New Sony Vaio Z speculation/news thread

Although I was just fooling around & trying to be funny, "Illinois Interactive Report Card" was the first link that popped up when I did an "IIRC" search on Google!

Maybe this latest development has actually caught our favorite NBR (Sony) member, Beaups, by surprise!

 

I like the new design a lot, much cleaner, it surely reminds me of the zune HD, I also like the ability to not carry everything, and still be a power hog machine, much better than the old Z

 

Going to be interesting to see what this one is like and whether it knocks the lenovo x220 from my wish list.

 

I think this upcoming VAIO Z series is going to break all kinds of sales records for Sony! That's how good I think it will be & how well I think it will be selling.

 

97 pages, im too lazy to look through all of it. Im debating whether i want to wait for the newz or get a samsung 9.

if any of you guys know, please let me know the answer to these two questions
1.will it have a comparable fast start feature like the air or 9's hibernate?
2. will the main portion be competitively priced with the 9?

The screens on the z13 and 9 at frys looked to be about the same quality so figured I'd mull it over before committing to one or the other

 

I can't answer Q1 but based on the info from this thread, the answer to Q2 is:

1) The upcoming VAIO Z series main body will be sold with its external box thingy as a complete package.
2) The base config will start off slightly below $2,000 USD.

Good luck.

 

if base config is a core i-5, 128ssd, 4gig memory I'd gladly pay the upcharge to swap from one outrage to another

 

why do i only see 33 pages while others say there's 97 pages..

 

Like me, you modified your settings to show more posts per page

 

ahh, i had a feeling it was that, no wonder it was so close to 3 times more pages, thanks

must be hard for those who see 97 pages... =/

 

Whoa didn't know you can change that setting. 10 was always too little for me. Thanks!

 

Could the "Ultimate Mobile PC" be the new Z ? Check Engadget, can't really post links now

 

Engadget doesn't really have any more info than we do (even less it seems). I just hope we get some more concrete leaks now like a user manual or specifications pdf

 

Huh? The Z series has never been a huge seller. The cheaper consumer models outsell the Z series by about 10000:1! The Z is very expensive, whereas more popular affordable models like the E series (that cost 75% less than a high-spec Z) fly off the shelves.

 

Oh, my bad. You're correct & I wasn't clear on what I'm saying earlier. The sales records I'm referring to are the ones that relate to their flag-ship VAIO models. So to correct myself, I think this upcoming VAIO Z series will be their all-time top selling high-end/flagship model.

 

The z was actually a model designed for the Japanese market, that's why it's the only VAIO model to be made in Japan.

Japanese people are willing to spend a lot of money for laptops and gadgets compared to westerners who are much more price sensitive with electronics (but tend to blow their money on other frivolous crap). Some of the Panasonic toughbook/let's note and Fujitsu japanese consumer models are really expensive as well.

It seems though that this new Z is designed with a global audience in mind, to be a relatively high volume global product for sony. So I reckon it will be cheaper than the current Z and made in china like all the other vaios.

 

I don't think it will be. People are not flush with money like they were a few years ago. Businesses are cutting I.T budgets and costs where necessary but this could mean Sony price the new Z more aggresivly that past Z models. The Z needs to be priced similarly to the 13" MacBook Air if they want it to sell in large volumes. They can't price the new Z at £2000 anymore, it would be a stupid, stupid decision.

 

They priced the Z at £2000 because it was made in Japan and had really high manufactoring costs. It wasn't a stupid decision because it was never designed for the UK or US markets.

Anglo-saxons (UK/USA/Australia) have an intense consumer culture where they buy based on quantity and not quality.

 

There was low end Z models that retailed at £1,700. Also, CTO you can get a Z for around £1,400.
The new Z model may not be really that much different. Although, it's more of a hard sell for Sony to be sell a laptop with integrated graphics for those prices even if the dedicated graphics comes in an external box.
The SA which is made in China will be around those prices so for Sony i don't see a radical change in pricing.

I'm undecided what I think of the design of the new Z.

 

You have missed my point, £2000 was acceptable when people had money. But Apple and Lenovo have reduced prices on their flagship machines accordingly, and Sony must to likewise.

As for the Z not being designed for UK or US markets, this doesn't make sense. It's an ultraportable powerhouse. Why isn't it designed for users outside of Japan? The Z series has been the global VAIO flagship for the last 3/4 years.

 

Please please please let it be a quad-core.. Cant wait for a quad core subnotebook. Eventually it will come.. There are two-core phones and tablets now. I think its about time.

and second wish(es):

I want an IPS FHD panel. Ultra highspeed SSD raid(1000MBS?) All usb 3.0, A very powerful dedicated graphics on the dock. lets say Ati 6850 =)

Ready to pay 2500$ starting price for this.. It would be nice.. After 1.5 year the Core i series Z. I expect nothing less... If not I can always grab sony SA-alienware M11- acer 3830tg,lenovo x220 whatsoever.. Even start using a 15"er MBP because of anger

=)

 

yup I want this as well.

