New Sony Vaio Z speculation/news thread

Well I don't see this as a weight savings either. More like weight distribution into secondary unit

New Z weights about 1.2kg, while VPC-Z is 1,5 (or a bit less). If you add sheet battery to new Z (685g) you're close to whopping 1.8kg (and no ODD/GPU included).

I believe 1,5kg was pretty decent trade-off between power and mobility. If you need even lighter laptop there was X series. To me, X series with ULV would be a real counterpart of MB Air.

Like many people pointed here, it's quite awkward using secondary unit attached if you sit on sofa/bed or whatever place but regular desk. And those people who decide not to buy Vdock, will actually have less capable GPU then VPC-z, and one USB port less.

Again, it comes down to if you need all the power, all the time, but I fail to see why Sony didn't put 540M with Optimus inside new Z when they have 2 fans now, huge air vents occupying almost 1/2 of left side, and rubber feet below screen to enhance airflow. Yet they packed Intel 3000 inside. Is it going to run hot as hell?

Cheers,
Miki

 

to beaups: is there any news concerning 11"-inch Sony machines on Core i platform and Win7 coming? Have you heard anything (or seen)?

 

I've been playing with a Z21 the past few days (and owned a VPC-Z12Z before), the screen is about the same, keyboard is flatter but not bad after getting used to it. I love the weight, it feels so light and thin! The dual fan setup also is perfect, its very quiet during normal use and doesnt get hot at all. The VPC-Z12Z I had was always making some small noise and during load would transform into a fighter yet. The PMD unit is also working fine but wouldnt buy that for my personel use (I have a big 17" gaming laptop with AMD 6970M inside :9 ). I currently have a macbook air 13" but will replace that with the new Z for my main notebook, the screen is much better, it feels nicer, weighs less and had keyboard lighting. Also the battery is very good, even with just the internal one i'm getting around hours normal office use (wifi off, connected to LAN, bluetooth on for mouse, screenbirghtness at 80~100%)

 

what is the noise of PMD under load (gaming)? Does it turn info fighter jet ?

 

Havent tried any real gaming on it, dont have games present but I guess it sounds the same as when you power it on (a short burst of the fan at full speed). I wouldnt call it quiet but not as loud as the VPC-Z. Even when running 3 external screens it doesnt make any noise.

 

Hello friends,

I am from Italy, this my first post.

I have Sony Vaio X, and reading your posts about new Z. Without PMD this look good replace unit for my X

Sorry my english is not too good I use google translate to post

Ciao

 

soo... how many hours does it last?

 

Does the main unit get worm?

 

you also get between 10-13 hours of battery life with that weight. you know of any other lappies that give you that much battery life at that weight with that much cpu power?

kinda tired of people bringing this point up without recognizing the battery life advantage and the fact that you don't have to use it if you don't want to.

i am also quite interested in this

 

No, when just using it for normal office use (taking notes during meetings, word/excel, the usual stuff) the top stays perfectly cool. The bottom warms up a bit but not hot at all. Even when running it at full load it stays normal, offcourse the fan does start blowing faster so then there is some noise. But compared to SB/SA models that are making noise all the time this is a giant leap forward.

 

Sony Y is the Core i win7 comp, but the US only gets the E350 version. From the various rumors, it doesn't look like any exist. The two tablets run Android and the slider thing seems to be an Atom... (and that's 9.5" or so).

I really wish they made a new TT or an X with an i processor.

 

How many hours does it roughly last?

Thanks!

 

you're kinda missing the point mate. It's not whether I need it or not, it's about weight. VGP-BPL20 weight 462g yet you have everything you need. Plus it doesn't give thickness all over laptop, just at the battery end, and I do like those feet slightly raising laptop.

It's a matter of personal preference, and obviously I'm not fan of sheet battery concept. Did you see how difficult is to attach it? Ok, it's not like you need a degree in mechanics, but much easier with VPC-Z

Cheers,
Miki

 

I must say I hate the BPL20 on my computer. It totally screws up the weight distribution of the computer when carrying it around and having it on my lap. The L20 battery increases life by 50% while the sheet will increase it by 100% while keeping the same weight distribution. And to say the L20 doesn't increase the thickness is not entirely accurate as it does make the laptop taller.

 

Any idea how much silver stand/holster weights?

 

Oh, the silver stand doesn't come bundled?

 

My brother have Z with that long life battery, and it look very nice when you put it on the table. It look strange when you have laptop in your hand, looking like 3 times more fat on the back then on the front.

 

it does (at least I hope, looking very classy), but according to this article it "weights as a brick".

 

of course its about if you need it or not. if you don't need it, its not even an issue?

having a giant battery sticking out of one part of the lappy would actually be horrendous for my personal storage needs. I optimize every part of my 'mobile workstation'. I take into consideration the weight-size of my bag, accessories, binders, and books. A thick bulge would mean I need a bigger, heavier bag or more or tear on my bags which are meant for very thin lappies....but i realize thats just me thats just this obsessive.

