SONY VAIO SZ6 with SANTA ROSA IS HERE!!!

As long as the weight, heat (albeit a fairly low amount) and battery life are enough for you, I would go the SZ. The TZ is its younger brother who hasn't quite learnt how to do more complex tasks with ease, but has the vigour of youth that allows it is go for longer.

If you are wanting a notebook that will be able to perform more demanding tasks for years to come, then it is your only real option. The TZ is great, but I think it is more of an "Office" notebook. That is, it will more or less only be useful for those who need to run all the office applications, surf the web and manage email accounts in years to come. I will be using mine primarily for office orientated tasks on the go.

 

This is what I mostly do on my W3J, so the X1600 is just a waste! But i'm worried that the office applications wont be able to run on the TZ in years to come, espcially resource hogs like ZoneAlarm, NOD32, Microsoft Office and Adobe Reader. This notebook will be my fulltime computer, as is my current W3J. There will be the occasional DVD, but that would be hooked up to my Dell 2407, which some TZ users are currently having problems getting the native resolution. As for gaming, thats what the Xbox 360 is for.

Hmmmm...

 

I use ZA, AVG, and Office 2003 myself, so I'll let you know how those two run with lots of stuff open. I don't really see the need to upgrade to 2007, but then again I have not tried it yet. I'll try out 2007 and NOD32 on it, if you want an idea of how they run.

You would have to wait until I receive mine, unless you want to make a thread asking for TZ users to post performance for different applications.

 

I beg to differ. I have a TZ90 right now and I find that it runs only a tad slower than my previous ASUS VX2 Lamborghini!

And that's because of the SSD. It makes Vista tolerable. The SZ would be mundo bosso if it also came in a 64GB SSD version!!! Anyway, my point is that the TZ is now my main computer and besides the SSD capacity limitation, I think it's a killer lappy.

What I also would love to have, though, is the Sprint WWAN modem, which the Japanese versions simply don't offer, so I'm looking at the SZ with its capacious 200GB/7200rpm dirive.

I just tested a Dell M1330 and it almost ran acceptably fast enough with its T7300/160GB-7200rpm set-up, suggesting that this Santa Rosa combo might be able to off to fend off the uber-fast 1.2GHz U7600/SSD TZ!

 

@ubercool: how do you find the keyboard since its your main pc? Did you get used to the new smaller keyboard layout?

 

I promise I will take a picture as soon as I get home. I know I've been promising that forever, but my travel sched is insane.

 

I love this keyboard! I totally got used to it already (I have had for six weeks now). In fact, now a 12- or 13-inch lappy feels jumbo by comparison!

I also like the fact that this original *Sony-style* keyboard is very easy to clean, a key asset when using a notebook that gets exposed to all the "human life" elements.

In terms of UI, Sony also got the keyboard layout right this time. Both shift keys are large. The cursor keypad is an inverted T and offset of from the shift key enough so you don't hit it continuously like with other laptops. Control and Fn are in the right place.

The only weakness of this keyboard is the lettering color, it should have been bright white, so it's almost impossible to use a TZ in dim lighting. A backlit keyboard would be soooo cool!

 

My Sony SZ650 shipped from JR's today and is scheduled to arrive on the 7th!

 

Congrats! Report back asap and include pix!

 

Yes, but when they find out, like I did, that the M1330 is poorly designed and has a fairly crappy screen, many will return their Dell.

 

Let's not count our chickens before they are hatched. We HOPE the SZ will be high quality and have good fit and finish. But at this point, no one really knows. Tuesday should provide some first hand info on this (that's when my SZ arrives.)

 

I opted for the Japanese keyboard (just in case I ever finish learning Japanese). It will take me awhile to get used to that!

Not to sound like a fan boy, but, I seriously doubt Sony HQ would let the SZ be released if it was of a lower quality than their last model. They spend a lot of time on development and making sure things are right.

