New Vaio 2008 model listing with indication prices - FW - Z - SR - BZ

Sony unfortunately took down the links to the manuals now.

We were lucky they even posted them early in the first place. Can someone be able to upload them perhaps? I have the manuals but do not know a good place to upload them to share.

 

See if you can find them in Google's cached pages.

 

rapidshare, depositfiles, filefactory ...

 

FW: http://rapidshare.com/files/124618430/VGNFW100series.pdf

SR: http://rapidshare.com/files/124618547/VGNSR100series.pdf

Z: http://rapidshare.com/files/124618670/VGNZ500series.pdf


FW,SR and Z as .rar http://rapidshare.com/files/124618897/ZSRFW.rar

 

Sony has a strong focus on pushing out Full HD products, to do that in a laptop I guess you need at least 16". I just checked the specs on the Acer which could be the same screen: 16" FHD WUXGA 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution, high-brightness (250-nit), Acer CineCrystal™ TFT LCD. So there it's listed as 16".

 

We only have outline drawings at the bottom of the first post of this thread.. No real photographs. They are not out yet.

The SR will be cheaper and a bit heavier.
Better? That will depend on what you want to do with it.

I'm assuming SR will be the better choice for gaming. Z for portability.

 

Whoopps.. we still have the pictures.. a tad too late Sony :laugh:

 

The probably woke up when they saw their manuals on Engadget

 

Honestly this is kinda upsetting for me as I was hoping to buy the Montevina revision of the FZ because I liked the size and quality of the FZ last year when it launched with Santa Rosa and I was hopping Sony would be doing something similar with Montevina, But now it seems like they have decided to out the higher end 15.4" and leave us with the BZ which looks like its going to comprable in power to the current NR.

Now the FZ is looking tempting but I think I would have trouble living with myself if I passed up DDR3-RAM and better graphics just because I was feeling to lazy to carrying a 16.4" around campus.

I don't know what to do, any suggestions...?

 

thanks mate..downloading them now..

 

Thanks Phil. I know what you're saying regarding the 11.1" screen; I was worried about this after reading some reviews online so I popped down to my local PC World to have a play with one. I think it's just right for me as a backup/travel PC... it would be too small to use as my main PC, for sure, but as something to use on the go or for a bit of bedtime browsing it seems like a great compromise of size and resolution - compact but still fitting a decent amount of stuff on the screen without scrolling.
The trouble with going to 13.3" would be that I'd find it hard to resist the Lenovo X300 or a few other contenders. Also, my current work lappy is a Tosh Sat Pro u300, a 13.3" laptop... and although it's a reliable workhorse, it's bigger than I want really. I've decided to bite the bullet on cost to get something I can carry without thinking about it.

I think if I were to get a 4200rpm HDD model, I'd probably want to go to WinXP. With SSD I think I'd be willing to give Vista a chance and try using VMware or similar to get my few XP-only apps working.

I totally agree re: the size and weight, though. My heart is set on an ultraportable this time around.

Thanks exetlaios. I feel slightly bad wanting this type of reassurance that I'm buying the right laptop - I'm a grownup - but it's more money than I usually spend on anything and my last laptop has lasted 4 or 5 years... so I'm keen to get it right. I think my strategy is going to be to wait until the price of the top model (64GB SSD / U7700 / 2GB / DVD / HSDPA) drops a bit before the new models are announced. Then I can take a view whether the new ones are worth the wait or I should just snap up a bargain.

Thanks again for all your help chaps.

 

Having the exact same problem here... Afraid the FW is too big, then can't see myself getting a BZ while there's more graphical power out there, and then getting a FZ doesn't make sense either. Dilemma!

 

I did see a couple of Spanish sites listing the FW as 15,4, so who knows, maybe there are 2 versions?
Or maybe they made a mistake, which I think is more likely.

 

First I thought the Sony is trying to compete with Apple being doing the same line up. I thought the SR series represented the Macbook and the Z series the macbook air. But then I saw the pictures and the Z-series looks pretty thick.

I'm still wondering why the Z series is more expensive then the SR series.

 

Because it's incredibly light! Only 2,5 lbs

At least I hope so.

Or maybe because of the heavy GPU, since we don't know what GPU the Z has. But I think the weight is much more likely.

 

I can't see Sony doing a model with two screen sizes (other than the BX), and especially not two extremely similar screen sizes. I doubt it was 16.4 to begin with, though by the aspect ratio of the pictures, it should be 16:9 and thus not 15.4". However, 16.4" is just a really weird size - I thought all of the 16:9 16" screens measured 15.6" diagonally?