I don't get why attaching is a problem. do you bring TWO batteries for the Z1?

oh, where is the video showing attaching the sheet battery?

 

Which article?

 

this one:
Sony vaio z series hands-on review- The Inquirer

also about sheet battery (from Trustedreview):

All said, I'll still be getting new Z, as I like it's design, and no, I don't need all the power all the time, plus for intensive GPU activity, laptop itself will remain cool and that's a true benefit for me.

Cheers,
Miki

 

What's the connector on the underside at the middle/back?

Battery sheet, or a conventional dock?

S

 

^Sheet battery, new Z does not have a "drop-in" dock anymore.

 

Sick Nick, please infrom us about battery's capability. I mean how long will it survive (hours-minutes) through office load (wifi on, web-browsing, 70% brightness).

 

That's great news. so good to see sony aren't making all of the arrogant mistakes that apple make

 

I see the number 8 was lost in my previous post, but thats how much I got yesterday with wifi off but connected to LAN, bluetooth on for a blueooth mouse, ~80% brightness and browsing the web, using office apps and making some notes. So not the type of activities where you would need an i7 with 8gb ram and a ssd raid array but hey, if I can why not

With some heavy use you would still be able to get at least 5 hours and probably 6 out of it.

 

^What computer are you referring to?

 

YouTube - ‪2011 VAIO Z - Power Media Dock Offical CM‬‏

 

That article makes it sound like the heavy silver holster is a huge minus. It makes complete sense that it should weigh as much as it can, otherwise the pmd would be knocked down too easily.

PS. what is a "CM" as aspirenews youtube's channel calls the vaio z videos.

PPS. Sick Nick that battery life is great news

 

It's atom :-( Touchscreen glass too, and that makes it pretty heavy. Don't quote me but it felt as heavy as the new Z.

 

Will Sony make new Vaio X or this Z will be both (X without PMD and Z with PMD)?

 

X is gone.

 

In that case, were I to wait and based on what I've indicated I''m interested in (high quality FHD, large SSD, blu-ray, full-voltage i7, less than 4lbs. etc) would it be worth my waiting until later in the year?

 

SONYSTYLE USA IS DOWN AGAIN!!!

and when u google "vaio z" (in america) The Z series sonystyle page shows up as the 2nd result. That search result wasn't there before, so it look slike they are adding the Z right now!!!!!!

 

^It's not down. It's just that google link points to a dead end.

edit: you're right, site is screwed up.

 

sonystyle says their website got eaten by their dog.

OH NOES

 

Riddle me this. Why does the sonystyle down page have a "shop now" button that you cant click?

 

Looking at the motherboard pic here:

AnandTech - Gallery - Sony Vaio Z - 11 Photos

Looks like it is still possible to do a SSD upgrade, even if the built-in SSD is completely proprietary. This is going to be possible by using the mini PCIe slot dedicated to WWAN card.

However, as you can see in the motherboard pic, units without the WWAN card will not have mini PCIe connector soldered (!!!) I don't know whether this was just the case for the review-unit, or if it is going to be the norm.

So I will order the 256 GB version of the new Z, and add another SSD (e.g. the Samsung 128 GB one) through mini PCIe, as the price difference between 256 GB and 512 GB SSD in Germany is just staggering (rip-off). Just to be sure, I will order the WWAN card too and sell it on ebay later, so I surely get the mini PCIe connector

 

Thanks. Correcting myself:
The correct power supply size supplied seems to be 65W and 120W (from the above video):

 

dammit sonyusa is back up and the Z is nowhere in sight. =[[[

 

Apologies if this is slightly off topic but, given beaups' teaser above, can folks talk briefly about Samsung quality, especially compared to the Vaio? I don't have a good sense of their reputation. Did I read that they make the screens for the Z? What about other aspects of build quality and design? Thanks!

 

Made by the same people who safeguarded PSN accounts online?

 

Hey, could you do something for us? Install the program below, just get the free version. On battery, watch the drain rate. Can you give us a sense of your battery drain in milliwatts when on wifi and normal usage?

to get 8 hours from a 42 watt/hour battery would mean a drain of about 5250mwatts an hour.

Osiris Development - BatteryBar, the most accurate battery meter for Windows

 

which is impooooosssssssssible

 

ah whatever

 

@Beaups thanks for the info regarding Atom. Looks like I'm a sad panda. lol the search continues.

 

it really kind of sounds impossible. It would be great if Nick could monitor it for us using battery bar.

 

Ive just installed BatteryBar and will test my laptop now with normal usage.

 

deleted...

 

I'll give it a go next week, the 8 hours I got was using it as a business tool during meetings and behind my desk. So there were some times where the screen dims down or even shutdown completely because of the powersaving settings of windows 7. But not to standby, I disabled that because I want it available when I touch a button or move the mouse. So with constant use at 100% brightness on wifi 6~6,5 hours should still be possible.