New models are out, have you placed your order yet?

Let's keep track of how many of us placed order on the new models and what they are getting okay?

 

good to know, I am sure certain percentage of people will return it and I'll pick it up from refurbished section

 

How come? Many new models look good though.

 

I only got my SZ about 3 weeks back and I'll stay with it as long as it lasts.

I like it a lot (also the keyboard) its powerful enough for me and I strongly dislike the new designs.

If they continue manufacturing hinges like that and keyboards like that I'll probably have to stop using a computer

 

Im still 50-50 with the SR and Z, but am leaning towards the Z now, because someone said that they will most likely ship a week before the date they said which is the 15. And i need mine by the 20th.

 

I will wait until someone places a comprehensive review and until I try it myself on display at nearby store.

 

Ok. Here's what I ordered:

Sony VAIO VGN-FW190 Titanium Gray with black keyboard
2.53 Ghz T9400 CPU (35 watt), 6MB L2 cache, 1066 FSB, 45nm process
4GB DDR2 800Mhz RAM
16.4" 1600x900 XBRITE-HiColor Screen
ATI Radeon HD 3470 with 256 MB, 55nm process
320 GB 5400 rpm SATA HDD
Blu-ray burner
802.11a/b/g/n WiFi with Bluetooth
Vista Home Premium
Standard 1 year warranty
$100 discount
Free shipping

Pre-tax price: $1849.99
Estimated ship date: July 30

 

Very nice....

 

WAIT, JULY 30th? r u serious?

 

Completely. My order status was just updated this afternoon with that date.

 

How come u didnt get the extended warranty

 

@TetonWolf: Congrat. on the new FW. can't wait to get feedback from you.

 

$349 on a $1500 purchase didn't make sense. I'll just pay per incident or buy a new laptop. And most problems will happen in the first year (infant mortality). Sony support for regular warranty is excellent.

 

Thanks. I've got all my benchmark tools ready to go!! We'll see what this "low power/low temp" baby really has under the hood.

 

I know this question may seem "not so smart" but with the blue-ray read only drive, will one be able to still burn dvds and cds?

and is the upgrade to a larger battery in the fw for $100 really worth it?

 

Yes one will.
Also, conventional drives use a red laser, blue ray uses a blue one.
(If you checked the Sony manual you could have seen the answer also)

 

Thanks devlevmc

hey.. how come you got a $100 discount if you dont mind me asking? Is there a coupon or something? And pls if anybody has one..

 

TetonWolf- does that $100 promotional deal, come with free shiping , or did you do something else for that.

 

The $100 discount is on top of free shipping. Just ask for the discount and tell them you can get 4% off just by going through eBates but you'd rather give them a shot at making the sale (they make comission).

 

TetonWolf, I looked at the FW today. I can't recall, did you order yours with the ECO screen, or the Hi-Color?

 

I ordered the HiColor. Like you, I also saw FW at Sony store and it had ECO screen which I was not impressed with. I saw the same thing you did (poor off-axis viewing). The Sony press conference in Berlin showed the FW with HiColor and it was much better -- particularly off-axis. However, LED-backlit screens are going to be better (like SR & Z) so we need to expect FW HiColor to be very nice but not like the Z.

 

Bummer. I was very impressed with the SR's screen. With 1600x900 resolution, I was really hoping the FW's HiColor screen would be at least as nice as the SR's.

 

By the way, did you catch in that video where the French (??) guy said: "the FW Series comes with the best screen we ever brought to market" ?

 

I ordered the HiColor. Like you, I also saw FW at Sony store and it had ECO screen which I was not impressed with. I saw the same thing you did (poor off-axis viewing). The Sony press conference in Berlin showed the FW with HiColor and it was much better -- particularly off-axis. However, LED-backlit screens are going to be better (like SR & Z) so we need to expect FW HiColor to be very nice but not like the Z.

