New Sony Vaio Z speculation/news thread

What makes you think Apple will not switch to the 16:9 screens for all their MacBook lines in the "near" future, when they finally do a re-design (especially to their MBP line)?

IMHO, the 11" MBA is a preview of what is to come for Apple, in terms of the screen ratio aspect. I'm willing to bet that when Apple does that re-design to their MBP line & (most likely) drop the optical drives, they will also take the opportunity to "better make use" of that saved spaces to shrink the breadth of the notebooks & fit in 16:9 screens instead of 16:10 screens.

 

The main reason is to be able to better compete in the "increasingly competitive" thin-&-light ultra portable category.

 

The proliferation "of 13x7 screens" is a business decision. That decision may be informed by accounting data, all of which is very different than economics. Economic analysis may be able explain why the aforementioned monitors are popular but it is not the cause of the design/production decision.

 

You can never go wrong using game theory to analyze a business decision. You may not obtain any useful data, but as long as you undertake the analysis purely for enjoyment and don't take your results too seriously, you won't go wrong.

I'm actually working on a game theory-related paper right now.....

 

an economist here! that makes 2 of us

 

Kewl!

Although I'm not really an economist, I merely pretend to be one at work as needed.

 

okay...you wrote a really long post. i will attempt to summarize:

1. 16:9-13x7 screens ARE cheaper BECAUSE thats what lappy makers think users want.

2. however, when a lappy maker DOESN'T use this standard size, it should cost them as much to buy 16:10 as it would to buy 16:9. Your case in point are MBPs and Vaio Zs.


just to start things off, i seem to remember that the actual glass panels are made from a sheet that gives you a higher number of panels if you cut 16:9 instead of 16:10. don't quote me on that, i don't have a source for it (wayyyy too long ago). if someone can confirm or deny.

I think apple has 2 different reasons for having 16:10 screens.

firstly, apple is a HUGE customer for suppliers. Apple also has the tendency to pre-buy components(nand memory and touchscreens). not to mention how intel makes custom cpus for apple(marketing benefits for intel aside) - its just a new package, but still (apple MBA 1G). any custom equipment/management resources used for apple orders probably pays itself off in a blink.

secondly, refer to the mb PRO. i have a feeling that apple realizes that professionals LIKE 16:10 screens and that regular consumers either don't care or don't realize that apple screens are different than other lappies(visual quality aside).


now onto the Z,

doesn't sony make the LCDs for their Zs??? i actually never looked this up, i kinda assumed lol.

the thing to remember that sony is an engineering company and they take great pride in that fact. not to mention the fact that the Z is their halo product. i think thats enough to clarify on sony's position.

 

Fortunately or unfortunately (whichever way you want to see it), Sony do not make their own screens for the VAIO Z series. Sony uses the screens made by Toshiba-Matsushlta.

 

Aspect ratio really doesn't matter that much. Really which would you rather have a 1440x900 screen in an MBP or a 1920x1080 screen in the Z, seems pretty obvious to me that more resolution is better.

 

Maybe I would rather have a 1440x900 in a (15") MBP? Just so that I don't have to endure the endless lectures by my parents about going blind when I spent the weekend at my parents' house while working on my notebook with a "high" resolution screen (like the 1600x900 screen of my VAIO Z690)!

 

That even proves my point more. Even the low resolution 1600x900 Z monitor is better than the garbage 16:10 that Apple craps out.

 

True, but i wish the Z was 16:10 (meaning 1600x1000 and 1920x1200). Of course no one wants lesser pixels... If i asked for 16:10 on my Z right now, i wouldn't want 1440x900, because i specifically asked for it because i want more vertical pixels(= more vertical workspace), not for the sake of saying i have 16:10, but because more vertical pixels for most intents and purposes is more useful.

 

Problem with the Zs is the very weak lid I alredy lost 2 screens, replacment cost 500!!!. Sony nevermore.

 

Sorry to hear about your mishaps but what exactly happened? Surely, I would humbly like to think that those VAIO Z notebooks' lids cannot have been that bad, can it?

 

You do need proper care when handling your Z. How did you break yours? I've owned mine for almost half a year now and my screen is still in a good condition.

