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

dude, what r you doing ?

 

it means I fully agree and support what was said (+1), as there is no "thumb up" icon.


Back to topic: one thing I don't understand is, for the past few years 15.4" were so-called multimedia laptops (with mid-range graphics (class 2), 2-4 GB memory...), I'm not sure that 16,4" will be wellcome in the same manner due to their size and weight (plus FW will have low-end graphic (class 3)). Doesn't feel right to me.
Now for 15.4" you have lame B series (with integrated graphics, at least "old B series"). Maybe Sony is trying to install new multimedia standard of 16.4"?

BR
Miki

 

I've compared the dimensions of the notebook pictured in the SZ100 user guide to the dimensions of my SZ150 and they seem to be proportional. Assuming the pictures of the upcoming notebooks are scaled accurately as well, the following dimensions should be close to the actual dimensions. I've included a PSD which shows proportionately-sized side-view comparisons of the current and upcoming VAIOs so you can have a better idea of how they'll look like. Note that front length measurements are only guesses based on common bezel and known LCD screen sizes since that information can't be easily measured from the user guides.

VGN-SR:
Front Length (assuming 9/16" bezel): 315 mm / 12.4"
Side Length (or Front Width): 247.0 mm / 9.73"
Front Thickness with Lid Closed: 28.9 mm / 1.14"
Back Thickness with Lid Closed: 35.6 mm / 1.4"

VGN-Z:
Front Length (assuming 9/16" bezel): 318.5 mm / 12.54"
Side Length (or Front Width): 208.6 mm / 8.21"
Front Thickness with Lid Closed: 26.4 mm / 1.04"
Back Thickness with Lid Closed: 34.3 mm / 1.35"
Back Thickness with Lid Closed (incl. bump): 36.8 mm / 1.45"

VGN-FW:
Front Length (assuming 3/8" bezel): 382.1 mm / 15.04"
Side Length (or Front Width): 260.9 mm / 10.27"
Front Thickness with Lid Closed: 30.9 mm / 1.22"
Back Thickness with Lid Closed: 37.8 mm / 1.49"
Back Thickness with Lid Closed (incl. bump): 44.8 mm / 1.76"


Also, from looking at the SR picture the LCD bezel seems too thick to be housing an LED backlit screen (compared to the TZ, SZ Premium and VGN-Z series diagrams) so maybe Sony may release a cheaper CCFL version of that model as well.

 

Maybe sony will release SR version without carbon fiber ( which will come later on). This may result in screen housing depth. Same happen with SZ introduction, carbon fiber lid was almost 2 times thinner than the "normal" one.

Check this image.

BR
Miki

 

Guys, all you talk are FW, SR and Z models...

What about BZ..this are suppose to be the next BX models? So the business type of 15.4" ? Any chances of getting a high resolution screens here?

 

The current trend is LED screens, so I would assume that Sony will use LED in their future models, especially with the new screen size of 16.4 inches. Double-lamp screens are becoming outdated. They aren't as efficient as LED screens. In the future, improved versions of LED will be used like OLED. Sony recently presented their OLED TV. The screen was as thin as an envelope.

By the way, any chance we'll see ATI's new Radeon HD 4870 CrossFire GPU in the high-end models of the FW series?

 

I got to finally see that 11" OLED TV at my local SonyStyle store and the picture was AMAZING, the contrast levels especially were incredible. I cannot wait to see that technology make its way into notebooks, Sony should be the first or one of the first to implement it.

 

Of course they will. Sony is like.no.other.

I saw the OLED TV too, and the picture was incredible. If they do manage to implement OLED into future notebooks, the quality and brightness will be breathtaking.

 

Am I 'like.no.other' in failing to comprehend the importance of old-school brown envelopes to measure the thickness (or not) of recent gadgets?

 

LETS KIDNAP NIXON ! It's the 1 and only solution for me not to spend 1 more night without sleeping thinking about how to spend this $$ on SONY Vaio's notebook !

 

Heh. Let's not!

Seriously, it's amazing what's been gleaned from those product manuals. I think people will be very happy with the new models when they are announced here soon.

 

I'm sure too , because Manuals were released online on purpose ... just to tease us ... without all the FEATURES : Otherwise we wouldnt be killing our minds trying to find out whats new .

