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

Gee (not Geeee ), it sure seems a lot easier to just buy it from PortableOne and let them do it. Assuming of course they (A) don't charge more than SonyStyle or other retail outlets, and (B) start offering more CTO options (like HiColor for the FW, for example).

 

It's easier to let PortableOne do it, but it won't include all your favorite apps and settings.

 

where are the indicator LEDs on the SR and Z? ie. power, wlan, hdd activity, cpu activity etc.

i assumed it was on the barrel, but i took a closer look at some SR pictures, and the LED weren't there or anywhere else. I liked how they were on the hinge area on the SZ...

 

The power button (on the hinge cylinder) is the power indicator (it glows): green when turned on, slowly blinking orange when in sleep mode, and off when hibernated / turned off.

The rest of the indicator LEDs are on the front. According to the manual, there is (from left to right): Charge indicator, Hard disk drive / optical disk drive indicator, Media access indicator, and Wireless indicator.

 

I'm probably going to get the highest spec Z from the UK provided it's under £1800 ($3600).

I'm thinking of upgrading to Vista Ultimate using the Express upgrade. Does anyone know of any problems that I might encounter? I've heard it's not like upgrading XP where you have to reinstall everything but more like a software upgrade where all the drivers and installed software stays.

 

Do u have any link to site where u want to buy him? I saw only VN/B highest model on sony page. At least he has DDR3 but no SSD i really would like to have 2 SSD's in my laptop. I wrote sony UK about SSD drives in new Z series and im still waiting for answer.

 

Import it from the US, Japan or Germany. ( link)

Or build it in yourself.

 

I can import it from US, but as far as i know, and someone post it here, ill have to pay tax about 19%, ill have SPIRIT instead of HSDPA module. I think i wont use it but anyway if i pay about 4.000 $ for laptop i would like to have everything working.

One more thing, i dont think so that every laptop has Raid 0 option on motherboard. I mean that when i buy one with 1 normal HDD i wont be able to put 2 SSDs in my laptop and run them in Raid 0 mode. Am i right?

Thank you for German shop link but there i cant build laptop with Raid 0 with SSD option. I'll check German sony style.

Edit: no SSD/Blue-ray on sony.de (germany)

btw. check this out, that wired !!!

On sony.de model VGN-Z11VN/B has DDR2 and this same model on Sony.uk has DDR3. So whats going on?

 

I don't think you will find something else there than on Sony UK because Europe gets the same models.

You could send a request to Notebook.de if they can build RAID with 2 SSDs. Who knows...

 

hmm i disagree with the drivers issue. since no one has done a clean install on the Z yet, it might not be safe to assume that things will work perfectly right away. i'm all for doing a clean install (i'd love to do it on my future z since i already have a copy of vista ultimate), but i'm afraid it might be too troublesome. hopefully it all works out though

 

Like I said, I think installing Vista Ultimate would be less troublesome done using Vista Express Upgrade rather than doing a clean install.

You can not buy SSD or BR anywhere in Europe and importing to Europe from the US or Japan is a huge hassle. The HSDPA will not work, keyboard is different, no warantee, VAT of 17.5%... I'm just going to get it from the UK

All Z Series are DDR3, Sonystyle.de just hasn't corrected their mistake yet. The UK site had DDR2 for a couple of days but corrected it yesterday

 

Hey guys, a few new FW configurations have been added to the PortableOne site (nothing yet with HiColor though, so I'm still outta luck).

I'm not sure if the SR or Z pages were updated (I wasn't watching them) but I wouldn't doubt it.

 

Yeah, I saw there's a download of drivers at the Sony Site. Since I'll be purchasing a preconfigured Z, and I'm reading from posts after yours that it may not be that easy, do you think if I just pay Fry's to do a clean install, would they know to download these divers?

I'm debating on that. It's so much easier at Fry's because if something goes wrong within 15days, no questions asked-full refund. How is there return policy at P1? If they are in No. Cal., it won't be so bad to ship it. And I like the fact that they do a thorough clean install of Vista.

Expand on "won't include your favorite apps and settings". I thought a clean install was to get rid of all the bloatware and advertisement trials. Why would any of it be considered a favorite apps; and as for settings, I can do all that manually as I've done in the past, right?

So do you advice if I do get a preconf. model, not to do a clean install until months later?