However, I have the same feeling as you do. Unless Sony comes out with something out of the ordinary (at an acceptable price PLEASE!), my next notebook will probably be a Macbook Pro or Thinkpad, given their rugged nature. The weakness of my Z's screen just disgusts me (I'd have to yell at people who are in close proximity to my screen to be careful).

 

First one has a dark spot area no idea what happened. The second one broke today the lid just came out and damaged the screen. The lid is hold by 4 screws secured by plastic. So I'm back to the first damaged spoted one. I also had to drew the housing in order to secure the lid again. My Z is 2 years old.

I'm thinking in toshiba since I have one with almost 10 years and no issues. Be very careful with the Zs the screen is very very weak and expensive, also they charge 210.usd for a new carbon fiber housing, and 80.00usd for a display bezel, also 65.00usd for a hinge cap for the power button , Plus 500.00 for the screen so my Z was killed by Sony criminal parts.

 

Sony should address that and just copy the lenovo X1 - put the gorilla glass in front - problem solved. If they fail to do it this time around... well, bad for them.

 

I don't think gorilla glass will solve the problem on the Z. Gorilla glass will just allow greater scratch and moderate physical abuse. The problem on the Z is not with scratching (IIRC, the Z is actually advertised as "scratch resistant" in the US website), it's the dead pixels thats irritating. Obviously, it's a stronger panel to hold the screen is needed, not a stronger screen.

 

Does Corning's Gorilla Glass even come with a matte finish? I can't image the VAIO Z series being fitted with a super shiny glass in front of the screen to make it become like the "Glass"Book Pro notebooks.

 

I think gorilla glass can come with a matte finish. My phone (Galaxy S) uses gorilla glass and it is not a glossy screen. Even if notebooks' gorilla glass don't offer matte, you can easily stick one of those anti glare screen protectors to minimize the effect of gloss.

 

I agree the problem with the Zs is the display housing that cannot protect the screen. Also all Z parts are overpriced. Most laptop screen with the same resolution cost aropund 100.00 but vaio is 500.00. Never more for me, thanks.

 

If you can afford a 2000+USD laptop, then you probably won't have a problem affording a 500 USD screen-that's probably the reason why they supercharge you quite a hefty sum when replacing stuff.

 

I'm sorry, i've yet to see a 1600x900 screen on a 13" much less a 1080p screen... It's expensive because no one else (read: no other laptops) have it and so there's only a limited number of them about... and i do agree there's a Sony tax... but the screen is made by Toshiba anyways. I WANT there to be more competitors to the Z... it'll force Sony to drop the prices which is good for everyone.

I always like this pic: http://forum.notebookreview.com/app...acbook-late-2008-vs-sony-vaio-z-thread-5.html

shows how much the screen can flex (albeit that is the older gen Z). But i must ask... how did you break the screen ossocao? You do realize that the MAIN reason people buy a Vaio Z is because it's light, portable and yet it packs so much power... if you're looking at a thinkpad/macbook pro... then you are not Sony's target audience. You do realize that the 13" MBP weighs in at 4.5 lbs right? For that weight... it sure as hell better be sturdy... instead, you're comparing that hunk of aluminum (and a Thinkpad hunk of plastic) with an intricately designed Vaio Z which treads the line between performance, weight and strength. I don't know... looks like you're comparing apples and oranges to me...

 

Love all the feedback my post generated; it's what I was looking for, not for agreement. There are a lot of ways to analyze a business decision, though comparing the economists' approach to the "pragmatic" business methods, I suggest the latter carries the day more than 75% of the time and there is no game theory or theory of any kind involved; usually gut feel of the decision-maker backed up by the yes-people in the room who work for her/him (I too am an economist, btw, as well as a marketing consultant; similar in that both are hired for "due diligence" and neither's advice is followed!)

