Official Canadian vaio user thread

Hi guys, I got the Z555 today as well.

Here was my experience dealing with my local Sony Store:

First, I decided I was going to call up a few stores to check their stock status of this computer before I arrived. The first store I called the guy on the other end was very polite and helpful. I asked him to check how many units he had left and he told me they had one. He asked when I was interested in picking this laptop up and I told him today and he went straight to business and told me he could offer me a discount of $80 if I purchased this machine and a $100 discount if I purchased it with an extended warranty. I asked him right away if I would be able to inspect the screen for dead pixels before I brought it home with me and he told me it would not be a problem. He then asked if I wanted him to place it on hold for me and of course I said yes!

After getting to the Sony store I was surprised by how slick the machine actually looked. Coming from a black MacBook, I can definitely appreciate the stylish design of this small laptop. Overall, I've drooled over pics of this machine for the last month so by the time I got to the store it pretty much was what I was expecting it would be.

After playing with it for 10-20 minutes, I decided that I was going to buy it and I told the sales associate to get this model ready for me. He took it out and allowed me to inspect the screen for dead pixels. I didn't see any and I told him that it looked good. He let me know that if I get home and find one, just to bring it back and they'll take care of me, no problem!

Afterwards, I looked at some mice, and didn't really care for ones Sony offered. I also wanted to look at some cases and I ended up picking one up that I am really happy with. I got it for a good price, as it was designed for the older sz models I believe and was on clearance. I'll post more information about it and pictures of it later tonight in the "Z sleeve thread." He told me that he could take the tax off any accessory that I needed, however, I decided to come back another time to purchase headphones and the cables I needed. I had already spent too much money today.

Lastly, I decided to purchase a one year extended warranty for $199 (2 years total warranty), however, just now I feel like I might have made a mistake and I might go back in the next two weeks and get them to change it to a two year extended warranty (3 years total warranty) for $329. I guess an extra $129 for an entire year of peace of mind is worth it, isnt it. I hope this wont be too much trouble to add another year. I'd like to note, that they only let you add an extra 2 years to your extended warranty, for a grand total of three years. I opted out of purchasing accidental damage coverage, to me it didn't really seem worth it, as it would have been close to $800 to add this coverage.

I purchased this laptop in British Columbia, Canada. If anyone is interested in knowing the exact location of the Sony Store where I purchased my machine or the associate who helped me, private message me and I will let you know. I'm sure all of the Sony Stores will grant their associates the same freedom when it comes to discounting. The associate who helped me was very helpful and the rest of the associates working at the sony store where I purchased my laptop were also friendly and helpful.

What surprised me about the z:

The stainless steel has a hint of purple in it, however it doesn't bother me. In fact, you can only ever notice it under certain lighting conditions. The machine felt solid, except for the sides of the laptop and in particular, the flimsy ethernet port cover doesn't feel as solid as it should. Compared to the SR, this machine looks noticeably smaller. The wide profile of this machine would make it ideal for students who are sitting in classrooms with it. I also found the weight very reasonable, given the size of this machine.

The display was beautiful, crisp, and bright and more importantly 1600x900, not 1366x768. One of the reasons I wanted to pick up this laptop so soon (I was going to wait another month) was I decided I wanted the higher resolution display and after hearing one members report that Sony would only be supplying this high resolution display temporily until their stock of lower resolution screens recovers, I didn't want to risk missing out on this bonus, especially considering most stores in my area are already sold out. Who knows, the next batch coming in October might be back to the intended 1366x768 and I would probably be kicking myself for missing out on this opportunity. I actually found the display perfect. I was beginning to think after reading some reports here that the higher resolution screen might indeed be too small, but it isn't. It is very sharp and crisp and text, while small is perfectly readable for someone with good eyesight. Now keep in mind, these are my first impressions of spending 20 minutes with this laptop, so my mind might change after I use it for a longer period of time. Overall, I'm pretty confident I've made the right choice here, as far as opting for 1600x900. I love the extra screen real estate on such a small and compact laptop!

The pink on the keys actually isn't as bad as the keys themselves are darker on the Z. On the SR, the pink is much more noticeable and stands out much more, especially on the silver model. The bilingual keyboard, while annoying and unnecessary is a small thing I was and still am unhappy about, but it is by no means a deal breaker and I doubt I'll be thinking much about it a few months from now.

I think the thing that surprised me the most was how small the keys ended up being. They are definitely a little bit smaller than the chicklet keys found on a MacBook. For people who have larger hands, I would strongly recommended that you try out this keyboard before you make a purchase.

