Post your i7/i5 Sony Z pre-orders here

I am interested in those of you who have already pre-ordered Signature or CTO, or even bare bones Sony Z models. Add your reasons if you wish. Also those who intend to pre-order or buy in the store when they arrive; feel free to tell us what your dream machine will have. I hope serious buyers will reply here.

I am considering CTO:
VPCZ1190x Windows 7 Pro 64 bit w/ XP Pro downgrade
Premium Carbon Fiber
No Verizon (have MyWi on my iPhone which makes the iPhone a wireless hotspot, yes really*.)
128 gig (I have 500 and two 250 gig ext. hard drives at home for storage)
i5-540M CPU
Standard battery
Total w/ tax and 3 year warranty = $2384 (I feel strongly about a 3 yr warranty on this new version)


I am compelled to wait, due to the probability that in-store models will have nearly the same specs, and I have an XP install disk at home if I ever desire to downgrade. Also I want to see Apple's MBP offerings, though I doubt they will be able to pull off something as cool as the new Z.
I may get a Playstation 3 if I ever want to go Blu-ray and save $200. I see little point in going places where there will not be flat screen TV's to hook-up to a Blu-Ray Z, as I don't get out much anyway.

*Note: iPhones purchased after October 2009 may not be compatible with MyWi due to the iPhones firmware.

 

I have placed an order for two VPCZ11FHX/XQ (Signature Glossy Carbon)
With the 3year Accidental Damage Warranty
Luckily I've got some connections within sony so the price of each Z came down to $3824.99 plus $399.99 for the additional warranty of each.

One is for myself and the other for my cousin.
I am traveling a lot so I intend to swap the internal Verizon mini-PCIe card for an unlocked gobi that I can use with any SIM card.

Order placed through: Sony Family Center
Date of order: Friday Feb 12, 2010
Estimated Ship Date: On backorder. We will notify you by e-mail once your order has shipped.

I will update this section as I get order status updates.

 

Why use MyWi when you can just use the built-in tethering? It's just as, and possible more faster.

 

Order shipping date approx March 16th

• i7-620m cpu
• 8GB RAM
• 1600x900 display (Dont make fun of me still sexy 900p HD)
• 256GB SSD
• Premium Carbon w/ black palmrest
• CD/DVD drive
• Windows Professional
• No Verizon
• Extended Warranty
• +Large Capacity battery

Due to connections in high places, a mighty discount found its way to me and I got it for just barely $3,100. Saved a good $400-$500.

 

Try to get square trade for all 70 percent on discounted warranties.

 

Squaretrade only insures up to $1999.00, plus if you get ADH with them and something happens, then there is a $50.00 deductible. And their ADH warranties are exactly the same price as Sony.

 

I'm not going to preorder, i'm thinking it will be quicker and cheaper to wait it out and see which retailers get them in stock first. The base model will be plenty of power for me and will get better battery life so i'm not really worried about that. I will probably get one with 192 or 256gb SSD's though because the 128 might be abit small not sure yet.

 

OK, what does the thread title say?
Post if you have placed an order, I will delete my post once you clean this up.

EDIT: This message is intended for everyone making a post unrelated to having placed a preorder as the title says.

 

Hope you weren't talking to me...

 

Or buy the same Sony extended warranty service plan from Sony authorized dealers/resellers. All these Sony extended warranty service plans are being handled by a company called Service Net, LLC.

 

So are people posting the details of the Z they ordered or is this turning into another Z thread like the one already in progress?
Let me help you:
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/consistency

 

*Duplicate post from this thread*

Well, I mustered up enough bravery to pull the trigger on the Z today. I'm coming off a rather prolific laptop buying spree, but I've had previous model of the Z and just love the form factor. FHD resolution and quad-SSD's in RAID 0 never hurt either

I would have preferred to buy the machine through CTO to get my own RAM and drop the blueray drive, but top of the line is top of the line.

Model: VPCZ11FHX/XQ
i7 620M
8GB RAM
512GB SSD
Blueray
Backlit keyboard

$5,238.98 with 3yr express ship, 2 day expedite and taxes.

Please say nice things about my awesomely frugal buying decision so I can justify why I just dropped twice the amount of money I spent on my first car for a laptop.