In the end, I'm left wondering what the consensus is here: all the major notebook makers are shoving 16:9 down our throats because they shave a few bucks of their cost, or because they assume the majority of computer users value movie/game experience more highly than spreadsheet row capacity these days so if they have to standardize on something it will be the "entertainment" aspect ratio? Or do we agree we don't really know, and that this is probably the result of a gaggle of dumb product planning execs in their respective conference rooms hiring economists, marketing analysts and focus groups and just going with their "guts," the source of even more bad business decisions than the bean counters' approach!

 

The Macbook Air and Samsung Series 9 both are far solid than the Z when speaking of the screen. The chassis is about the same for all 3. I understand the Z's sheer power over these two ultraportables, but I'd take another 100 or 200 grams for a better screen.

 

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Anyone posted this yet?
Vaio 'Ultimate Mobile PC' - the new Z?

 

The link doesn't work...

 

ok this is it, the new Z pics have been revealed at Sony conference!!

 

If it is the new Z it is a handsome piece of design, even though I hoped it would be thinner. Especially the display appears to be quite thick. There also appears to be no air vent at the back hoping that the air flow problem of the new S series will be solved.
BTW: Does anybody know what the port between the HDMI and the USB port is?

 

^How are you able to see it? All I get is referrer error

 

You have to go to IT‘‡î•ñƒ|[ƒ^ƒ‹uITmediavHome , hit the fourth top story and than click on the pictures

 

I gotta say I prefer the z13 design. Seems like I'm the only one though

 

I like it.

 

Thanks for the link!

The picture and the related article can be seen directly if you open this: (link)

From this one picture I cannot judge... looks like a Vaio But what looks awkward are the two little grey things at both ends of the silver hinge. What are those? As if it the hinge was kept at the back of the laptop with two protruding plastic elements.

 

You are not the only one

 

beaups, can you confirm that that's the new Z?
I have to admint, I'm not impressed by that pic...

 

Perhaps it will look awesome from the front.
From the pic, it seems that the screen opens up and has rubber feet on it.
The lid seems to look thicker.
The laptop seems to maintain a small and wide footprint...so hopefully no thick bezel like on the new S series.

 

Beaups somewhere stated, that the bezel will be thinner than on the current Z.

 

^rubber feet on the lid? First I thought the same thing, but that would make no sense, except for everyone opening the lid the same angle, which is not the case I assume.

 

Well the feet would come into play when the screen will be opened completely acting like stoppers.

 

hedge the thing, problem solved

 

I'm third to that, after Computercowboy. To be honest, the hybrid PC thing looks like a sony picture frame to me. It hurts quite a bit to have a bezel *that* large.

 

hmmm looks good, I wonder how the air vent is going to work with that metal/silver thing blocking the back.

I hope there are some more pictures from the front and especially of the external GPU thingy.

 

The bezel is large because it's probably a touch screen and is designed to be held like a tablet when the keyboard is retracted.

 

Z1's design is really the best!

 

This free style hybrid PC is not the Z successor. It's a Win7 tablet / mobile PC, More akin to asus' eee slider.

see paragraph starting in "last up"

Exclusive: Sony 'S2' dual-screen Android clamshell and 9.4-inch Windows 7 VAIO slider due this year -- Engadget

The "ultimate mobile pc" is the weird photo with the feet. We'll see...

 

Google translates:

 

That does actually look like a pre-final picture of the SB/SA... maybe it's taken far out? But yeah, the tablet reminds me completely of the Asus tablets.

 

Now that I think about it, the implication of the feet on the back of the screen is that the barrel hinge is operating as an embedded element of the machine's unibody construction. To have an exposed hinge that's a part of the unibody construction like the last VPC-Z would probably just added to bulk.

This seems to me a very sturdy configuration albeit not as attractive. Aesthetically I probably like the VGN-Z's barrel hinge the most, but probably the most flimsy out of all the Zs.

 

If you read carefully my Z is 2 years old, so it's a 1366 x 768 and the replacment screen still cost 500.00. Mine was never abused. The first screen showed a 1cm diameter black spot, and the second one was broken when the lid got loose, I was just opening the lid.

And I was Vaio Z audiance, but I'm tired to be fooled by a bad desing and an overpriced parts/product only because vaio/sony name. I'm thinking toshiba by the way. I'm typing from a X, I pray it's more durable than the Z.