New Sony Vaio Z speculation/news thread

You can use sugar cubes to remove text/icons without marring the surface?

If you CTO comes with a brushed finish please don't post a link until you are post coitus.

 

Agreed - me too

 

Yea it works on the stuff that is heat pressed on, which most of it is. You can tell if its heat pressed if it looks and feels like an extremely thin sticker.

Sugar can usually scratch that off without harming the surface, whether it be plastic or metal. Just make sure the sugar cubes don't get wet

 

Or just put them in coffee/tea when you're done

Good information to know.

 

CTO won't have that suffix because it's not fixed. However, the options were carbon black and carbon indigo, so it's plain black and indigo blue. Brushed premium carbon is called "Premium Carbon Black" on the front page.

 

Muchas gracias. Love little tips like this.

 

I tried explaining it too the rep in that fashion, he didn't seem to think there was a diff... (Hence why my response was so long winded with "really, no way, you sure about that?")

 

No problem. Its definitely not foolproof though so be careful. Make sure you test it on a surface somewhere else first (maybe test it on a less expensive product first too). Don't apply too much pressure. Make sure the logo or whatever is coming completely off before proceeding with the whole thing. Tape up any openings to avoid sugar going in. Make sure you get all the leftover sugar off.

Happy minimalizing!

You can do a google search too to see some video of it in action.

 

I agree it's quite less enthusiastic from VPC-Z videos. Just check "Reinventing the Z". Looks kinda they didn't have much new and juicy stuff to share.

Somehow, slowly but surely, new Z design is growing in me.

Cheers,
Miki

 

I'm definitely going to purchase Sony Z in this way:

i5 2540m
Premium Carbon
NO Wan
128 GB 3rd gen
NO PMD
Backlit keyboard
Sheet Battery
8 GB ddr3

It would come @ 1905 € (due to 7% student discount)
I would love to put in a 256GB but... it would cost too much and my budget is about 2000€

 

I was set to buy the new Z until I heard about fan noise problems.

That's my number 1 pet peeve with laptops and the only reason I am dissatisfied with my current Z... it has terrible fan noise and fan "whine" problems.

I'm going to wait for more reviews that explore the issue.

I am fine if the fan comes on high in an intense situation (like gaming) but not if it can be heard surfing the web on the couch.

 

where did it read like that wasn't the case? cause that was the impression i was getting.

 

Every review till now states that in web surfing, idle or BD playback the laptop is quite silent.
On full load some reviews say that is very loud, others state that is quite loud but not so much. We have to wait notebookcheck to see noise value I think

 

We would like to inform you we are experiencing a delay with part of your Sony order. Your order has been rescheduled to ship on 08/17/2011.


WHHHHY!!!!!!

 

Nice, even though you cannot choose 256 gb, I'm thinking about quite the same with the 7% discount too.

If you choose the sheet battery, does that mean the standart battery is not included, or you get them both ?

 

^ Them both. You'll get the inner one AND the outer one

 

Yeah, I ordered today and got the same shipping date.

I'm praying they're just covering their bases and will actually end up shipping on 7/29...

 

Ok i just got off the phone with a rep.

the july 29th cto date was a miscommunication. yesterday, the preconfigs al said 8/17, but the CTO said 7/29. Turns out the CTO was also supposed to say 8/17. Said that the date was an error. He said since I was one of the first ones ordering, it could be slightly sooner but he had no guarantee. This particular rep had already received another call about the ship date today and talked to his manager about this today.

Some other things I learned:

They have been taking a LOT of Z orders. And also apparent Z customers are getting some special treatment in terms of shipping dates.

We will get an email when the computer starts being built (as always). Our credit cards have not been charged and will not be until it ships outs. We can cancel our order any time before the computer starts being built.

Apparently the entire manufacturing process (including customization) is done in japan now. (Before it was build in japan and customize in california) old CTO Z's got a made in america label but apparently the z2 cto will get a made in japan. YAY!

There are no components you can add or subtract to your CTO to make it ship any faster. And if you ordered yesterday or today, you are still one of the first in line.

 

^
Very cool. Thanks for all the info!

 

my Z1 says made in Japan and it was Fedex'd to me from Japan... so I don't think Cali had anything to do with it

 

any one know where can i get accessories for the Z2? ie. the leather case like in the video

thanks

 

Ok maybe I am misinformed then. I thought I had heard that somewhere.

 

Preconfig models will be in stores the week after next so I'm surprised you guys are hearing 8/17 from Sony.

 

I had one in my cart for 7/27 but upon checkout it says 8/17 now. I might wait for the hubbub to die down a bit, but I know I'm going to be in for one no matter what.

 

Yea I have one in my cart, just waiting to pull the trigger. Even though I am doing the 12 month financing it is still a little intimidating to see that 3300+ final sales price heh

 

Are u talking about Sony retail locations or some online stores will carry it soon too?

 

sigh.. why does the 2.9k signature edition have 6gb of ram... i know it's a lost cause.. but is there any way to get it with 8gb? ...

seems like there's no way of getting the premium carbon and 8gb of ram without shelling out 4.5k for the top signature edition

also, are the preconfig models that will be available in stores the 2k model and the 2 signature models that are listed online? or are they the usual base models with base cpu, base 4gb ram.. etc.?

 

god damnit....release in canada already!!!

 

Sony retail, other retailers, online, etc.

