New Z model with Intel Core i5 CPU

That site doesn't support direct linking.

 

Thanks, I embedded them now as that site seems flakey. Hope it works now.

 

...still not working

 

Yep, they are working..seems the extended battery the first picture, nice.

 

Yes, it does look like the extended battery. Otherwise, if the standard one, then the design will make an otherwise slick laptop, needlessly bulky.

 

Well, yeah, that bites. Although technically and just looking at this picture they can still do the stunt they did on X and give you a flushed solution that takes out the side, too.

Oh well, my Z should be able to last me till the next model is out, so hopefully I don't have to deal with all the styling imperfection that I found in the new Z. I really hope Sony push something out like TZ to celebrate 15th anniversary of 505 in 2012, that when I most likely would have to replace my current Z.

 

You guys were worried about the heat on the vaio z with nvidia 330M-
Now it seems alienware has a nividia 335 M on a 11.6 " laptop, what do you say about that?

PS: I'm a vaio Z fan.

 

It looks a more like a 12.3in device with the large bezel(at least from the pics) that it comes with.

 

Can someone verify, is that a phone modem (for dial-up) to the left of the HDMI port?

 

We are worried about that, too, I guess, if we actually care what Dell pushes out...

Serieously, though, my experience with any Dell laptops is that they are hotter than Sony, so the expectaction is lower for me to begin with. And Alienware, being a gaming brand, people tend to expect (and willing to accept for the performance) a little hotter laptop.

Then, M11X is using a low-voltage CPU, unlike the Z which has a rumored option of i7-620m. M11X is using 1366x768 screen, which is less demanding for GPU (and therefore less heat generated) compared to the 1600x900 in Z. M11X also does not have optical drive, which generates heat. And finally, Z is 3 lb, and M11X's weight, although not disclosed yet, is expected to be heavier -- otherwise it would be hard to keep the price under $1K.

Still, M11X is a very intriguing setup, no question, and maybe a better option for an ultraportable gaming rig, if one actually want to play heavy duty games on a 11.6" screen.

 

I looked at the SR and there were several reasons I did not get it.

1. It weighed about a pound more (still exists)
2. DDR2 instead of DDR3 (S fixes this)
3. Lower Battery Life (Don't know whether S fixes this - probably not since no hybrid graphics)
4. Screen is glossy, not Matte (I imagine this is still the case in the S)
5. Couldn't get it in Red (I can't get the new Z either though)

If I got the SR I was going to get the graphics card that was not integrated, so I wasn't too worried about the graphics, but then that lowered the battery life.

 

No, that's the 8P8C Ethernet jack.

...which made me notice that while there's three USB ports now, it seems the 6P2C modem jack from the old Z is gone along with the Firewire S400.

 

So I was checking it out and the current Z is 1.3" according to Best Buy website (Sony site Spec tab is not working right now) and the new Z according to the New Sony Z website is 1". So it looks like it trully is slimmer, which might be why their is a battery bump because they could not make the battery slimmer.

 

Hooray, finally I can configure my Z series with three USB humping dogs!!

 

Any idea if is going to be available a model with 1366x768 resolution?

 

Anyone else planning on canceling their order on the UL30VT? Mine is scheduled to ship next week but now that i saw this, I'm quite tempted to hop over..

 

There are not quite comparable products and that's clearly reflected in the price of the Z which should be *at least* twice of the UL30VT.

 

wow, that little alienware packs a punch! didn't realize what a huge jump the 335m is over the 330m!! ah well, still getting the new Z

 

Our reasons to consider the Z over the old SR and the new S are the same. Only I wonder why you would say the S won't have hybrid graphics?

 

Because the S is for Sale in Europe and there is no mention of Hybrid graphics. Haven't seen a pic with a switch like the Z has either. You can select a 310 graphics card so it won't be dedicated, but it doesn't look like you will be able to switch between the dedicated and the onboard GC.

 

Make no mistake that the Z is a worthy upgrade over the S and is worth the price that Sony is charging for it. Essentially, the old "SZ" version was split out into the higher-end "Z" and the lower-tiered "SR", when the current versions were released.

But in my opinion, unless you truly need the maxed-out version of the Z, and is happy with a lower-specced one, then the S-series (13.3" screen), is worthy of being considered too. For instance, I assume that the Z will come with the GT 330 exclusively. The S-series will pretty certainly come with a GT 310 as the primary card, with an upgrade option (via CTO) to the GT 330. Thus, if you go the CTO route, you can spec out an S-series pretty well, is my understanding - at a significant enough discount over a Z.

Either way, the "hybrid" nature of the graphics is, IMO, due to the CPU chip itself containing a built-in graphics processor, in the newer generation of Intel chips. This is in addition to the dedicated graphics card (GT 310 etc). Thus even when not using the dedicated (and power hungry) dedicated graphics feature, the built-in graphics capability in the i3/i5/i7 CPUs, by themselves are pretty decent.

But I guess the "Z" has truly drawn you with its charms (nothing wrong with that ) and it is a truly slick player. Just that if you are getting a Z, I personally would wait a bit and go with the newer version, unless you are getting a substantial discount for the current version.

 

If I wait, I will consider the S again, depending on how the screen looks. I really don't like glossy screens.

The UK has these for sale with CTO and the base S has a integrated card with an option of the 310, the 330 is not an option at all. But I can't find where the S talks about hybrid like the Z does. I would think if they both had it, that they would advertise it more on the S.