Marketing is Marketing Boys

(At least thats what I hope ! ! )

 

On page 11 you can find bogart's post with pretty accurate dimensions in it.

As far as I know SR does not have Bluray, and Z may have. Nixon kind of hinted at it. But since we have the manual can anyone tell more about this?

I think that's pretty accurate. This was my guess: Dimensions: 3,5(h) x 37,6(w) x 26,0(d) cm. But that was probably too thin.

PS. A nice post in the news section has been added about the upcoming Sony's: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=265039
It's like the first post of this thread but nicer written.

 

The Z seies will have the blu-ray option, I read few days ago the manual. The SR i really don't know.
Nixon, because I really want a blu-ray laptop....can you tell me if there is a chance that the upcoming in the fall Montevina TZ will have the blu-ray drive? Or I will just pull the trigger at the Z series.
When the real pics are going to come??

 

I think Nixon had said the models would be announced in the middle of July, that is when everything will be revealed, pictures, prices, specifications, dimensions, etc. I wonder then when they will be in stores.

Nixon says he has already tried out these new models, I'm so jealous! The wait is killing me, especially for the Vaio ultraportables in the fall!

 

You're not the only one.

 

I read somewhere on the forums that someone asked at a Sony shop in California I believe and they said mid juli. Can't remember where I read it though.

 

While the new Montevina models will be announced on July 15th, they won't start showing up in stores until first week of August. Again, this isn't a Sony thing, but more of how Intel is making OEMs do things.

 

Nixon, do you anything about the Calpella Vaio's yet (aka Nehalem)? Those are the ones I am waiting for.

 

Darn...then it's most likely going to miss the tax-free weekend in SC....

 

Wait until Capella gets a release date, then you can worry about Capella based VAIOs. Its safe to assume those will be within 2 weeks of Capella's release.

 

The Z very closely resembles the current TZ series, by looking at the pictures from the leaked Z manual. The keyboard looks identical to whats on the TZ, though of course larger due to the larger frame.

In fact when I first looked at the manual and the first picture of the Z, I thought it was the TZ for a few seconds, looks exactly like it at first glance from an angle view!

Well, your saying that the Z at least will be available in mid-July whereas Nixon says thats when it will be announced and the models won't be available for sale until early August.

 

See for yourself how alike they look.
TZ is the top pic, the Z is the bottom pic.

Looks to me that the Z will also have the piano finish around the keys. I also dislike the finish myself.

 

Thanks for posting. Those specs are actually gathered from the first page of this thread.

Actually I believe Rahul is right, the Z series will look a lot like a bigger TZ. Even when you open it up.


Edit: Did anyone find the US model names for the BZ series?

 

I've looked and haven't found anything. I have heard from some that it would not even be released in the U.S.

I don't even think the B and BX series were popular here anyways, I had hardly heard about them.

 

They really weren't. They were supposed to be the business line, but they kind of fizzled and died off. I'd guess it won't be released in the US due to their spectacular failure here.

 

I don't know if this has been reported yet.

Keenzo has specs and prices on the American FW139E/H and FW139N/W.

http://www.keenzo.com/showproduct.asp?ID=1462818
http://www.keenzo.com/showproduct.asp?ID=1462819

Says they are "sold out" until July 16th.

You can see a couple of more sellers listing these laptops on their sites by searching for FW139EH and FW193NW on Froogle.com

 

Yeah, based off those pics, the Z definitely looks like a larger TZ, but more square-ish and round (square-ish referring to the body thickness, and round referring to the edges)

As much as people don't like it, I sort of hope it looks like a larger TZ ^_^; I honestly think the TZ is a beautiful laptop

 

Hey sick find rahul
And WOW, the new prices for these sony's are incredible, considering that they usually never go to these prices unless they're built to be budget (i.e. CR), but it's nice to see that people won't have to pay such a premium jus for the sony name.

 

Its not just sony name. Sony laptops are very well built and almost 4 times less problems with them then with HP...

I hope sony keeps their high quality built level and drop prices at the same time

About the BX (BZ), its a shame...since now there is no "business" 15.4 or 17" laptop..seems that sony left this area out, I wonder why...maybe they should refocus here since a lot of offices still needs powerfull and yet secure business 15.4 and 17 machines..

 

Nice find once again Rahul.

What about the Japanese market?
If anywhere specs will be leaked I would assume it to be Japan.