 

I think I've already said too much about the Dell M1330, but, IMHO, the Dell is by far not as beautifully designed as the Sony. In case you didn't see my Dell post, the M1330 screen had dirty streaks on it, the memory compartment door was bulging out, plus it will not sit flat, it wobbles.

Also note that Sprint is the only plan that DOES NOT penalize you for not being on a call plan when you sign up, so it's the cheapest WWAN service out there, a big bonus!

 

Thanks for providing info on your newly purchased SZ6. When it arrives, please let us know where the notebook was manufactured and if it has any of these problems.

 

my current sz491 that i bought a couple months ago has none of those problems now... if silly old case problems reappear without any case redesign, i'd be surprised. guess we'll see...

 

a question to u guys...why not anybody considering getting a long capacity battery? It seems that everybody is going with preconfigured packages, which include a standard battery. So, this means you are satisfied with 2-3 hours of battery life?
if u want to order a long cap battery later on, it is very expensive at sony (300$). So it is better to configure your laptop with a long cap battery for only additional 100$ at the time of purchase. How about the additional weight or size? Please share me your experiences, ideas.
Second issue is it seems that people are concerned with the life of the flash drive included in the windows ready drive. I want to double check with you that are u willing to take a risk and go with ready drive or going to stick with 7200 rpm regular hdd?

If I can satisfy myself with these two issues, I will order Sz650 from Amazon right away. there will be no need to wait for sonystyle

 

I spent a half hour or so messing with an SZ650N this morning at Datavision in Manhattan ( http://www.datavis.com/cgi-bin/product.exe?merfnbr=2003&prrfnbr=471467) It was sitting next to a bunch of SZ4s, and except for the badging and non-contrasting trim, I would not have been able to tell the difference between old and new. The SZ6 is a nice machine to the extent that the SZ4 was nice...there was no discernable quality or fit-and-finish difference that I could see. All the buttons and hardware seemed to be identical. The SZ6 performance was definitely snappy navigating Vista and opening Office 2007...but so is the SZ4. They seemed to have plenty in stock there and had no idea if or when the other SZ6 models would arrive. $1,899+tax on the tag, but those Datavision guys always seem willing to wheel and deal. I bet you could get it there for $1,800 out the door.

 

I just paid $1900.82 for the SZ650N/C over the phone through J&R shipped. It is expected to arrive Tuesday or Wednesday.

 

Whats the main difference between the 650 and the 660? They look identical to me.

Also, are there any models with the 7200 HDD?

 

660 has WWAN and there are no current models that come with a 7200 HDD.

 

If only they would put a TZ keyboard on the SZ models.

 

I think you can select a 200GB 7200 rpm hdd for SZ680

 

They are giving maintenance to the sonystyle website, maybe the SZ will finally appear

 

unfortunately man, it was a false alarm!!

 

still waiting...is there any news or pics of sz6.
my sz270P getting angry but I am curious...

 

No, not yet...

 

Why does sonystyle.com still not list any Sz6 models?

Can someone post a sony link that lists detailed specs for all available models?

 

http://b2b.sony.com/Solutions/subcategory/notebooks/sz-series

 

How could Sony Style still not be selling it?
I feel silly not buying it yet, but for 3k... it seems a bad idea to settle and I want the 7200rpm. With everyone else selling it now, do you think sonystyle will keep to their two week to a month wait?

 

Yesterday I talked to the online Sony support and I was told that the SZ6 would be available "very soon". How soon?

As time is relative...

 

Yes, I can't believe they didn't do that either. It's on the CR for crying out loud!

 

Yeah, it really does seem kind of baffling. Hard to understand why they would give the new keyboard to the CR series and the TZ keyboard and not the SZ.

 

Make Santa Rosa platform for this series as the new thing, and then have the keyboard as the new thing for the next series.

 

If you search for 'SZ6' on SonyStyle.com, one of the hits is for the SZ6 AC adapter.

Model Number: VGP-AC19V25
VAIO® Additional AC Adapter
Continue working on your VAIO® CR and SZ600 series notebook at home or at work with the convenience of an extra AC adapter.