 

so tentonwolf, you called sonystyle and asked for the $100 discount and just got it??? i'm about to order an fw and a $100 discount would be really helpful

 

YES. He called. Several times. He asked. Each time. He got it. Each time.

Does this need to be a sticky ??

 

I'll be placing my order tomorrow morning for a Z and will try the 100 discount thing. hopefully everything goes smoothly.

 

Well, it just might be as good as the SR...or better (the Z is king though). We don't know yet. LED-backlit does not guarantee high quality. The panel still has to be good. So if the FW HiColor panel is extraordinary, it may in fact be "stunning" as several reviews have said...regardless of LED backlighting.

 

Did you notice my post above? The French guy in the Berlin video said: "the FW Series comes with the best screen we ever brought to market."

I guess we'll see...

 

I don't think he was including their LED backlit screens. They are in a different league because LED is so superior. He was likely referring to main stream CCFL flat panels for their standard notebooks (CR, FZ, AR, NR, etc.).

 

I don't agree on that one. There are is good LEDs and bad LEDs. I've seen quite a few double lamp CCFL screens from Sony and HP that look better than LED screens from Dell 1330 for example.

I would have to see the high color double lamp FW next to the ECO LED screen of SR to make a call on it.

I do believe that Z will have a better screen than FW, just from the specs.

 

What kind of Dvd drives are they putting in these new models? My VGN is only a year and a half old and the DVD drive is going out (I've done all the fixes so don't go there).

If they're still using Mat****a, notice it even has to be censored, or Panasonic, I won't be getting another VAIO.

Mat$hita

 

Well, hopefully we'll be able to see an FW with HiColor soon.

I'll be giving up an amazing external monitor (Dell 20" with S-IPS panel) so I'd really like my next laptop to have the best screen possible. Well, within reason -- I know the Z's will be better, but I want something larger.

 

I too have heard bad things about the Mat****a drives. Is there any way to find out what drives they're using in the Z, SR and FW laptops?


Whoa, why can't we say that word on this forum? Matsheeta. There.

 

I've seen the FW single lamp and FW double lamp today.

The single lamp is just an average good LCD screen, like you may find on one of the better Asus or Acer laptops. I do not think working outside will be comfortable because the brightness is to low to overcome the reflection I expect.

The double lamp is noticably brighter, has better contrast and colors look deeper. I am expecting the double lamp to be suitable for working outside.

Here's a quick pic of of the double lamp.

 

Ahaaa... very good to hear. Thanks for that.

What where your overall thoughts?

 

Oh, I assume the double-lamp is the HiColor, right?

 

Yep HiColor, I'll write down my overall impression tonight.

 

Thanks !

 

Overall thoughts: it has a nice 'industrial steel' look to it. I would prefer the white lid over the darkgrey lid I think. Keyboard felt excellent, got used to it very quick.

Comparing the screen to SZ, the SZ is brighter, but the color reproduction of the FW is superior in my opinion. It has similar color reproduction to TZ.

But overall 16.4 inch is not portable enough to me, that's why I am more into 12"-14" laptops.

Funny thing is I did not even think about the 1600*900 resolution, as if someone had already increased the DPI. The screen looked excellent and and no time I felt the letters were too small. Strange.

One thing I did not find very pretty was the speaker area, but I'd get used to it quickly.

 

Interesting. The FW Eco screen colors were dull in comparison to the SR, and the SR had much blacker blacks. Good to know the HiColor really is better.

Wait... are you saying it was set at 120, or 96?

Agreed. Sony could have done better here.

 

Ok I have not seen the SR screen yet. I'm expecting the SR screen to be similar to SZ but maybe it is not. I don't know.

No I don't know. What I'm trying to say is that while I was playing with it at no time did I have any thought about letters appearing small. I did not check DPI settings. But if had to guess I would say it was set to 120.

 

I see. I tried to check on the ones I looked at, but that area was password protected -- and the Sony guys were fairly clueless.