New Sony Vaio Z speculation/news thread

Odd that you're having issues with it. I'm fine using the BMS-10 on my Z and P.

 

That reply was quick......

Yeah I'm having issues with the bluetooth connectivity. It really isn't the mouse's problem though as when it disconnects, my Apple keyboard goes unresponsive too so it's probably the problem of the computer itself.

 

^
Really?
I never had any problems with it...

 

This is weird. Should I go to a Sony Center to get it checked?

 

I plan on getting an orochi just like cowboy. A lot of Z owners have orochis and it seems to have worked very well for them.

Also Just got this email:

My order said 8/17 before, so its not actually a "delay". Looks like they're finally updating the preorder ship dates.

 

^
I haven't had that problem with the BMS-15, I have heard of numerous issues with the BMS-10 though, drop outs, signal loss, pairing loss.

 

lol....its all dietary. the fast-food greases our internal organs for more resistance.

 

i'm with you bro.. i'm experiencing the same thing with my bms-10..

 

You are not the only one with bluetooth problems
there is something flawed about that Broadcom chip with x64 windows and certain combinations of BT devices

Depends on what devices you use, if you use a BT mouse and BT keyboard you are almost always going to have a problem at some point

No it won't do any good. I've tried all different combos of software, Sony replaced my motherboard twice and my BT chip three times. It is a x64/driver thing with certain hardware.

My solution (for now) is to disable the Broadcom chip in the device manager and install an Intel 6230 which has BT/WiFI (same as the Z2). I am having a new Broadcom BT 3.0 chip from a HP mini adapted to work on the 8pin USB header that the regular BT chip runs on. If that works I am putting the 6300 WiFi card back.

Anyway. I have a long post about Bluetooth issues on the Z. One more thing before I forget. The Gen 2 P has the same BT chip as the Z1... but x86. I swapped my BT chip from my Z1 with the one in my girlfriends Gen 2 P and all the stuff works on her P, the Z1 still had problems. I spent months working on a solution. The latest Broadcom drivers are better but not perfect. The best thing to do is do a clean install, never install any Broadcom drivers, and just disable and use Intel 6230. Once the Broadcom BT drivers are installed on any x64 system there will be problems with BT no matter what adapter you use. I even tried a BT chip from an old TZ (it has the same header/plug) and that worked but only with the Toshiba stack which has the stuck key problem every once in a while (one of the keyboard keys will get stuck down and type like "kkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk" for example)

Best solution = 6230, anything else is just maddening.

FWIW if you only use a mouse you are probably ok, if you use mouse, kbd, a2dp, gps, printer etc. you will have problems, problems problems.

 

It doesn't talk about the carrying case or accessory discount on the website?

VPCZ217GG - Sonystyle.com.hk

 

^
Sony HK always gives a free carry bag/case when you buy a laptop from them (at least that's my experience with them...and I bought many laptops from them)...the only exception being the AR that I bought...they said that they didn't have a case that big. They never advertise this.

I am sorry but it's 10 percent off of all related accessories...not 15%....my mistake. It is even valid if you come back in the future to buy it and it's not limited...you can buy as much accessories as you want.

Plus, they always say 1 year warranty but it's actually 15 months...since they always give you a bonus extra 3 months.

All the conditions apply only if you buy from them directly.

 

That'd be awesome, thank you.

 

Thanks. I've ordered awhile ago - this is good to know. I'm kinda tempted to get the slice... mmm.

Actually if they provide the case, I think I'll generally set - the page isn't clear but it looks like the Z2 ships with an adaptor for the dock and a adaptor for the machine - this is potentially enough.

I'm also kinda hoping that my Z (2008) ac adaptors will still work Does anyone know if this will be the case?

 

Ok, I talked to a rep about the $200 off the PS3 in the edu store. Basically, the total discount can't be more than $200.

So if you have the 5% off with the edu discount, the $200 off only adds enough to get that discount up to $200 from wherever the 5% got you.

In my case, adding the PS3 adds $250 to my price because I only get anther $50 off.

 

^ somebody mentioned previously that the Z1 adapter seems to work with the battery slice; IDK about the machine and it definitely doesn't work with the PMD.

I've heard good things about the Orochi but haven't played with one myself. Are they on display at Bestbuy or somewhere?

