OK, I am buying an SZ491N/X

After weeks of researching around this and other notebook forums, I have decided to get the SZ491N/X with the premium carbon fiber. I am buying it from Amazon.com and here is what's in my Amazon shopping basket right now:

1 x Sony VAIO VGN-SZ491N/X $2,729.99
1 x Sony VAIO SZ Series Docking Station $166.99
1 x Kensington 33347 Travel Cable Winder $19.99
1 x Kensington 120 Watt AC/DC Power Adapter $111.62
1 x Sony VAIO Slim Notebook Carrying Case $35.99

So what do you think, is this a good buy? any suggestions for any other accessories that I need to get? I am proceeding with the checkout process somtime later today.

 

I don't know, is the super premium carbon fiber (where you can see some of the lines/etc. of the carbon fiber in the case) that important to you? Practically speaking I could barely notice the difference, and thought the price premium compared to the "lower end" premium SZ models (like the SZ450 or SZ460) wasn't really worth it......... it just doesn't make sense to me to pay so much more when, say, the $2350 (or cheaper) SZ460 has the same LED backlit screen, and the exact same benefits of the carbon fibre lid other than the fact that the lid is black and you can't "see" the fibre.

 

Oh yeah, also, rather than the Kensington adaptor, you might want to take a look at Sony's own "stick" AC adaptor:

http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/...e=acc_PCAccessories_BatteriesPower_ACAdapters

It also looks pretty nice, is cheaper, and saves the trouble of having to order the tip for the SZ series (it isn't included by default with the Kensington adapter).

 

Yup, I think it worth paying the extra $200. After seeing them both the black and the premium SZ's next to each other, you will definitely go for the premium.

 

Thanks Zadillo for your recommendation. I was not aware of this cool stick adaptor. I am deleting the Kensington adaptor and getting this instead.

Any suggestions for a bluetooth compact mouse and a notebook sleeve that fits the SZ perfectly?

 

Just to clarify, which premium SZ are you talking about? There are multiple "premium SZ's", all of which feature LED backlighting and carbon fibre lids..... it's just the highest end ones that have the "visible" carbon fiber.

I don't know, if it is worth it to you, that's cool.......... just personally, I didn't even notice that much difference in the look of the "visible" carbon fiber vs. the black carbon fiber lid of the SZ460, and didn't think the price difference of $379 (the $2729 price difference of the SZ491 vs. the $2350 price of the SZ460) was really worth it.

But if it is worth it to you, then you should be fine. Any of the premium SZ's are great, and the LED backlit screens are amazing.

Although I personally would want to know what Sony was doing for Santa Rosa - if I knew a Santa Rosa-based SZ update was coming in may or june, I'm not so sure I'd invest so much in an SZ491 right now.

-Zadillo

 

I don't have a recommendation for a bluetooth compact mouse since I haven't used any; however, I did use the Logitech VX Revolution with my SZ, and it worked great. Even though the VX Revolution isn't bluetooth, it still works quite well; it has a very tiny little adaptor that stores inside the mouse and just pops out when you need it to, and it works immediately once you plug it in.

As far as notebook sleeves, Sony makes one specifically for the SZ that is very nice and protects it quite well.... it costs about $99.... forget the specific model, but you should be able to find it. It's not just a sleeve, it also is designed to protect it, so it's a little bigger.

I personally went with the Kensington Compact Duo case; this is actually designed for tablet PC's, but it fit the SZ very well, and the outside pocket has plenty of room for the power adaptor and spare battery, which was important to me.

 

I recommend the WaterField notebook sleeves & the Logitech V270 Bluetooth mouse.

 

I was looking at the 2.16GHz SZs, the VGN-SZ470N/C with the black carbon fiber and the VGN-SZ491N/X with the premium carbon fiber.

lucky me, Amazon decided to drop the price of the SZ491 from $2,729 to $2,669 on the same day while it was in my shopping basket. So it made the decision to go for premium CF a little easier for me. The price difference compared to $2,505 black CF VGN-SZ470N/C came down to only $164 after the price drop on the lovely SZ491

I would have liked to get a Santa Rosa based SZ5xx but I couldn't wait to June or July to buy a notebook. Also I belive that the new Santa Rosa SZs would be very expensive initially and it might take a while after their release for the prices to come down.

 

I decided to get the MoGo Mouse, Wireless 2-button Bluetooth Mouse. It looks neat and it can be charged and stored inside the notebook itself, it goes into the PCMCIA card slot. The only down side with this super slim mouse that it does not have a scroll wheel or a third button.

For the carrying case and sleeve, I have ordered the Sony VAIO Slim Notebook Carrying Case and the Marware Sportfolio Sleeve 13" MacBook Case hoping that it will fit my vaio SZ. The Sony sleeve seems to be heavy and a bit expensive.

Also while shopping around Amazon I found an ExpressCard Bluetooth Media Remote. It looks cool and will be handy for the Vista media center once I upgrade to ultimate, but I am not sure if will it work with the SZ as someone mentioned in the comments that it might not charge in Sony notebooks expresscard slot. I decided to order it anyway and give it a try.