 

generic, if you are close to the border, you could tell sony to ship it to a hotel/motel in the usa close to the border

then call the shipping company and tell them to hold it at a nearby hold center for pickup

sometimes with orders, the shipper (in this case, sony) may request that the carrier makes at least 1 attempt at delivery to the original address. in this case, just call the hotel/motel and tell them that you will be "checking in that day" and are expecting a package.

you could also tell them to ship it to an abandoned building, empty lot, etc. so that they fail at delivering it and return it to the holding center

 

Where are you seeing the 2.9k signature one? I'm only seeing the $4700 version in the signature section...

 

There is a slightly cheaper sig model. 13.1" Lightweight Performance Laptop | VAIO Signature Collection Z Series | VPCZ21TGX/X | Sony USA

 

https://store.sony.com/webapp/wcs/s...0151&langId=-1&categoryId=8198552921644569397

scroll down

 

If preconfigs will be in retail stores week after next, does that mean i could see my CTO ship date bumped up a bit earlier?

 

I was ready to jump on that, but I need every bit of RAM I can get, especially if it's not user upgradable...

 

In Japan, you can pre-order a Z2 with WiMAX (on carrier UQ), or 3G (on Docomo FOMA or b-mobile Doccica), or both. But the LTE module (for Docomo Xi) will not be available until the end of August.

The pre-order period here in Japan hasn't started yet (it will begin next week), so I don't know if the LTE option will be available right away or if it will be added later.

Previous Sonystyle US CTO units were manufactured in Japan, but assembled in San Diego. I skipped out on the Z1 so I don't know where US CTO units were manufactured/assembled. According to the Japanese press coverage, the Z2 will be manufactured and assembled at Sony's Nagano factory in Japan.

Not sure if this has any effect on US CTO shipping times or availability of options like LTE.

 

Yea me too. But my problems with that model were:

only 6gb of ram
i wanted 900p
sh!tware included

Pluses over CTO: sexium carbon fiber.

 

sonystyle usa would accept canadian visas? i'd want to order an online CTO.

 

I don't mind the FHD screen, and I'm going to wipe the drive so I don't mind the sh!tware... Which leaves me with just that RAM. But I really want teh sexay CF.

 

Is the latest Intel Driver the same driver recommended for the Z1 when it was first released? Or is their a latest released. Please post link. Thanks.

That was so nice. Initially, I did not like the Z21 based on the speculated photos. But after seeing some better photos and this video, I'm really liking the Z2. I need to know how it performs without the PMD. I will consider purchasing one based on your experiences. Most likely, I'll wait for the Z22 refresh.

Store configurations are fine for me - more than I need. I don't need to CTO. The base model for $1999.99 will only be $100 more than what I paid for my Z13 (which I can still return, but will have to do it in the next few days), but I'll be downgrading from a 256ssd to 128ssd which is not cool. I'm not a gamer, but do use CS3, so I will need the PMD for intensive apps. I just don't know how I'm going to like carrying around the PMD and an external hard drive where I store movies, music, and Windows Media Center DVR'd TV Shows if I decide I may need to use it (PMD).

I wish Sony sold extra internal batteries which you can pry out and replace, without the sheet battery. Hopefully, the sheet won't make it look to thick nor heavy.

I may pay a visit to SonyStyle this weekend to see if they have a demo of the Z2 in their stores, considering pre-orders are already up on their site.

Also, did you noticed those Sony monitors they were using in that video? The one at 2.26, 1st monitor far left. It really compliments the Z2. I don't think it's a Bravia either.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqaHcz5usJY

 

Well it looks like you have less problems with it than me. I say go for it. If beaups is right, you can have it alot sooner and it'll have premium carbon.

You can probably make do with 6gb and probably wouldnt even notice. Only problem is when ur bragging to your friends, 6gb is kinda an awkward number lol.

 

http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Detail_Desc.aspx?ProductID=2101&DwnldID=20215&lang=eng&iid=dc_rss

The suggested driver is one after 9.6 (included) cuz it has the cache write feature which has huge improvements in sequential write and a little in 4k random write. I don't remember any additional huge improvement from 9.6 till now.. but it's always better to have driver updated (unless big problem). Anyway, it's a driver released after the first commercialization of Z1. It's all thanks to Z1 users who made tests

 

Would anyone care if these three buttons were missing altogether?

For me, I never even pressed them except when testing a fresh install.

 

of course! they probably don't even know it's canadian, only VISA would know, and then they just change the canadian money for us... and it's great right now since it's 1:1

don't bother waiting for damned sony canada, the price is much higher, they always have things out later, and many cto options are not available unless you wait for the next refresh

 

here, i'll rank them in order of usefulness

assist < web < vaio < scroll lock

 

I wouldn't bet on that. I've been bounced from e-purchasing many items cross-border. I assume they're looking at the billing address. I have never tried with Sony, though.

It'll show up in Canada soon enough, I'm sure, albeit at a premium price.

 

you can always do a giftcard trick, (buy a gift card with cash in canadian store)

 

Thanks. I rep'd you. I'm assuming I can update the driver on my Z13 with this latest released?

After you install it, what does it mean, By Clicking Finish, then remove any installation media from the drives? Never done this before with the other driver.

Also, it says:

 

Well, I believe the "Web" does serve some purpose to quickly fire up the browser without having to boot the OS, but the new Z boots up in less than 20 seconds anyway......

 

J and R has will have these pre-configured Z2 models. Quite a few, but the price - ouch!
JR.com: Notebook Computers

Make sure you sort the list from the most expensive. I had them notify me when it becomes available.