Shipping estimate is 3/19

 

ordered mine on 1 March:

Model Number: US-VPCZ1190X-LBOM

VPCZ1190X Configure-to-Order

Customization Details

* Blu-ray Disc™ Player/Burner
* Standard Capacity Battery
* Premium Carbon Fiber
* Genuine Windows® 7 Professional 64-bit
* 512GB (256GBx2) Solid State Drive with RAID 0 Technology
* No additional Video Editing Software
* No Engraving
* No additional Office Software
* No additional AntiVirus Software
* 8GB (4GBx2) DDR3-SDRAM-1066
* No additional Photo Editing Software
* No Mobile Broadband Built-In
* Fresh Start
* Intel® Core™ i7-620M processor (2.66GHz) with Turbo Boost up to 3.33GHz

$3.9k before tax

 

When is your shipment estimate date?

Estimate during the order was 3/19. The order status page says 3/4.

Should I be excited?

 

Preconfigured available in Canada (no CTO yet)

VPCZ112GDS
1600x900
i5-520M
128GB SSD
4GB
no bluray
Backlit keyboard: yes
silver
no additional software, engraving, decor, etc.

Est. ship date Mar 12

2K CAD before taxes

 

Model Number: VPCZ112GX/S
1600x900 screen, i5-520M, 128GB SSD, 4 gig ram, no bluray.

Basically the basic preconfigured option.

Ordered through the educational store of SonyStyle.com, with 3 day shipping. Estimated shipping date is (according to the service rep from SonyStyle), around March 12th.

Total price is $2000 after taxes and shipping.
I can't wait .

 

I got the same top Signature model, w/ the 3-yr express ship, but they gave me a 10% discount, so the total came to $4,674.60. I'm not a student or eligible for any other discount, but simply asked for one after reading some of the discounts folks were reporting on the other Z thread. You need to order by phone, though (they canceled my online order and re-submitted the order w/ the discount).

 

Nice. I'll give the sales number a ring today. If they cut me the discount, I'll owe you lunch

 

How does that work exactly? I clicked thru the link from NBR.com but the prices look the same?

 

Hey, after everyone gets their Z's, can you guys start a thread w/high res photos, in good lighting, of all their difference color options?

I can't believe this model runs 2k minimum and Sony doesn't have better pix of all the colors.

I'm on the fence between glossy and matte carbon fiber.

 

I'll be posting full pics and unboxing viddies. I'll also take the machine apart to check the guts and close the loop on some confusion around the SSD drives.

 

Good luck. Let me know.

 

Is anyone scheduled to get theirs in under 2 weeks?

 

For Canadians who ordered the preconfig, the anticipated date of arrival is March 12th, but the free shipping will take 2-6 days.

 

It's too bad the only Canadian preconfig, so far, is a bottom of the line model. Hoping CTO goes live on Sunday or Monday.

 

The last time I check, mine was due to ship on the 16th.

 

I ordered a Z last night....
but was wondering about the i7 620M chip. I thought that it was a quad core chip....but as it turns out....it's a dual core. I was a little bummed at first but I read good things about the 620M. Comments?

Customization Details

Intel® Core™ i7-620M processor (2.66GHz) with Turbo Boost up to 3.33GHz
8GB (4GBx2) DDR3-SDRAM-1066
Premium Carbon Fiber
Genuine Microsoft® Windows® 7 Ultimate 64bit with XP Pro downgrade disc
384GB (256GBx1 + 128GBx1) Solid State Drive with RAID 0 Technology
No Mobile Broadband Built-In
Large Capacity Battery
8GB (4GBx2) DDR3-SDRAM-1066

 

Hi, Folks!

I'd previously ordered a configuration which was about $2900, but then discovered the true 1080P screen which is only available in the high-end Signature series machine. Gulp! Yes, I actually bought this $4500 version. It's slated to ship on March 19.

I won't bother going through the full details, which you can see on the Sony Style website, but it includes the max of every option they offer, including (of course, at this price), the full 3-year service plan, including accidental handling protection.

While I'm usually a rabid upgrade fanatic, this one's definitely going to be my primary machine for the next few years! ;-)

Cheers!
Mark

 

Welcome to the crew of folks that spent WAY too much money on a laptop

Mid-March will be an interesting time indeed.

 

Did you have to ask about the 3 year service plan with ADH as a free upgrade ? I ask because the Sony Style website lists just the basic 1 year limited warranty for that particular Z just like all the others.