 

EU CTO sites really have crappy information about the products they sell. Not in that they provide wrong information, but it is often incomplete in some way or another.

 

Hi,

Does anyone know when will the new Z be available?

In February or late spring? What does late spring mean? June?

Thanks!

 

Late Spring would mean around end of April

 

impressive... the glossy carbon fiber in the signature collection starts at 4499.99.

i probably just missed it but has someone linked closeup photos of the sides showing the ports?

thanks!

 

In the US it will start being available last week of February/first week of March.

 

Thanks for the info.

Do you have any idea regarding release dates in Asia or more specifically Japan?


Thanks!

 

No kidding. There's still no information at all on Sonystyle Japan. The guys over at the 2-channel thread are wondering what's going on. Lots of people here are also obsessing over USB 3.0 for some reason. The only thing I regularly use USB for is my USB>Serial adapter, at a whopping 9600 baud.

 

I also did not like having the 2 USB ports right next to each other in the SR; they are on opposite sides on the Z

 

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A bit on the pricey side, but sooo nice. I'll take one in black with the higher end i5 cpu.

 

I gotta say.. I feel you are in a definite minority in that regard. Personally, USB 3.0 would be a welcomed feature (if only for being more "future proof'), but not a deal breaker.

Having esata or 3.0 is really noticeable when you are using external hdds.

 

USB 3.0 won't be future proofing anything if Lightpeak takes off next year.

Engadget hands on photos

 

Hands on with the Z. http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/07/...es-hands-on-lean-and-green-vs-gam/1#c24523748

 

There is difference between preparing for the future and having access to the best technology. The USB interface is a classic strong lock-in, involving interdependent products and actors. Changing the socio-technological regime to accept Lightpeak as a replacement for the usb interface is going to be a though job, even for Intel.

Considering the massive increase in performance, I do think it will grow in popularity eventually, meaning the appearance of USB 3.0 could be seen as a sinking-ship effect, but it will be a while yet. There is large sector which gains from continueing with usb technology, whereas adopting Lightpeak would put them at a disadvantage compared to companies already working elsewhere with optics and fibers. Besides, the usb interface has at least one major benefit over Lightpeak, which is that it can supply power to the connected devices. For some products this is a crucial, or at least very important, feature.

Untill, and if, Lightpeak really does appear to break through, it would only needlessly increase the price and canabalize a useful port. For the near future USB 3.0 ports still make more sense. Perhaps in 2 or 3 years Lightpeak becomes interesting enough to replace one of the USB ports. Before that the limited availability of products and limited availability of ports in other PCs/notebooks will likely make the port to be of little use.

Thanks for the engadget link btw.

 

So when the battery is taken out, the hump at the back of the laptop base is merely two thin protruding plastic or metal legs with no electronic components within them. They are just there to tilt the laptop to a more comfortable position for a user. Otherwise, the overall structure of the new Vaio Z is noticeably thinner, which I already like.

 

New Vaio Z is 1in thick old is 1.3in thick, or so I have read.

 

Is this link posted before?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnTWipoBAT4

According to this, the Z is sticking with a 13.1" screen and has 3G wireless.

 

Nope, not posted before.... nice find though; nothing new, but nice eye candy none-the-less.

 

woah, i'm in love

 

Wow Alienware did pretty well with that 11.6 M1X or whatever it is called lol. It is has kind of stolen the thunder of the Z a little because of how powerful it is. Battery life will be good because it has switchable graphics and a ULV processor and it doesn't seem that thick considering. The price seems very decent also. The design is not all to my liking at all to say the least but the gaming types probably will like it. Of course it only has a ULV but for most tasks it will be enough.

Some people when they measure the thickness of notebooks don't seem to include say if the battery protrudes from the bottom or if the laptop has metal legs etc. I can think of several official specs that exclude this. I know my TT is less than 1" i think if i exclude these measurements.

The Z though appears to be pretty perfect, goodness knows though what this will be priced though in the EU.

 

Only downside with Alienware 11x is the large bezel, and the lack of a removable battery. It's almost the same size the Vaio Z if I am not mistaken, and for that reason why I'd rather get a Z. Now hopefully Sony will learn from that and gives us a Vaio TT with nvidia gpu, even if its the lower end model.

 

Does anyone know what those three shortcut buttons to the left of the eject on top right do?

1. ASSIST?
2. ????????
3. Vaio?
4. EJECT

 

Well I would guess what Eject does One of them could be presentation assistant and another one maybe VAIO Control Center.

 

I'm quite curious as to (heaven forbid) what sort of defects the new Z will roll out with. Unfortunately, Sony don't have the best record, and from what I understand, even the recent NW series has problems with the keyboard and battery drain...

I would love to see the batt. drain sorted out but not holding my breath. The diagonal line issue (PWM theory as some call it) as well. And the marks on the screen - that was solved with that hideous palm rest which at the minimum I hope ain't glossy...

 

Infortunately, diagonal line issue is still there
http://pc.watch.impress.co.jp/img/pcw/docs/340/889/html/10.jpg.html
you can see them in that picture.

And It'll likely to have overheating problems due to 330M (IMO)

 

I just read Assist is meant to increase the contrast of the screen, or something like that. Unfortunately I don't know where. It didn't interest me much, so I moved on quickly.

Edit: Found it again. On closer inspection it appeared the image of the assist button and the text are not related.

 

I was really hoping they would fix those lines...

 

How about the battery drain issue, is it still there?