SR should have had HDMI. Sony was greedy...

With the ATI card, it should have had HDMI. Why would Sony not choose to enable the feature?they wanted people to upgrade to the Z didn't they?

http://ati.amd.com/products/mobilityradeonhd3400/specs.html

 

It will be a future implementation, you can see it on the case. There's a million speculations, but yeah, it should have been implemented from the start.

 

Yes, you can see a placeholder for an HDMI port right next to the VGA port.

My guess Sony omitted the port was in their eyes, they thought including it would hurt sales of the Z.

 

Well, HDMI only makes sense if the notebook has a Blu-ray drive. Since SR doesn't have any, Sony decided not to include HDMI with the notebook.

 

Well, with Blu-ray it's practically a NECESSITY. Without BD it's a desirable feature, and would have turned it into a very nice mobile HTPC.

 

Am I correct in thinking you could still use the Z as a "blu ray player" if you rip off a blu ray movie on another computer and then transfer it onto your hard drive? I already have a blu ray writer so i dont need one on the Z, but it would still be nice to have a portable HD player

 

HDMI is not only for your TV or Bluray, it's also a digital connection to a LCD screen, like DVI.

Sure.

 

Yep. It would make it a heck of a lot easier to connect (and disconnect) an external monitor.

 

But HDMI is required if you want the full capabilities of Blu-ray (assuming you have the correct setup, like 1080p HDTV and an AV Reciever that is capable of HDMI audio processing). I am talking about the bandwidth that HDMI offers for sound, which can support DD TrueHD, DTS: Master Audio and other lossless audio formats. Other connections will not be able to support the HD Audio formats.

 

I know all that but what I'm saying is that people want a high quality connection to their LCD too!

You don't want to connect your 24" LCD to a VGA output.

So to say that you don't need HDMI on a SR because it doesn't have HDMI is ludicrous imo.

 

True, I'll be waiting for the update to the SR with Blu-ray and HDMI.

Not a huge fan on the Z, esp when the Sprint Mobile Broadband is embedded , felt like i'm paying $100 and 0.1lb extra for something i will never use.

 

You can't get it w/o the Sprint broadband??

 

Exactly how I feel about it. The consumer suffers thanks to a marketing deal with Sprint.

 

There goes my dreams of buying the SR! Stuped me assumed the SR to have HDMI!
No Blu-ray drive option i can live with, cause the price would be even higher then!
But why tha hell no HDMI!! SONY if someone chould know that it´s "the ****" right now!

 

I agree.

The Z is a very interesting alternative though... You pay a bit more and get a bit more.

 

that's interesting, i assumed that too... all of a sudden the z is back on my radar.

but to me, $1,449 vs. $1,899 is a big price difference. sure you get value for that difference, but it's in a whole other price range now.

 

Yes I understand. It may get a little cheaper though. I'm expecting the cheapest Z to be $1699 online when stock comes.

 

Most if not all of the US CTOs (including the Z) have Sprint, and do not have an option to NOT include it. Same for Motion Eye and TPM. This is where Japan tends to excel.

 

intersting, i'll probably hold out a little while and wait for the dust to settle...

 

True, with the same spec, some online retailers sell for $200 cheaper than CTO from sonystyle. But again, you drop the benefit of returning the laptop without paying restocking fee from sonystyle.

 

when you use the -200 off deal with the warranty on sonystyle, they come out pretty close in price. close enough to warrant spending an extra 50 bucks just for the sake that you get a better chance of a full refund with sonystyle if you have issues with the laptop, whereas other places will just tell you "cry moar" and make you pay 15% restock fee.

 

Re: Sprint ... would it be easy for a user to remove the integrated card? I saw where the connection goes for one in the M1330, it was so easy to access (mine had come with none). Not sure if this is the case with Sony.

Just wondering if it'd be easy to yank it out ... I live in AK (obviously). We don't even get Sprint. So a totally pointless feature to me, I'd just assume yank it out and save that teensy bit of weight and avoid any impact it'd have on my battery too.

 

U pay a lot more! And the gain is not "all that". Here in Sweden that is..
Sad but true!
I don´t need a super thin and ultra buisness laptop. And don´t have the budget for it. The SR would be perfect, but hey i need HDMI. Or do I? Can´t make up my mind on that point.
I got a 43" Pioneer plasma with 1024x768. I can show 720p and 1080i.
But that may just be as good picture with VGA D-Sub 15-pin.

 

If you have an HDMI, then you can also play those hidef (mpeg2 & h264) stream straight though your hdtv. But if you don't have a hdtv (which are quite expensive) are not very keen on sounds quality*, then ask yourself is it worth spending that additional $400? You can always use other methods of playing them- check doom9 for that

But if you're looking for a better screen, better build quality and some other 'stuffs' then go for Z. The main I wouldn't get an SR is because it doesn't have NVidia, and HDMI, notwithstanding the fact sony doesn't provide international warranty (very bad for people who're travelling and staying in different countries like me). I like what a previous posters said about buying it later after getting all the reviews and (possible) price drops

* provided the stream contains 5.1+ sounds and you have the necessary equipments (or you're planning to buy in future)

 

Sweden may be expensive but why buy in Sweden if you can get the cheapest Z for 1650 in Germany. They sell international keyboards and warranty.

The gain is: lighter weight, carbon fibre, higher resolution, switchable graphics, better battery life.

VGA is perfect for feeding 1024*768. You're right you don't need HDMI for that.

 

Then get the FW. If you can manage the extra size/weight of it, you'll get HDMI and a huge, beautiful screen -- for less money than the SR.