New Sony Vaio Z speculation/news thread

Thinkpads aren't known for their graphics prowess unfortunately. The HD 3000 is still a very capable chip though. Personally, if i'm on the go, i'd be using integrated graphics anyways and if you needed graphics power you're probably going to be at your desk so either ViDock or a desktop computer. (I wouldn't want to play any games on my 13" or 12" screen anyways)

 

Intel's integrated GPU is all you will get. This 1600x900 screen is not confirmed and nowhere found in ads.
It's an entry in some inf-file someone found at the web, containing that panel, so it's not much more then speculation.
Anyways, since the x220 now brings a DP-Port and a better (brighter) screen, I'm really thinking to get this one.
If they will really bring that HD+ screens it's mine for sure.

 

If those Thinkpads weren't so damn ugly - no offense - but I'll never get used to them. I know some people don't care about that, they are just considering specs and prizes, but I don't wanna buy a laptop with a disign I don't like, even if it's way cheaper.

 

Sad but true
Design and the backlit keyboard (hopefully not the screen res) are the things that bother me on the x220.
I just hope we will soon know more about the Z followup

 

Including expresscard? Guess they dropped it...

 

Expresscard was just a PCI interface, and so is thunderbolt. I assume since it's going to have thunderbolt, they sacrificed expresscard for thinness

Personally, i like the soft matte rubbery surface of the thinkpads... you can get MUCH worse when it comes to design. I think it's a classic nice strong look.

 

My impressions is that it would be a remake of the Vaio TR made quite some time ago. That notebook came in two parts. Both pieces had about the same dimensions. The bottom part was the optical drive which you can fasten and lock-in to take with you or unfasten to leave at home. It was very cool IMO. However, base on the post below, it appears it won't look like this. My understanding is the second part will be smaller in dimension and will be plugged into the main unit - plugged in by what means? USB 3.0?

Interesting. I think this New Z, I expect, will be slim like the X505 but in a larger footprint (and without the barrel hinge). I would have wanted the bottom part to of the same proportion as the main unit. As someone posted, when traveling, it would a hassle to find a place to stow that second piece where its not obtrusive.

 

My understanding is that it'll plug in via Thunderbolt or whatever name they're going to call it.

 

its now thundercats

 

Interestingly the CTO option fort he Z13 has been removed from the German Sony website. This is probably due to the events in Japan or the fact, that the Z14 is now in production but doesn’t launch in Europe, but maybe this is an indication that the new Z will come to Europe soon.

 

I'm pretty sure their are vi-dock solutions that utilize the internal monitor. But you are still stuck using an extra power supply.

 

Remember about the FUJISTSU AMILO SA 3650 and its external RADEON. Used internal monitor...

EDIT : The technology was called "ATI XGP".

 

yeah i don't think so... well.. i guess you could... since if you think about it, internally the LCD of the current Z uses a DVI (don't quote me on this) and i guess if you hooked that up to the card using some sort of adapter... it'd work? actually prob not since you gotta power the thing... I bet it's possible, but you'd have to invent it yourself.

 

I might be chancing my arm here, but can any indication be given as to whether the new fangled z graphics card could handle 2560x1440 displays? I guess I'm asking if it'll has two digital outputs. (I'd really like to see laptops with mid range GPUs dropping vga at this stage.)

 

My BF just bought a 15'' MBP with an ATI Radeon 6750M and it works nicely with his 27'' Dell display using DisplayPort from the Thunderbolt port. Since the Whistler XT in the new Z will be slightly less or more powerful (depends on whether the 6730M or the 6770M will be used), I think supporting a display up to 250x1600 shouldn't be a problem.
The only problem one might have would be the port to get you display connected to your notebook. Most older larger displays don't feature DisplayPort and HDMI only has a single layer output while DualDVI needs a double layer output. And the adapters from DisplayPort to DualDVI are ridiculously expensive.

 

Gah, sorry, of course it will, you're absolutely right. I meant 2 though. I'm looking for a dual monitor solution. Sorry for not mentioning that explicitly in the post. I was actually looking at an MBP but seemingly the thunderbolt port can't daisy chain monitors according to some guy on their support forums. (that may need to be taken with a grain of salt)

 

@pjriot
The HP Envy Series (14" and 17") supports internal LCD + 2 exernal monitors (HDMI + DisplayPort). Is that what you are looking for ?

 

Marvellous.

Will it be able to go beyond 1920x1200 on a single monitor? e.g. a 2560x1440 monitor?

S

 

Any news about that release date or at least some official statement informating about features?

 

Thanks, beaups. Fingers crossed then. This would be a killer feature for me, and I'm sure I wouldn't be the only one.

S

 

Is it possible to get any info about dimensions/design? Is ist significantly smaller/thinner than the SA/SB?

 

Holy crap. Thanks Beaups. (and Zebnastien, yep, that is what I'm looking for. I'd jump on the envy if they updated the cpu and brought back a hi-rez screen, I might even jump without the screen)

Damn, I guess I'm now waiting on the Z to be released.

 

This may seem out of place, but when can we expect the SA series to appear? Will it have a similar price to that of the Z13 when it was first released? Just asking to see if it is worth the wait...Otherwise, will just order soon...

 

That's a good thing! Question (forgive me if you've answered this already) but will it have the barrel hinge??? (i guess if it reminds you of the Z then yes? )

 

If it has the barrel hinge, then it won't be super thin..at least at the hinge...