Or if I decide to get it through PortableOne, that it would be ok for them to do a clean install?

 

If you buy a preconfigured system, I would wait until someone posts a guide on how to do a clean format with links to the appropriate drivers. You're more than welcome to be one of the first to do the clean install, but just expect to do some troubleshooting in case things don't too smoothly.

If you buy from portableone, I believe they will remove a lot of bloatware themselves and optimize it (which will probably satisfy the majority of people out there), but it won't be as clean as a fresh install.

 

I didn't realize there was a difference in terms of how P1 does a clean install. I guess what I mean to say is, I was under the impression that if I buy from P1, that they will be do a clean install on the Z, rather than simply removing unwanted bloatware.

Based on other posts I've read, it's been stated that simply removing bloatware is not enough. Other files and folders linked to bloatware may still be lingering in your pc. There's nothing like a clean install to do a "COMPLETE" removal of bloatware. So I don't understand why P1 wouldn't do a clean install to begin with.

 

I'm pretty sure P1 does a clean install, plus drivers of course, plus Sony's basic utilities (like battery manager, etc.) But if you're unsure you can always ask on the P1 forums here.

 

yah don't take my word for it i'm just going by what the website says "bloatware removal" option. i would call them if you are planning to buy from them

 

I'm assuming they would not remove the Sony software listed below, right?

# VAIO Movie Story
# VAIO MusicBox
# Click to Disc Editor

I'm curious to see what this stuff is.

 

I really don't know. You'd probably want to ask this in the P1 forums.

 

where's the P1 forums?
Sorry, I'm kindda new to this forum.

 

Exactly, I would rather live with some bloatwares than not being able to try some of these new softwares.

 

I queried Portable One today on the "P1 Optimized" bloatware removal option, and this is the most important part of their response: "...The P1 Optimized image is the Windows OS and only specific drivers and utilities for your machine which saves between 10GB and 18GB of hard drive space and run much more efficiently."

 

cool it's pretty much a fresh install then.

 

Here's the Portable One Forum:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=217244

This will take you to a thread titled, " P1's Optimized Disk".

 

What if you want to add the Sony supplied software? (VAIO Movie Story, VAIO MusicBox, Click to Disc Editor)

Does Sony supply a copy of the software, like for re-installs?

 

Not really - you generally have to buy their recovery disk for that (or make one from the recovery portion of the HDD).

 

Does P1 leave the recovery portion intact?

If not, I'm no longer too interested in ordering from PortableOne.

 

Why not ask on the P1 forums?

 

It's not obligatory to choose for P1's bloatware removal if you order from P1...

 

Well, but that would be a primary reason for ordering from them, since their prices are no better than SonyStyle's from what I can tell.

 

P1 prices corresponds to about Sonystyle prices + the $100 discount you can get by begging and ordering by phone.

 

I just randomly picked an FW on P1's site. P1 price?: $1,699.00

http://laptopsinc.com/Merchant2/mer...&Product_Code=VGNFW180EH&Category_Code=SONYFW

I then did a CTO on SonyStyle with the exact same everything. SonyStyle price?: $1,699.00

SonyStyle price after begging and ordering by phone: $1,599.00

 

Ok then it depends from model to model and configuration to configuration. If you don't want additional warranty (so you can't get the sony extra discount) and are interested in P1 bloatware removal, then P1 may have an interesting offer.

 

Sony's $100 phone/begging discount has nothing to do with the extra warranty. So, in this case, the SonyStyle price is less than the P1 price by $100. And I'm guessing other retailer's pricing will be lower than Sony's.

I can see buying from P1 if their price was less than SonyStyle... or possibly even the same price (since P1 does the bloatware removal) -- but I can't see paying $100 more than SonyStyle charges just to get the "free" bloatware removal.

 

Yes that's what I'm saying:

"it depends from model to model and configuration to configuration"

There actually are models that are not more expensive at P1, even after taking into account the $100 'phone discount' on sonystyle's prices. If you're (here 'you' refers to 'someone in general', not to 'you, SoundsGood') interested in bloatware removal, than P1 can thus be a good option. Moreover, someone here previously mentioned that the quality of for instance your screen can be better by purchasing from P1, because they manually check it before shipping, while sonystyle may actually just ship a less than perfect screen.