Ideally I'd want something like this Amazon.com: Microsoft Arc Touch Mouse - Black: Electronics but sadly MS doesn't seem to make Bluetooth devices anymore.

 

arc touch... good in theory. horrible in practice.
build was quite flimsy. died after maybe 6 months of use.
with the old arc, even though it was small the curve was quite natural to palm. the new, flat area where the buttons and the touch strip sits - not the case.

I'd wait for Microsoft's new touchbased mouse.

 

^ again requires a dongle - they've been loving their 2.4 GHz proprietary radio stuff since the Xbox 360 came out. It works really well, just wish they had a Bluetooth alternative to free up the USB ports.

 

Yeah. Short of causing a kernel panic, I think Linux will totally ignore the PMD. Some Linux users will definitely find a workaround, but I fear it might take a lot of effort to get the discrete card recognized. After all, I took quite some time configuring my first Z to output full HD to an external monitor. Let's just say Xorg.conf doesn't really play nice all the time.

I very much prefer the Arc Mouse as it's very quiet - compared to the Arc Touch, it's pretty much silent. The Touch can get really noisy, and it's not too conducive for night time surfing as my fiance will definitely complain about the multitude of clicks and whatnot.

 

If ur looking for BT though, i believe the arc touch and the touch coming out soon are both USB wireless.

The touch mouse Microsoft Touch Mouse | Microsoft Mouse | Microsoft Hardware Looks really cool though. Its rather large so ill still buy the orochi for travel.

 

That Touch Mouse is sweet! Unfortunately, I think it's using a USB receiver, as you have mentioned. A Bluetooth version would be nice.

Microsoft Touch Mouse unveiled, available for $80 in June -- Engadget

 

Is there a BT Mouse with more than 3 Buttons? I´m using the Logitech Anywhere MX with a mini usb plug, but with only one free usb port bt is much better

 

i have 2 BMS33 bluetooth mice, and these work perfect too on the Z13 (just that they don't have extra buttons). The batteries typically lasts 2.5 months.

 

or just buy a cheap USB hub for when you're at home?

 

^ The problem is more when I'm not at home (I can just use the PMD or a hub or whatever as you said). I have a bunch of USB storage devices I swap between for work + add a mouse, there simply isn't enough ports.

 

If open and close the lid every day, sometimes more than one time a day is abuse, than I abused it.

It´s runing on the forth screen now, but now it´s my back up notebook since i can´t trust in it and the screen is too fragil and to expensive to replace.

The third one that cracked, was caused because the lid just got loose from the laptop. Sony technition said that the female of the screws that goes on the lid got losen and he saw a bunch of this in Z1, many times making the screen to crack. Also he told me I have to be very careful with the Z because the screen is too fragil.

 

Most people here are SONY fanboys. The Z2 has nothing to do with Z1. Z2 is a two piece machine, almost a hybrid laptop/desktop.

People went to Z1 to have the most powerfull small package laptop will stay away from Z2 like me. For one side I´m kind of happy, I dosen´t want to go SONY again and now with this set up Sony pushed me away even more.

I thing It will not sell. Most people want a laptop for portability and a two pice setup with a interconnect cable go agaist the laptop hole deal.

And two fans under it? We will see a lot burning.

 

You right I do want a laptop for portability. I also do not need a discrete gpu and ODD when i travel, so the fact that its external helps me in my goal even further. So it fits my needs very well. This is why i bought it.

And are you trying to say that 2 fans makes it hotter?

 

REALLY??? you're trying to tell me the MBA hasn't sold very well *rolls eyes*

 

Here's my two cents on the Z2 and the PMD, as if it mattered, but here goes anyways..

The Z2 is designed to be a business laptop. And if you looked at other laptop manufacturers, such as Lenovo, Dell, HP, etc, they all offer some kind of optional dock to go with their machines, with Apple being an exception. (Though if you want to buy a dock for a Apple Macbook Pro, there are third parties that makes it.) So having a laptop dock is nothing new, especially in the business world where people would take their laptop to go to meetings and on trips, but then when they get back in their office, they would just make one connection to dock it into a desk monitor external mouse/keyboard and possible a backup drive. Sony isn't making the Z for average consumers. They're making it for business professionals, and docks are nothing new there. One could argue that Sony is selling the PMD as part of the laptop because it's not an "optional" accessory, but I think that's more of a Sony USA marketing decision, as you can buy Z2 without the PMD in other countries.