Okay that's all for now. Torontoguy beat me with the first pictures, but I'll post some as well, later tonight. As well, I'll take some pictures of the case I purchased at the Sony store and I'll post those pictures in it's respective thread.

 

TorontoGuy, thanks for the pics & forestboy, thanks for the writeup. I just did the math, having the 1600x900 screen thrown in is a $184 savings (vs. configuring a Z590 to the same specs on sonystyle.ca) and a $300 savings relative to the U.S. model (U.S. model probably costs more in part because of the 3G sprint modem). So it IS tempting to go & buy one before they go back to using the lower res screens on the Z555....

 

My only concern with doing that is how everything looks when you don't run at its native resolution?

 

Hey! I also got the 3 year Warrenty! I paid $220 for it.

Just to show you how beautiful this screen is with no screen leakage. This is on with no desktop icons and auto-hide task bar on.

http://i452.photobucket.com/albums/qq245/torontoguyyy/DSCN0092.jpg

 

Ok heres my basic review:

BEAUTIFUL screen. I first opened this laptop in the store, and it shined brighter than the sun. Upon on'ing the laptop, everything was whiper quiet, fan is very quiet, blowing out nice cool air. I couldnt belive like the pic above, when I had it on black background, it was so solid, I was like did this thing turn off? lol. Now this is what really impressed me, speed, how fast this thing goes. All that crap was loaded on the machine, and still it went really fast, way faster than my old SZ780. Smooth as silk. Typing is easy as peasy, the 1600x res illl honestly never use, but its great to have and looks really good with it on. Makes the screen look big yet small. Currently I am creating a recovery CD, and then ill put my Vista Ultimate Sp1 on. Even my girl loves this laptop, she wanted to blow it instead of me loll. (Inside joke). Very light, but that stupid battery HAS to add that extra weight, that they need to do somethiing about definitley, but still light. Furthur testin will take place later on.

Oh yea and I decided to get the 3 year warrenty.

 

Sooo fat soo good

 

hey toronto guy, i noticed that in the pics you posted, your keyboard seems to have some more symbols and differs from the pics shown on the vaio website... also your enter button is more oversized than being rectangular as show on the sonystyle web pics.. what kinda keyboard did you get?

ALSO, i want to ask how loud the fans are compared to the sz? the fans on my sz are constantly on, and audible when just checking email or surfing sites...

thanks

 

The 1600 x 900 resolution is great ... more so for photo's and movies imo ....

I say that because if you're going to buy a 1600 x 900 resolution with the intention of running it at 1280 x 768 you do realize that your font's aren't going to look as crisp and clear, definatetly not as clear as it would be if you had the 1366 x 768 display and run it in its native resolution.

(You can search for and read FenderP's comments about his experience with the resolution here in this forum)

One of the features of this notebook is it's incredibly clear/sharp screen, it's the main reason why a lot of people buy it. But, you're short changing yourself if you buy a 1600 x 900 res with the intention of viewing text at 1280 x 768 - the sharp, crisp look is gone.

That's normal when running a display in other than its native resolution you loose sharpness and some software programs do a poor job of resizing and it can be frustrating ... hence the reason I went for the 1366 x 768 screen, it's extremely clear and sharp not just for photo's/movies but for reading all sizes of text too.

If you have any doubts about your resolution read FenderP's comments as I mentioned, it may help because if you're not 'sure' then it's fooliish to spend over $2,000 on a machine when it's very easy and no more expensive to order a Z from the US with the exact spec's/resolution that you want.

In Canada we get what they give us, you can't even order a Lenovo T400/500 or a Latitude with an LED screen in Canada yet it's a standard option in the US from the first day they launched them.

Anyway, be sure, like I said in a previous post I learned the hard way ... I bought the Dell D820 with a 1600 x 900 resolution, thought the font was a little small, I resized it from its normal resolution, tried the DPI settings too, I figured it worked 'ok', not great but good enough.

It wasn't until I got the Sony Z and then the Thinkpad running at a native resolution of 1280 x 768 that I really realized how bad a mistake changing the Dell from it's native resolution was, I stared at fuzzy/blurry text for longer than I needed too, more eye strain than necessary for sure all because I 'thought' changing the DPI or from the native resolution would work perfect, it doesn't. If you wonder, compare your re-sized display beside a notebook running in it's native resolution of 1280 x 768. You may be surprised.

