New Sony Vaio Z speculation/news thread

Yep, will be getting a friend in Hong Kong to post one to Aus for me. Aussie prices are SO ANNOYING!!!

 

it comes with both. Small one to travel. Big one to power dock and passthrough power to the laptop.

 

Perfect! Thanks Beaups

 

Man, I thought the dock for the ODD and GPU was supposed to be plugged in UNDER the laptop just like the SB series' slice battery, I was wrong lol.

 

hey looks like your daughter is getting another new Z upgrade from ya ha ha!! The regular CS5 does not use any 3D acceleration. The CS5 Extended version does use some 3D but it's not a whole lot because PS CS5 processes pictures and not video/animation content. So... any on-board or external video chipset will do just fine - just pick a laptop with lots of brute (processor) power and memory as these become useful when doing batch work and for some nasty plug-ins that require a whole lot of processing time/power. Have fun!!

 

Short answer - NO. Sony uses a two-fiber optical thunderbolt implementation embedded into the USB 3.0 port (proprietary) to hook up the external unit. The announced Sonnet products on the other hand will be connected to electric Thunderbolt ports found e.g. in Apple MBPs. Those ports look like miniDP ports. Engadget also stated that this thunderbolt implementation is limited to the protocol whereas the port itself is incompatible to upcoming 3rd party devices using thunderbold.

Long story short, this proprietary hybrid USB3.0/optical TB port can be used for Sony's own external units only. IMO, it is very unlikely that there will be 3rd party devices especially for this particular sony-proprietary ports in the future.

Beside the proprietary RAM modules which prevent a cheap memory upgrade this is another [sarcasm] nice feature [/sarcasm] that makes the new Z a [sarcasm] real champ [/sarcasm].

 

Is the standard battery unit in the VAIO Z series totally non-user replaceable, unlike the VAIO SA/SB/SC series? So that means if the battery needs to be replaced, we will have to send it in to a Sony service depot to have the battery replaced?

What's up with notebook manufacturers these days with their non-user replaceable batteries? They're all out to eliminate 3rd party battery manufacturers/sellers?

 

^I didn't take it out, but it looks like it releases through the bottom with like 4 screws.

 

screen bezel looks just as thick as the SA/SB series, abit on the disappointing side...

 

And many (Arth1 comes to mind) will be happy to know that they replaced the glue-on rubber feet with rubber coated screws (so to speak). So the days of peeled-off rubber feet "should" be history.

 

Is it just me or does this look like there won't be anything that a user can replace himself?? (Ram?, hdd?). At least you can see how the airflow should work.

 

The "large" power brick on the right looks just like the one that comes with my VGP-PRZ10 docking station (for the VAIO VPC-Z series).

 

Being able to blow air OUT does no good if you don't get any air IN.
On the old Z, the air intake was located under the lip, in addition to the cheap SD/MS card reader not being tight, and allowing air (and dust bunnies) to be sucked in.

 

Well after going through and pricing out what I would want I hit around 2500 (After converting) Thats 500 over my budget, but I will talk to my fiance may be I can stretch my budget a bit. Come on U.S. Sony lets get some stock =}

 

Isn't that typical Sony?

Sony must have expected people to seek 3rd party external GPU solutions. Therefore, in typical Sony fashion, Sony decided to implement their proprietary Thunderbolt (Light Peak) external box thingy solution so as to force their customers to buy their own external GPU offerings if they need a more powerful GPU & be charged at whatever amounts Sony themselves deemed fit.

 

The "in" vents are on the bottom, in the rear, and the lappy also uses the new Intel reference design for breathable keyboard. Airflow "should" not be a problem.

 

Can you plug the big one directly into the notebook if you wanted?

 

Not sure as I did not try it but both that big power brick & my VPC-Z notebook's "mini" power brick shows the output of 19.5V on their respective stickers, so I would assume that I should be able to use the big power brick directly on my VPC-Z notebook.

 

I guess as long as it has the same jack as well

 

^The jack is slightly different. It looks like the dock is keyed to only support the larger adapter while the laptop can support either. Similar to the current dock for the VPC-Z

 

Does the SSD component look user-replaceable to anyone else? I can't justify paying an extra €500 for a 256GB SSD (above the 128GB standard option), but I would hope in a year or two if I really needed to I could swap it out for a larger capacity SSD (even if it involves some work).

Yeah the basic model, with a few extras (WWAN, backlit keyboard) I would need, is about €300-400 above my typical budget "comfort zone"; spending this kind of money will be noticed by my significant other ;-)

 

Truth be told, most people don't even need the Z. It is, by definition and intention, an elite machine targeting a very specific niche.

 

Totally agree. It's no longer the ultra-portable desktop replacement I bought a little over a year ago. :cry:

 

Question: if the battery is non-replaceable, this means that we cannot take it off the lappy right? (Answer: of course...)

I ask this because a battery always in "charge" mode (ie, connected to the wall plug) will lead to a shorter life of the battery (I mean battery life constantly decreasing).

I had this problem with my current Acer, I am more often connected to the the wall than on-the-go, and the battery went from 4 hours to 0.5 hours in less than 2 years. The new battery, removed from the laptop while connected, is still doing fine after 4 years... I'm ok as long as Sony isn't charging 50$ for new batteries...