 

FW is 16.4". No two screen sizes.

 

The Macbook air isn't a practical notebook due to its thinness and the absence of many slots.
Therefore, even if the Z series is a bit thicker, it is definitely worth it. Besides, it's going to be lighter!

 

Agree. Nixon knows what he's talking about. The FW series are going to have 16.4" screens. Let's just leave it at that.

 

I know but it looks alot thicker then the Macbook Air. I thought it might be as thick or thinner then the X300. Maybe as thin as the Macbook Air and so it is the direct competitor for the Air and the X300. Ofcourse with more features to make it more attractive for consumers.

It wouldnt make much sense to have two 13" in your line up unless some has features the other dont. I cant think of any except bluray or better GPU but those are features you can put in a higher end SR laptop.

But if its only 2.5 pounds then it is competing with Apple and Lenovo for this category of laptops.

 

But why, there is a market of people who want powerful laptops that are small enough to carry around and by not offering a higher end 15.4 Sony is isolating themselves from the part of that market that doesn't like smaller screens.

The FZ did so well last summer that I don't see what would warrant them doing this.

 

It sucks having your hopes raised and slammed down

@ Charles; I totally agree. I want a 15,4 inch FW!

 

I want 3G+ with the Z Serie . Thanks .

 

Probably because they could not fit 1920*1080 in a 15,4" so that had to go to 16,4".

But if you really want 15,4" why not look at the BZ series?

 

16.4" better come stock with at least 1680x1050 and a better video card, or it would be a waste of extra space.

 

I'm pretty sure it will come in 1366*768 and 1920*1080 with ATI HD3470 / 256mb.


Bytheway, the size difference between a 16,4" laptop and a 15,4" laptop would be about 2 cm in width. So about 0,8". Since it's wide screen the depth stays the same.

 

Actually, the 15.4" Dell Inspiron 9100 had an option for a WUXGA 1920x1200 screen as well as 1280x800 and 1680X1050 (all 16:10 aspect ratios) that was released a few years back.

It is possible, but thats the only 15.4" laptop I remember having that high a resolution.

 

A 16.4" notebook is just the right size! Sony will also offer a high-definition screen resolution to go with the size. I just don't see why nobody wants a large notebook nowadays. Ultra-portables seem like such a waste of money. For the price of a well-configured Macbook Air or Lenovo X300, you could easily get a high-performance desktop replacement notebook (17 inch) with a high-end CPU and GPU. It just doesn't make sense. Unless you have a desktop and extra money to spend...
Low-cost ultraportables are the only acception. Who would want to spend over $2000 for a notebook with a 12.1 inch screen? Seriously...
The larger the screen the better.

 

It's not only about the screen; I want high performance on the one hand, but portability -in it's broadest meaning- on the other hand; that means not only that the notebook shouldn't be too heavy and big, but also that it shouldn't get very hot and have a decent battery life. Working in a car or train is nice. A large screens kills battery life!

 

anyone else having trouble opening the manuals? I keep getting a msg that the pdfs are corrupted or something...

 

Large screens don't necessarily kill battery life. I know a couple of 17" notebooks that have 4 hours of battery life on average, which is pretty decent. Take a look at the HP 8710w and the Lenovo Thinkpad Y710.

Usually larger notebooks don't get hot. They have better heat distribution because of their large size. If they do get hot, it's only in small areas where the harddrive and the GPU is located like in all notebooks. Larger notebooks have a lot more room and offer a much more adequate cooling system (fans).

If you want performance in an ultraportable notebook, meaning high-end GPU and CPU, expect it to get very HOT and have terrible battery life! Look at the LG P300. It is a 13.3" notebook that manages to fit a 8600GT and a T9300 2.5Ghz. processor. It's foremost issue is overheating! Followed by low battery life. With an XPS M1530, with similar configurations, heat distibution gets a lot better. The system runs more cooler.

Basically, it's impossible to get performance out of an ultra-portable notebook. The high-end components will get hot and the notebook will have low battery life. On a 17", heat is much more manageable and battery life is usually decent (these kind of notebooks usually come with high-capacity batteries). Large screens do not kill battery life. The majority of notbooks now, use LED screens which are supposed to consume less power.

Larger notebooks (15"-17") just seem more practical for your everyday needs. You could do almost anything on them!

 

@ Cossack

You're right...