 

I can't wait to get mine. I'm getting it through CTO so it's gonna be a couple of weeks.

 

TorontoGuy: thanks for posting pictures. Please tell me what you think of the keyboard, es[specially the left shift key which is quite small, and the enter key. When you type, do you have to overcome any difficulty? Thanks.

yuzi/uniquestco: I tried to do the CTO, but there is no option for keyboard. So, what kind of keyboard come with your CTO? BTW, when I tried to checkout, it dropped the price by $100 (for some Dance Party VIP status). So the net difference would be $80 compared to the Z555 in the store.

 

Really? I didn't know there was a discount. I'm doing the CTO through the store with the store manager because he's going to give me a few accessories.

 

yuzi: I am planning to do as you did. I have to order through a Canadian store, since I have a store gift card which I have to use (a credit for returning my TZ47CNB). What kind of accessory did you get?

 

Yea I just checked the site and you're right we get a $100 discount. Do you know if it's just for today or longer?
I'm not sure yet, he hasn't told me exactly. He will give me a case for sure but I also want the extended battery or warranty.

 

For those who are curious, the left shift key is very small and in my oppinion is too small to easily use. I may be able to adjust to it after awhile, but it will definitely take some time. I am constantly missing it at the moment. By comparison, the right shift key is very large and for people who often use the key on this side of the keyboard you'll be very happy with it's large size.

The extra symbols on the Canadian model z555 is due to the fact that Sony is shipping the billingual (french and english) keyboard as standard on all Canadian sony vaio laptop models. To my knowledge, you can't change this or request a different keyboard - in other words you are stuck with this keyboard if you order/buy your vaio through a Canadian channel.

I didn't get a chance to post photos yesterday, but I'll try to set some time aside later tonight to do this.

 

thanks forest, could you also provide a little insight on the noise of the fans on the Z?

 

Sure, compared to my MacBook, the fan on the z555 is noisier. I would say that so far it is okay, but there are other notebooks that are a little quieter. I find the hard drive clicks much noisier compared to the MacBook, but it isn't something that I have found intrusive.

I'm planning to do a short comparison review between these two laptops as soon as I have a little more spare time.

 

Does anyone know how long this $100 Dance Party VIP discount will last for on the sonystyle.ca?

 

Did anyone buy and receive a Z590 or 540 CTO in Canada? If so, does it come with the US or Canadian keyboard (multi-colored buttons).

 

I asked a Manager at SonyStyle store if I can order US keyboard. He said he will asked Sony Canada. I'll post his answer once I hear from him

 

It'd be awesome if they let us special order the US keyboard, though I don't think it's particularly likely.. I'm almost tempted to buy one in the U.S., but I don't know that it's really worth the price difference & potential warranty hassles.

 

ForestBoy: thanks for your info on the left shift key on the keyboard. Are you getting better now with more practice? What about the return key? Did you miss it sometimes as well, since there is an extra key beside it? Anyone elso can comment on it?

 

I just noticed that Z series does not have the built-in WWAN (the TZ series had one but is tied to Bell). Can someone confirm this please. Altho I don't plan on using it, nevertheless, it is an extra that is missing?

 

That's correct about the keyboards. SonyStyle stores in Canada have only the Canadian multilingual keyboard, at least on their laptops. My friend recently bought a Sony Canada laptop, which I dislike because to left of Z key is backslash key, and Shift key is to left of that.

On a standard US keyboard, Shift key is immediately beside Z key. On Canadian multilingual keyboard the backslash key is where we touch typists would normally expect the Shift key.

The result is that on Sony Canada laptops I keep hitting the backslash key when I want the Shift key.

I won't buy a Sony laptop unless I can have a standard US keyboard.

 

Just got my canadian Z... no weird pink keys.. this looks like a us keyboard. Btw, this is a CTO.

 

is it possible to upload a picture of your keyboard joeskie??

CTO laptops are assembled in the states correct? California i believe?

 

Yes, assembled in Cali. I will upload a picture later this afternoon, but afaik, it's a US Keyboard.

 

I don't have access to a cam until later today. this is it though

 

ohhh nice! what are your Z specs?

btw, on the sonystyle.ca site, where can you configure which resolution you want? i can't seem to find the option.

 

540CTO, 2.4ghz, 3gb, 200gb 7200rpm

That's it I think.