 

This might feature a pic of the upcoming device. Looks a little bit like a bigger X Sony VAIO Hybrid with GPU dock and Chrome OS Tegra 2 ultraportable tipped - SlashGear .
More sturdy sounds good. I always felt that the TZ, TT or Z's CFRP felt a bit flabby.

 

that's kinda old news... it's been posted first on SonyInsider then Engadget and both of those links have been posted here. I believe the bottom of the Vaio Z is CF and not CFRP. The lid however is plastic (no matter which design you get, the carbon fiber lid is just plastic with a sprinkling of CF dust)

 

hard to tell, but isn't that just a pic of a Vaio X?
(orginal sized pic: http://cdn.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/sony_vaio.jpg)

 

Hmm, actually that link says 1 hdmi and 1 vga. Beaups, when you say (+LCD) what do you mean exactly? I'm wondering if this will have 2 digital outputs specifically. (any combination of hdmi, displayport or dvi-d) NP if you can't divulge that sort of thing however.

 

Yup it's the X

 

Well I'm excited enough by this to put my plans of buying a Samsung 9 series on hold for now...

Does the external thingie really behave like a dock? E.g., does it power the laptop, so all I need to do is walk up to my desk and plug it in?

Can anyone explain the graphics power of the docked/undocked versions in terms of gaming? (Do we even know this?)

 

We have 'unofficial' confirmation that the second part of the laptop will not be a dock but component about the same size as a external optical drive. I'm not sure if we know whether the second component will provide additional battery life or the battery will be entirely contained within the laptop itself, but we know that it will get between 8 and 16 hours of battery regardless.

 

^I suppose there has to be some kind of sheet battery solution to get up to 16h of battery life in such a small notebook.

 

I thought the sheet battery was only for the SA/SB and that the Z would be in two parts, not three. Of course, I could be wrong.

 

Perhaps some new type of super battery for the new Z?

 

Thanks for the info.
So the new Z is in total three pieces...interesting...

 

How much will the sheet battery weight?

 

Can I assume that the RAM sticks & SSD will be soldered onto the motherboard?

 

Does this mean that the ODD/GPU-part is optional when buying a Z?

 

oh god i hope its optional....the current $2k price puts a real hurt on a student budget.

 

Hrmm, new Z is going to be thick with the laptop+ sheet battery. Although I don't doubt long battery life, it seems like it's going to be, more or less, the same size as the current Z and it will lack the dedicated graphics and optical drive.

 

8 hours without sheet battery is plenty for me. And I will pay premium to loose even more weight in comparison to my already light Sony Z.

Edit: I also replaced DVD drive with second hard drive a year ago and never looked back. I got $50 rebranded sony usb BD-rom/DVD-rw off ebay for those rare occasions that I have to use it. More elegant solution is to wirelessly share optical drive on one of your less portable computers but optical drives will be obsolete in several years anyways.

 

Good point the 8-16 reading is probably without and with the sheet batter, respectively.

I forgot to factor that in, if it can get a reported 8 (so realistically ~5-6) without the sheet, that would be nice.

 

if it will be so thin, why not also use it as a tablet? Touch-screen

further improve sales I think

 

so its a mba, samsung 9 competitor!

will it use a full blown processor or just lv one?

 

This is the part I hate about companies being obessessed with making super thin products. Hopefully, the SSD & even the internal battery are not soldered onto the motherboard & can still be replaced.

I also hope that Sony do not charge "an arm & a leg" for us to select the maximum offered RAM option since these RAM chips are soldered onto the motherboard & cannot be replaced. I guess even if they do, there's nothing much we can do except to just s**k it up & fork out the money if we want to buy the upcoming VAIO Z series configured with maximum RAM.

One more question:
Is the screen a more matte finish like the ones on the older VGN-Z series or is the screen a less matte finish like the ones on the newer VPC-Z series?

 

I think soldered RAM isn't bad if it isn't a ripoff to max it out. I just hope the SSD is user replaceable a la Macbook Air SSD sticks, which is much friendlier than the Raid 0 setup in the current Z.

Isn't the Macbook Air essentially Raid 0 since there's two sticks of SSD in there?

 

Yeah, but I can't recall a time I've ever shopped for a notebook and spec'ing out the upgrade from one level to the next didn't cost more than buying the full amount to begin with from a third party.

Right now RAM = $10/GB; I'd love for someone to show me any vendor's site where the upgrade from 4GB to 8GB cost, say, $50 or less. Every system I've ever bought for personal use, I've installed/upgraded the RAM myself, going back to, oh, 1988 or so. (Never mind that I paid about $500 for 16MB in 1995 )

 

Darn... I sure hope Sony comes back with the barrel hinges eventually in an all in one ultraportable like the VPC-Z... I'm not a fan of having an add-on just for the gpu/ODD (I could just get a ViDock at that point) and i'm not a fan of the SA/SB's MBP-ness... . At least i got in on the VPC-Z.

at this point in time, i'd probably go for a x220 + a ViDock rather than the new Z, at least i won't have to baby that as much as my current Z... (also there are rumors about a 1600x900 IPS panel!)

 

I actually think that it looks like the v13 from dell, without the but. Which reminds of the zune HD, which both dont borrow design cues from apple.

Aside that the SB/SA are too boxy (read angular) to remind me of the mbp