement, I put two larger full circles on the bottom of the battery compartment near the left and right sides. Now the battery is a *snug* fit and does not move at all, and since it's just removable felt it's not damaging anything. And if you're swapping batteries a lot and the felt wears, just replace it!

 

Hey,

I've heard that the battery life on the sz140 is not nearly as long as Sony says it is ("up to 6 hours"). Could somebody tell me what the ACTUAL battery life on the sz140 is, and if they know, would sticking with a slower processor (either the core single 1.66 GHz T1300 or its core duo counterpart 1.66 T2300) make any noticeable difference in battery life?

Thanks!

 

You'll likely get just under 3 hrs of actual use. I wouldn't go through the trouble of replacing a processor, but you may want to look into undervolting the cpu. I don't know how successful that has been on the SZ.

 

Well I actually noticed this noise 2 days ago and that's primarly why I decided to go check if it was happening to somebody else today.

The touchpad is loose now (and I really don't think it was when I first got the laptop 2 months ago). If i touch the touchpad it makes a *click* sound as if i was clicking one of the buttons. It seems to happen much more on the right side of the touchpad than the left for some reason. It feels very cheap. I wasn't complaining about the keyboard before but this touchpad thing is very annoying.

 

I have one other question about the SZ--does it even make sense to get a core solo 1.66 GHz processor? I'm confused as to what the difference is in performance between the core solo and core duo processors. Would a core solo processor be able to handle Vista when it comes out?

Thanks again,
A.

P.S. How do you go about undervolting a pc?

 

I think there is software that allows you to control voltages. If you do a broad search of all the forums here for undervolting or something similar, you should find plenty of info.

Core Solo would probably handle Vista, but Core Duo will do it better. I wouldn't consider a core solo, unless I was just looking for a really low cost notebook, and wanted to shave costs wherever I could. If that were the case, I wouldn't be considering Sony either.