 

A few weeks ago I ordered the Metalic Mosaic (VPCZ11DGX/SJ) Signature series. I would have rather ordered a CTO, but the options I wanted would have made it more expensive than this one.

For those that don't know, this one has the i5-540M processor, 4GB of DDR3 RAM, WWAN, 192GB SSD (64 + 128) and Win7 Professional.

Mine is supposed to ship on or around March 19th...if SonyStyle is to be trusted...which it isn't

 

Hi, Gang!

ZoinksS2K: You've obviously got good taste, miss/sir! I see from your signature that this might be the one you've been waiting for. That's certainly the case with me. For what it's worth, I've been the VP, Engineering heading portables at five different companies now (including Apple - I'm currently at a startup known as Skiff), and this one is right up my alley. I really can't afford it, but the one-year zero interest financing hooked me. Sorry that I'm so new to this forum that I don't know more about you!

Ehosey2: I actually had placed my first order online, and then had to call and cancel it - I placed the new order on that call. Free? I wish! No, I had to buy the $399 service plan just like anybody else. I apologize if my post was misleading in that regard. It sure would've been nice if I'd have had friends at Sony!

Cheers!
Mark

 

Thanks for the clarification because it sounded like from your post that the 3 year warranty with ADH was included at no extra charge. Bummer.

 

Hi, ehosey2!

Sorry about that! I was editing my post above as you posted your query. You posted too quickly for my unfortunate tendency to post, then edit. Please accept my apologies!

Best Regards!
Mark

 

Haha, it's no problem. The new Z is all the rage and we all are waiting in anticipation of every bit of new news. Looking forward to your super high end Z review and info about that 1920 x 1080 screen.

 

Howdy, ehosey2!

After my little screw-up, you've got a deal! This will be, I believe, the fifth machine I've bought from the SonyStyle website over the years. This one's so distinctive that it really will merit the time to do a decent review on it. Obviously, it'll take a few days or so for me to adequately evaluate it after I receive it, but I promise that I'll do just that.

Cheers!
Mark

 

$4500 for a laptop.

smh.

 

Looking forward to your findings Mark and I hope you enjoy your Z as much as we all will.
EDIT: Interesting thing that Skiff of yours...

 

Plus the $399.99 warranty and the Sony Style tax....equals ouch ! Those SSD's better be worth the price of admission.

 

I bought a Toshiba laptop arround 1990 for $3500. That probably would be more the $4500 today. It was not nearly as useful as this Sony Z.

I have been very happy with the 256ssd top of the line Z I purchased 1.5 years ago, for $4000 replacing a previous top of the line 1 year old SZ (carbon fiber and all) with its terrible keyboard. The Z is fast repsonsive and took on some pretty big tasks but i need bigger and better. It survived a coke spill, a 2 foot drop onto concrete. And rough travel all over the world. No extended warranty, I fix myself with ebay parts so that now I can put that money (+ interest) toward the new one. I will be ordering the big boy signature edition (again) and can't wait. I won't be buying the etended for this one either. Too much dough I rather fix myself and save for the next one.

 

Yeah, I received a 15% discount when calling to order mine.

Model: VPCZ11FHX/XQ
i7 620M
8GB RAM
512GB SSD
Blueray
Backlit keyboard

$4,501.98 with 3yr express ship with (ADH), 2 day expedite and taxes

 

But you selected the most expensive parts so they tempt to give more discount.

 

Pre-ordered my Z
premium carbon
1080p
i7 620m
6gb ram
256gb ssd
dvdburner
backlight keyboard
standard battery
standard warranty

 

Has anyone received an updated shipping date on Vaio Z preorders (CTO or Preconfigured) from SonyStyle US?

 

not by email. No change in my shipping date for a week+

 

Ditto that. But that's typical SonyStyle "style."

 

I'm confused, mine hasn't changed since I ordered it on the 3rd. Still shows delivery on 3/4.

This part of the "Style" Sony uses?

 

Yes, that's the style I was referring to. Their "status upates" are pretty lame/non-existent. Their estimated shipping dates also have a bit of a history of being unreliable. Sometimes they ship sooner, sometimes later. Essentially, you don't know anything until the shipping confirmation email arrives in our inbox.

 

Sheesh

Can you get a projected date if you call or chat with an agent?

 

Not in my experience; they've always only ever given me the date that's already on the my order page.