 

I'm not sure that's an improvement; unless the rubber is actually vulced to the screw, it's going to be just as susceptible to the glue unbonding. Possibly even more, as adhesives tend to stick better to plastic than metal.

I miss what Sony did back in the 80s, where rubber nubs were screwed on with a hole through them. Those never fell off, and service centres wouldn't tell you "sorry, we won't fix it under warranty, because the rubber feet are missing, which affects air flow".

 

^It looks like the whole outer portion of the screw is rubberized, even the base. It's hard to describe but I honestly feel it will be very durable.

 

Correction: .. so as to force their customers to buy a new laptop with a new dock with a new GPU offering, because Sony doesn't sell upgrades.

 

That's good news then! I'm surely not the only one who has experienced rubber nubs falling off various Sony products, sometimes within mere weeks of purchase.

 

Is the battery removable??? or its like MacBook Pro ??

 

That's good news. (If they've ditched the cheapo Ricoh SD/MS assembly too, it's even better -- that one got clogged with dust pretty quickly with the old Z, because it acted as a major air intake due to its bad construction)

 

Viddler.com - Sony Vaio Z detailed hands-on - Uploaded by engadget

 

$50 for new batteries? Sony will more likely be charging in the range of $150 to $200 for new batteries.

 

OK. Even I think it's pretty cool and I'm not impressed much by Tek Toiz. Sure, I can think of plenty of changes I would prefer (since I don't know what the consequences of such changes would be) such as a standard thunderbolt implementation, a thunderbolt port on the dock and the ability to use the ODD untethered. Still, I can see anything better out there in the ultralight 13" category. It looks like I'll be getting one.

 

Doesn't that mean that silicone/TPU keyboard covers will lead to overheating?

 

Haha... you're even more straightforward than I am! What you say is very true. It is just unfortunate that this kind of business dealings is very typical of Sony.

Even for the dock, they seem to implement a fixed cable onto it to connect & power the notebook at the other end of the cable. I can imagine how "screwed" a customer will be if that cable somehow broke off & needed to be replaced. Sony will probably tell them that it cannot be fixed & that they'll need to buy a whole new notebook package.

On 2nd thoughts, I see why Sony implemented a fixed cable on the end of the dock. This is done so that it will be "exclusive" to the new VAIO Z series. An example is that there is no way for one to use his/her other notebooks to connect to this dock just to use the dock's Blu-ray/DVD drive. If one wants to use any of the functions available on the dock, then one has to buy the new VAIO Z series notebook.

 

you won' find any battery for any laptop for 50 dollars

 

Dont use one then....

Do they even have those for the Z? I thought those were only for 14 year old girls buying their low end models.

 

I use keyboard covers for all my notebooks, including my VAIO VPC-Z notebook & I'm not a 14 year old girl........ so I guess something is very wrong with me?

 

haha aww im sorry maybe i don't see the purpose of them. Is there anything they do besides add some color?

 

So am I correct that you couldn't attach a ViDock (or similar) to this, since there isn't an ExpressCard slot, and the LightPeak connector isn't standard?

 

I will definitely be getting one as soon as they are released in Hong Kong.

 

If we buy Sony laptops, we're all 14 year old girls at heart...

 

I've noticed that too, it's a welcome change, except for those ugly rubber feet at screen bottom. If their sole purpose is to raise body a bit for better airflow, than it's total design flaw when you use it in your lap (anyhow you'll block those bottom vents with your cloth. Really strange

Cheers,
Miki

 

Protect against spills.

 

Are all the 2011 batch need to Duke???

What about the processor i5????

 

Still there However that's the ONLY vent I have, nothing at the bottom to block in my lap....

Cheers,
Miki

 

I have been following this thread since quite long.
now since speculation of vaio z hardware is done, i would like to say that the design is super but this yr vaio z has way too many short comings.

vaio z with no ODD,dedicated GPU,short battery and more importantly way over priced compared to last year's z and the real benefit you get(apart from obvious processor refresh) is a slim design with 250gms less weight(really come on sony)

Infact when last year z was announced i had a feeling it had really reasonable price for what it offers, but this year although with so many shortcomings its a bit more priced that too without the dock.Not to mention if you need the ODD you have to carry the dock and the frustrating thing is you wont be having the dock with you the day you need it,happens many times.

Everything would have been really fine if this was offered at about 1700$-1800$ with base config without the dock.(i still suspect there is slight chance that this might be available for close to 1900$ in US for base config)
Its true that most of this year vaio z is after looks over functionality which is a bit disappointing.

 

Good eye bjornb!

 

45whr battery is a dealbreaker for me. It wont last more than 4hrs with with 80% brightness+wifi surfing. I know that there is a sheet battery aswell but that totaly kills the design of this laptop. I thought it would be a higher capacity battery than SA/SB (50whr).

I just returned my Sammy Series 9 yesterday as that was my last day of return in order to get a Z but looks like I will get another Sammy as soon as they fix wifi issues.

 

Proprietary thunderbolt port = dealbreaker.

No Sonnet eGPU... and I thought my dream had come true this morning