I know the $100 phone discount has nothing to do with warranty. However, you can get higher discounts (upto $300) if you buy at sonystyle.com and purchase additional warranty (together with 2 accessories). In that case, sonystyle probably always is cheaper than P1. That's why I said "If you don't want additional warranty..."

 

Okay.

 

Sony changed RAM from DDR2 to DDR3

http://vaio.sony.de/view/ShowProduc...E_cons&pageType=Overview&category=VN+Z+Series

thanks to SpaceCowboy for this find.

 

Personally, I don't think it's all worth it, unless......?
Do you have a Sony PC now? If so, play around with some of their preloaded software such as " Click to DVD". From a beginner's standpoint, I can see how it would be interesting, but as soon as you figure it all out, it's all limited to the kind of effects you can do with video, hence the word "Limited". Your better off just buying a really good program capable of doing a whole lot more than what this provides you.

As for Vaio Movie Story, I'm assuming its a lot like Windows Movie Maker. These preloaded software are great for school presentations. I've used it. It gives you enough tools to really give a good, interesting, and eye-catching presentation. Basically, a starter kit.

 

If Vaio Movie Story is anything like the highly acclaimed Sony Vegas video editing software, I want it. And even a trimmed down version (like Adobe's Elements software) would most likely be good enough for me.

 

Hey guys, quick opinion should I get the blu ray burner when I get the FW? or just stick wit the blu ray drive? the read and write is an extra 300 while the std blu ray is 150 extra.

Also my choice for hdd would be the 320 @ 5400rpm, there's a 400 one at 4200 rpm but not sure if I really need that much space. def going to get the hi color screen for sure though.

 

Does not seem worth it in my opinion.

Yeah stick to the 320GB/5400rpm. Much better performance.

 

Oh yeah? Why do you say that?

 

I personally don't have any need for burning Blurays. I rarely even burn a DVD.
External harddrives, usb keys, NAS are more handy in my opinion.

If I want to watch a movie on my TV I connect my laptop to my TV.

But maybe it's different for you... i get the feeling it is

 

Actually, I'd like opinions on this too (for anyone else who cares to share theirs ).

DVD±R / DVD±RW ?? (included in price)
Blu-ray Read Only ?? ($150)
Blu-ray Read and Write ?? ($300)

Which one and why?

 

I only burn DVDs to backup my son's DVDs. That's it.

I don't use my laptop for movies. Ever. I have a PS3 and a 60" HDTV.

Honestly, I'm just unsure if I might "need" it down the road -- or not.

There's only 2 possible needs I can think of:

1. Backing up my son's Blu-Ray DVDs.

2. We have a new HD camcorder, so I might wanna create HD DVDs (Blu-Ray) to share with others. Then again, most family members do not have Blu-ray, so I'd probably have to give them regular DVDs.

Question: if we backup Blu-ray movies to an external hard drive, can they be played by plugging the ext HD into the PS3?

 

-DVD burner if you're not planning to watch Bluray disks.
-Bluray reader if you are planning to watch Bluray disks.

I personally like to download all my movies so I'd go for DVD burner only.

I don't know but I have seen little boxes that will play anything from an external HDD. Quite cheap as well.

 

Get the burner...at $300 it's a bargain. Find one anywhere else for that price. And it's a Sony ( the Blu-ray evangelists). Combine that with the software Sony gives you for burning multimedia Blu-rays and it's a no brainer.

 

ya I think I will be getting the burner as well since with the options I want and the hi color screen the entire package comes to 1799 only. I am an avid watcher of top gear from england, also big fan of shameless and primeval so I need space whenever these shows appear . I also buy a lot of my music, and most the times I buy it in either cd format (CDS or CDM) rip to mp3 or wav and leave it on the pc. I also buy mp3s and wavs off music stores such as beatport so space is what I need and once I begin to run out on hdd, I start moving stuff to dvds, but those fill up fast.

 

Now for that I use an external hard drive.

 

hehe I have 2 of those actually, an older dedicated external WD at 80 gigs, bought it ages ago wasn't cheap but best money I spent it works like a sharm and it is turne on all the time, and I have most of my music and pictures on it. Then there's a 250 gig seagate I have in an enclosure I bought and its mainly used as storage. Both need AC power, so they are not really portable.

But another reason I backup stuff onto dvds is that it is sometimes divx, like top gear and I can watch those on my dvd player downstairs.