In stock. Estimated ship date: 08/06/2007.

Hopefully the laptops themselves aren't too far away...

 

Are these the only additional features included with the SZ691N/X :

-Faster processor T7700, 2.4 Ghz
-200GB hard drive

Seems like a hefty price premium ($800) for a marginally faster processor and slightly larger HD.

Is the 200GB HD 5400 rpm or 7200 rpm? The specs page state 5400, but the SZ680 (config 1) lists a 200GB, 7200 rpm drive?

Is the carbon fiber case any different with the 691N/X compared toe the lower N/C models?

 

According to the specs the '91 has a 4200rpm 200GB drive. (this may be a typo)
It comes with the 2.4ghz processor and WWAN

Compared to the '650 which has a 160GB 5400, the 2.2ghz and no WWAN. I ordered the '650 for $1900 delivered, it'll be here Tues.

There's some sort of difference in the description of the finish, but both are CF so I'm not sure what that means.

 

The top-of-the-line Intel CPUs always command a big premium. Besides, it also has a premium carbon fiber finish, answering your last question.

I doubt that Sony will offer a 200GB @ 7200rpm. In the past those drives have been 4200rpm, so jumping to 7200rpm seems unlikely. It's doubly doubtful because they don't offer a 160GB @ 7200rpm either, according to the literature. But I could be wrong of course.

 

I wonder why sony didnt issue a press release for the Sz6?

 

Companies often have a "soft release" of products before an official release. That is, they will release a limited range of products to better gauge the market and ensure the products perform the way that they should.

Considering the Santa Rosa based SZ series are not even out in Japan yet, I assume Sony are testing the waters before making an official release.

 

I want my SZ680

 

me too!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sony, why do you tease us?

 

NOW!!!

 

Do you want configuration 1,2,3 or 4 of the sz680?

 

1 on every item.
How about the rest of you guys?

 

I'm going with configuration one.
To test the waters, Sony usually puts out products with another brand name to see if they preform. But they don't do this for laptops, so it would make sense if they were only releasing a few to make sure it was working properly.
Also, I went to some local stores asking if they would get them in stock. The answer has been the same as for Sony Style: "soon". However, I did find out that they aren't getting many. Each store is only going to get a couple in. So perhaps the delay is also that they don't have enough manufactured. If that's the case, I hate to imagine the wait on a 680... This is like the PS3 over again except that this is worth waiting for.

About the hard drive, I don't think it's a typo, I think you have to go with the 680 if you want to get a hard drive with 7200rpm. The flagship is $400 more than the 670, and with a far worse hard drive. Only difference is the casing, that's not worth the $400. So if you want a hybrid, go for the 670, otherwise wait for the 680 and it'll probably be less than the 691.

 

What I would get:

120gb Hard Drive
2.1GHz Penryn processor
1GB ram (to be upgraded to 2gb)
LED screen

 

Dude you are cheating, before you said we were 31 % to owning a Penryn SZ and now it's 30% we are WATCHING YOU...

 

I am willing to wait till Penryn since I want the replacement for the Inspiron 9100 (2.8GHz Pentium 4) I share with my brother to be powerful . Going from one core to four will be AWESOME! I have $543.68 saved up for a new laptop. I know that is not a lot of $$, but I am only in 11th grade and this summer I had my first job, and I got a total $498.17, 2 paychecks. I quit the job, but I should have one more small paycheck coming in the mail. The rest of the money is from taking online surveys.

 

It's good to have a goal and learn to have a saving mentality while you are young. It will definitely pay off when you are older.

You should get yourself another job though. I always find it satisfying when I know that I have really earned a pay check. Believe it or not, washing dishes at Sizzlers, when I first started uni, was one of the jobs I like best -- I got to slide around on the floors, was one of the fastest, and, when the night was over and I looked around at everything I had done, it gave me a real sense of accomplishment.

 

You work at sizzler? Nice!