 

I get the idea here in the Canadian Z owners thread that while some of you really don't mind that Sony made a mistake in the advertised resolution and are doing okay with the 1600 x 900 others seem unsure about it,

if so then read through the post below, it will give you some more insight from an end users point of view > http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=294632

 

That's awesome -- so it looks like ordering a Canadian CTO will get you the U.S. keyboard?

 

Well I'm not going to guarantee that. But that's how it went for me. No complaints!

 

So I finally bought my Z590 yesterday through CTO since they had the $100 discount. However, I won't have it until Oct. 21st. They're out of stock. I ordered it through the store manager at Leaside who did it through CTO and gave me free shipping and also since it's taking more than a month for me to get it he gave me a brand new FW withe BLU-RAY to use in the meantime.
I'm excited and can't wait to get my Z.

 

That is a great deal, an FW to use until you Z comes! I should consider that as well. What is the manager's name?

 

Gotta say I have no complaints with my z

 

Good news guys! I just called the Sony Store and they are going to let me exchange my z for a new one! All I have to do is wait for their new shipment to come in.

 

forestboy

which rep/store did you get ur z from?

I am in Richmond myself.

Thanks

 

So ive been playing around with the laptop, FANTASTICC. I had one issue, where the DVD rom sometimes doesnt work, it just disappears from "My Computer", but I found out its a Vista issue with all laptops and Microsoft is taking action so not to wry for those of u that may have the same problem. I did a nice clean install of Vista Ultimate SP1, all drivers worked perfectly. Screen on this laptop is almost flawless, its so crisp and beautiful with almost no bleeding. So I tested BF2 and runs perfectly. Laptop gets slighty warn at the bottom, but no issue. I still have yet to test the battery and other games. Fan is sometimes slightlyyy on the loud side, but again no issue.


QUESTION though, I hooked it up to my TV via HDMI of course, and does anyone know how I can get sound from my laptop to the TV playing a movie or something??? Thanks.
__________________

 

Thanks for the quick review.

What is this "almost no bleeding"? If you watch a movie with a dark scene, do you see the bleeding? Does it distract you from the movie?

 

Oh hell no, almost no bleeding as in hardly any white light leaking out, or screen leakage. Blacks are very black, whites are very white. So even if I put a black background, theres no white leaking out from the top or bottom, well just a little. I posted a pic a thread or so back I believe on my screen in a black background. Luckily I got an almost flawless screen, no lines no nothing but beautiful color.

 

This is the greatest ****ing laptop ever made man, everyone I show is astonished, good job Sony. I still yet to find a serious flaw if any at all.

 

How is light leakage? I saw a bit on my TZ, how is yours?

 

Did you upgrade ur warrenty toronto guy? What kind of warrenty you'll get if you dont purchase any extended warrenty?
And did you check the dead pixel? what if we find any dead pixel on screen? Do they exhange?

 

Yea I mentioned before, basically no screen leakage for me, veryyy slighty maybe.

 

You get a 1 year warrenty, I had purchased a 2 years additional warrenty in total of 3 years warrenty. My screen is almost flawless, nothing but beautiful color. I had posted a picture of it a few threads back.

 

By the way, in my task bar menu as far as battery life is concerned, its only showing me 3hrs and 25 mins. Is that normal? Is that an accurate reading? Or is there a Vaio battery software im not aware of? that tells you accurate tbeery life??

 

Have you check the dead pixel yourself? Usually the dead pixel issues occur in some time after your purchase it. I dont wanna upset you at all, this is what I experienced on my S type, and for several times!

 

Yea bro, I checked all and don't want to think about it cuz the more you do that, believe it or not, you'll bring it upon yourself. Your subconscious mind will attract problems. So im just gonna use my laptop and be happy like I have been so far, and so far so good. But hey thanks for the head up though!

 

I totally agree with you, this is just a reminder cuz I have been sufferring from this for a long time.
The dead pixel first would not appear than it became more and more obvious. Luckily I have warrenty and they changed my screen...but three times! Almost every year from the time I own it.
I am still using my S, it is 1.6Hz cpu, 1G memory, 60G HD 4200rpm, ATI 9700, the performance and everything is still fine though it's almost 4 yrs old except the fan (the fan screwed me up for a few times but it's ok now)
The only thing that I cant stand is the screen, there are leakage of dust in the lower side of the screen, can you believe it? It's so annoying but I still have to face it everyday!
I will definitely get a Z later this year. Maybe wait until November to see if they do some upgrades on graphics or sth else.

 

The manager called back today. It is English keyboard on CTO. But, I will not order now, I will wait to see what the new TZ looks like. Hopefully soon.