The major drawbacks of the FZ to me are heat and battery life, so somehow I linked that with size... I just really hope these problems will be fixed for the FW. However, now I'm thinking, maybe heat and bad battery life actually are a direct result of size in case of Sony notebooks (since their screens are not exactly 'average')? I want an XBRITE (no eco, but dual lamp) screen and I can imagine that (screen) size in that case actually is a very important energy determinant?

 

Notebook Italia has the details nicely put together, nothing new:

http://66.102.9.104/translate_c?hl=...ia.it/sony-vaio-fw-sr-z-2635.html#CommentForm

Anybody notice the SR/Z only have 2 usb ports?

 

Exactly. The main issues of the FZ series was overheating and low battery life.
Since the FZ series uses a double-lamp screen, this may be the very reason why these issues were so common.
LED screens consume a lot less power, and are brighter. It would make sense for Sony to offer an LED screen with the upcoming FW series, especially since these notebooks are supposed to be HD with the 16.4" screens, HDMI, and blu-ray player. I hope that the GPU will be decent. If its going to be an entertainment notebook, it needs to be able to do some high-end gaming, right?
I'm sure Sony will listen to their customers and address the issue of overheating and battery life. They should be able to fit an adequate cooling system in the larger FW series and offer a higher-capacity battery coupled with an LED screen.
I hope they will include some extras as well: back-light keyboard , 9800GTX , and a rockin' brushed metal design!

 

Aha, interesting!

1. What do you think is the chance the FW models (optionally) come with such a LED screen?
2. I don't know a lot about this, so maybe this is stupid question; but does a LED screen imply lower screen display quality? Or can a LED screen make your mouth water the same way as an XBRITE dual-lamp screen?

 

1. The chances are high for the FW models to come with an LED screen. Most notebooks use LED screens now.
2.An LED screen uses less power (extending battery life) and they're much more brighter. LED screens don't imply lower screen display quality at all. It is an improvement from conventional CCFL screens used in the past decade as well as dual-lamp screens. Just think of LED screens this way:
similar quality+brighter+power efficient

 

Though more expensive than the traditional back lighting currently.

 

-If someone from Sony is reading this-

I'll pay!

 

Cossack7V7, interesting comment, however from my experience it's a bit different. Used to have FS31z (2,4 GHz, 300 GB HDD 4200rpm, N8600GS) then I got SZ71vn (2.5GHz, 200 GB HDD 7200rpm, N8400GS - customized) and I must say that heat issue was more evident with FZ (even bigger). What I have noticed is that SZ fan triggers more often (so so have more "fan noise" but it was running much cooler than FZ. I also have to say that FZ was used more than 6 months and that SZ is brand new. I agree with you that in general bigger laptop has better heat management but this issue is related to many things eg housing material, heat dispersion architecture, air vents....)

BR
Miki

 

There are a lot of factors that determine the temperature of your notebook. I definitely agree with you miki69.
1. larger notebook=better heat distribution
2. better housing material=cooler notebook (to the touch)
3. more air vents+efficient fans*=better heat management

*some notebooks use special metals that absorb the heat in order to cool down the important electrical components

 

Even though LED screens are more expensive, they are definitely worth it.

 

+1

BR
Miki

 

Those are pictures of the G series, which was released in 2007. It is sold in Europe and Japan but not North America.

 

yup, it's the G series.
It's (to my knowledge) the only vaio with a 4:3 aspect ratio, along with the battery being actually shown when you open the lid

 

Can anyone tell me the dimension, weight, screen resolution, type of screen for FW series? They are very important. If I don't like the spec, I would probably just buy FZ now. The PDF User Guide does not mention anything about them.

 

So if the pdf's don't mention them, how should we know? We can only guess.

 

Hopefully, somebody have downloaded a pdf link for marketing specification. Sony always have 2 pdfs for each model. One is the generic user guide and the other is the marketing specification. It is the marketing specification that I need. It should mention all the gory details for each model.

 

Well, I still love my G. Like it better than the SZ I used for a year and more than the TZ.

It'll be interesting to see if they update the G or not.

 

Nice.

I believe that is incorrect. SR has 3.

Dimensions: 3,5(h) x 37,6(w) x 26,0(d) cm
Resolutions: 1366*768 or 1920*1080
Type of screen: Double lamp ccfl backlight or LED backlight.
Weight: unknown, aprox. 3 - 3,2kg
(all these are educated guesses)

 

Sony was using dual lamp technology in Fx series (FS,FE, FZ), so as you said we can assume this trend will continue. LED backscreen lit is used for SZ (previous S series models like S1-S5 had single lamp technology), so we can (only) assume that new SR and Z series will have LED.

In few weeks all of our asumptions will be disclosed

BR
Miki