 

I gladly joint a bunch

 

no quad core in the new Z, IIRC. (stated by beaups somewhere in this thread)

 

I meant THIS :


Could it be the new Z ?
Beaups, is this the same Z you saw ?

 

I hope it's not the Z, but whatelse would it be if not the Z? :\

 

Yeh of course it's the new z. Hopefully sony releases more info within the next week

 

usb3 and thunderbolt? Looks like I have a lot more waiting in front of me....

 

I'd much rather buy a made in Japan laptop with lots of engineering effort and feats for 2-3-4000 USD, than a consumer minded made in China laptop for 0-1500 USD. And unfortunately there are not many laptops from the former category available (at least outside Japan).
I know that made in Japan is not automatically good and made in China automatically bad, but I have more trust in made in Japan Vaios (due to personal experience, too).

The rumors are that the Lenovo X1 will cost almost 3000 USD. So it is not true that they reduced their prices. Apple notebooks are not this category.

 

Quad cores replace dual cores next year with Intel Ivy Bridge. And quad cores in phone/tablets are a completely different architecture vs what you'd find in a laptop.

 

@noap


I do the dreaming they do the engineering doesnt matter for me =) But if it is going to be i7 2620m then it should be really weight 2LBS for me to buying it. the old Z is 3.1lbs and has a dedicated graphics to play with on the go(i was having too much fun with this option when I get bored actually.)

So Powerful dedicated GPU + non matched weight + built quality.(screen+body) I'm ready to pay the price as everybody else ofc.


Also if we are going to see quad core Z replacement next year. No need to upgrade to new one I think. I already broked one. My wallet still hurts =)

 

^IIRC the main unit weighs 2.5lbs, the external thing 1.5lbs.
(you could find the numbers somewhere in this thread)

 

I agree 100% with this statement. All of my VAIOs are made in Japan, and all of them are nearly perfect.

 

I agree, the reason why I bought this VPCZ12 even if its hurts my pocket is aside from its superb performance and features was because its Made in Japan and the quality is expected to be much better than made elsewhere....

 

Interesting information below on that 2nd unit (in BOLD text) included with the New Z.

 

No problems with your P? I found the build quality of the screen area really poor on mine. There's a ton of dust trapped in the screen due to the edges not being sealed off properly. The screen also hits various edges of the keyboard when closed so I have to put a microfiber between the two so it won't scratch.

Ironically, the microfiber is what's putting off the dust and getting in the gaps to my screen. The dust is clearly going in from the upper right and upper left corners since that has the most concentration of dust.

If the computer is not engineered properly in the first place, it doesn't matter where it's made.

 

Could be the SA...

 

^afaik the SA is SB designwise, except for the materials used.

 

So true.

Cheers,
Miki

 

I do wonder if this ultimate pc is the SA. It's being refered to as 13.3 also. The hybrid PC looks like the new Z and well what else could it be but the design looks different. We've seen the new tablets and well it's not one of those.

edited to add:

Just come across this....more info about the ultimate and hybrid PC and going by what is written about the ultimate PC it does sound like the Z-
Portable PC and to pursue it without compromise to performance, as
PC” The ultimate mobile users the possibility of further expanding the PC "


???????????

Google Translate

 

I have only had it for a couple weeks. I haven't had any of the problems you mentioned. There doesn't seem to be any way that the screen could come in contact with the keys. I hear about this on the VPC-Z also but I haven't had a problem. Maybe not all of them come out exactly the same and some get lemons just like cars. I guess I've just been lucky.

I only got the P because the price came down so much recently. It wasn't worth it to me to spend $1K or more on a toy computer. It has now where near the horsepower of the ancient UX even. I am going to get a 2Ghz Atom soldered in there but even then it is still just a toy.

 

Definitely not SA. As we have USB 3.0, Thunderbolt, HDMI, Ethernet and jacks on the right side. This indeed fits into what we heard about Z2 from this mysterious guy "who does not work for Sony".

 

beaups has mysteriously stopped commenting...

 

Maybe he is over repeating himself so many times
He has indicated beforehand what would be in the SB and SA and he was right. He has also indicated what will be in the Z quite a few times.
I think it is a matter of being patient. Iam currently looking at getting an x220 but will hold off a bit and see what the new Z is like before making my final decision.

 

I hope his silence doesn't indicate that that leaked photo of that ugly crappy looking design is the new Z. Usually things get more and more exciting as details are added, this story just gets worse and worse.

 

Yes, although that other device the hybrid Freestyle PC looks very interesting.

 

If it's AMD Whistler-XT, then at best it's a Radeon HD 6770 (GDDR5)? How good is the Whistler-XT against the HD 6630 in SA?

 

Sorry but you would mind saying what the source is?

 

As noap_ also said, the SA will probably look almost the same as the SB. And as I wrote earlier (see quote above) the 13.3" talk may just be misinterpretation of the google-translated Japanese article.

It's the old SonyInsider article.

 

I think it would be hilarious if that article's source is this forum