Now, I do agree that the PMD isn't perfect. As someone who's hobby include audio engineering, I would have loved it if they included a firewire port on the PMD.

 

oh no the new Z is not for business but for school kids!! I believe everything I read!!
http://forum.notebookreview.com/att...-z-speculation-news-thread-sony-vaio-z-ad.jpg
j/k

(i use mine for business.)

 

Haha using the Z for school is not too ridiculous. I actually think its the perfect college laptop for a geek like me. You carry ur laptop EVERYWHERE and its only off ur back when ur using it, being as light as possible is very important. Its powerful and quiet for class note-taking or working with excel or something in my fin/acc classes. And if I want to play some crysis in the dorm ill attach it to the pmd.

 

I expect to find to if/when I get the Z2. One of the things I want to do, probably with assistance from NBR, is set it up as Win/Linux dual boot.

 

Z = perfect school computer. =D

 

MBA starts at 1299 vs Z2 starts at 1999. No matter what extra features Z2 has to offer, I wouldn't expect MBA's success from Z2.

 

If at least the Z2 could really dock in the PMD, so you could carry as one piece if you want, but no PMD is a separeted device not a docking station.

 

Since we are all sort of in the topic of how we use the z2, I might as well join in as well haha...

I got the Z2 simply to use like an ipad/galaxy tablet.. lol
Large HD screen, small and light, pop up the lit and watch movies... type an email or 2 if I needed... transfer media over wifi or usb3
SWEEETTTT

each to their own right

 

based on your past post I truly doubt your speculation.

 

To those of you who've received emails from Sony saying your laptop's been built and being sent to their European warehouse, where are you based and what did you order?

I ordered the gold Z2 (from Sony UK) on the same day it was listed for pre-order - haven't heard anything yet...

 

Ordered from Sony UK on the day it was announced. One Gold without PMD and one Premium Carbon with PMD.

 

Reordered mine with current discounts and upgraded specs. Estimated shipping date is the same as the order I placed on the first day.
Rolls eyes.

 

Dammit I'm on the edge of doing the same. Let me know if that date changes.

And nice new cowboy hat cowboy!

 

I don't understand why you think a (most of the time bulky) docking station attached to the notebook should be easier (less space?) to carry around than a thin extra piece like the PMD, which will take less space than pretty much any docking station. You won't even notice it's in your bag, because it's pretty thin, despite the fact of adding weight.
And there is no way to really dock in this PMD to the notebook without making it bigger (e.g. the footprint of the notebook) I guess.

 

Without the PMD, it is insanely portable. With the PMD, it's still portable, albeit a little bulky. The Z2 sans PMD is like the Samsung Series 9 and the MBA - very thin, very light laptops that are classified as ultra-portables.

Those are the similarities.

What separates the Z2 from the competition is the fact that it runs on a standard voltage processor, as opposed to an under-volted one. Moreover, when you need the graphics card or an ODD, just hook it up to the PMD. It's your choice, you know?

 

Sure, if you need any assistance, I'll see if I can help. I'm no Linux expert, but I've been using the OS as my primary for a few years now.

 

my point wasn't the amount of units sold. it was the fact that the person i was replying to said the Z wasn't portable enough when the air WAS obviously portable enough for consumers.

 

I just did the same. Actually the third time I've ordered. Cancelled the first one over config changes, then reordered, canceled the second one to get the new discounts, and also decided to go with the 512GB. So far no difference in date estimates apart from the date change from the 17th on the first order to the 12th on the second.

 

same here, cancel and reorder mine, got $400 than original same shipdate 23rd

 

you guys are lucky, here the 512 ssd is +1000 EUR hehe

 

^
We can't even CTO ours in Hong Kong and no preconfigured with 512 SSD...

 

Here are tons of new pics of the Z217GW from Taiwan.
Love that wallpaper!

??????????VAIO Z217 ???? - SONY ? VAIO Z??? - ePrice ???

Also a short video:
http://www.youtube.com/v/lI9CJMRHaI4?version=3