 

If I was buying for office and business travel use I'd definitely buy Thinkpads, no question.

 

I'm checking japanese sites, but it's hard to find, as we don't know the model's numbers...and also Japanese are not really that excited about some leaked informations, in other words "they just buy it, when it's out". If the price will be similar in Japan as in US, I'll definitely buy the custom made Z model in Japan.

 

The BZ is the BX successor. Business notebook. 15.4", and not sold in normal retail.

 

When the Z, SR and FW come out in Japan, there'll be a custom order model and also some retail models. The custom order models at least will be VGN-FW90, VGN-SR90 and VGN-Z90.

And as time goes on, these will be refreshed, new things will be added so then they would be called VGN-FW91, VGN-FW92etc.

The model number will also end in US, NS, S or HS, standing for Vista Ultimate, Vista Business, Home Premium and Home Basic respectively. So if I choose to custom order a Z series with Vista Business when it comes out, its model number will be VGN-Z90NS.

 

"The cheapest model under FW series (without Blu-ray) costs around $1,627
The SR series starts at $1,950.
The Z series starts at $2,757.
Sony is also planning to update VGN-TZ, CR, AR series, but no word on details."

What's with the pricing? I thought they would be a bit lower. Or maybe someone converted the currencies wrong? I sure hope so. Sony better come up with something good.
Nixon has to do some explaining here!

 

Lol yeah they converted the currencies wrong. How hard is 1:1 ?

 

Good find on the FW, Rahul. There isn't a picture up yet, sadly. It looks like it really does have a 16.4" screen.

 

Nixom, seems you are our reliable source of sony vaio information...

Any chances of getting a high res BZ models with 15.4" if not, what would be logical explanation not to? The lack of public interest in it, or perhaps something technical?

/crosses his fingers to get an answer/

 

It's rare, but they did it on the first B series business laptop, which is an exact copy of Z1, just comes in black. The style just has to be really really popular to get carried over, like TZ

 

Nixon, can we expect anything better than an ATI HD3470 256MB in the FW series? :rolleyes2:

 

I love the glossy finish, best looking laptop selling on the market IMO, even better than apple air.

 

The Macbook Air is a joke. Sony TZ series all the way!
Again, can we expect anything better than an ATI HD3470 256MB on any of these notebooks?

 

Glossy black PS3, Glossy black XBR5 LCD hdtv, and glossy black 15.4" or 16.4" laptop = win.

 

For some reason, no one here is interested in the graphics card options that will be available on these notebooks. No one wants a high-end GPU? Isn't the graphics card one of the more important components of a notebook?

I hope that the GPU will be upgradeable. All these other notebook companies are offering far better graphics than Sony. I don't see why Sony doesn't offer something high-end as well. I would definitely change the Ati HD3470 256MB to a HD3870 512MB GPU in the FW series!

 

Not for me. It's mostly gamers that need heavy GPU's, and the occasional 3D designer. For the rest a simple videocard is more than enough. I would not even mind the latest Intel integrated graphics. Even X3100 can play highdef video.

Are you into heavy games?

Yes the prices are wrong for sure. What they did was take the euro prices of the first post and converted them to US$, according to the normal exchange rates.

 

For me its screen quality and battery life.

Playing games on laptop? I am a bit too old for that

The only reason I care about GPU is perhaps if the 15.4" model will have a high res option, where additional GPU might perfom better than integrated.

GFX designers dont need "gaming" GPUs like nvidia 9xxx or ATI 3xxx, they need ATI fireGL or similar gfx

 

PhilFlow, I'm into some heavy games. I like Sony though and I'm planning to get a notebook soon. I'm trying to figure out what other options Sony may be offering in their upcoming notebooks besides an HD3470 256MB. I was hoping they'd offer something better on the FW series since it's an entertainment notebook. A 512MB GPU would be nice...

 

I'm interested in a high-end GPU not only for gaming, but also for screen quality, especially with a higher resolution, for people who want HD quality.

Since the FW series are going to be entertainment notebooks, they might as well include other options.

If you don't game much, I understand why you wouldn't need such a powerful graphics card. I'm just saying that Sony should address the people who are looking for better performance and a high-end GPU option when customizing.

 

Good news: You don't need a high end GPU for that. An integrated Intel X3100 can play 1080p just fine if you have a newer core duo cpu.