SR2 is finally here, with HDMI port!

SR2 officially released in Japan, and it comes with a HDMI port!

http://www.vaio.sony.co.jp/Products/SR2/detail.html

 

HDMI is only available with HD3470...

But still, I hope it makes it to the US!

 

aww man....if it ever makes it to north america then i'm gonna be mad at myself for not waiting a few more months to get hdmi with my sr...but then again i needed my laptop from the start of school and i dont really have time for gaming so i guess its no big deal really...

i'll still be kind of choked though haha

 

thank god I'm within the return period

 

Yeah, those who bought the SR when it came up are screwed if they really wanted the HDMI port.

Look at No. 1. Does this mean that Sony will use the hybrid graphics system on the new SR too?



1. MODEボタン
2. Switchボタン
3. SETTINGボタン
4. 指紋認証センサー
5. FeliCaポート

Pics/info quoted from Sony Japan.

 

no, thats the mode switching button, and 3 is the settings button

 

Oh, I see.

 

Its not too much of a surprise. The current SR owners can look at where the HDMI port is located and you'll see a placeholder for the port. I just wonder why since they put a placeholder for it, it took them a refresh to finally add it? I'd be ticked off if I had just bought an SR since I can really use that port.

Same with the FW now that they just added a 1080P option and better GPU just a couple of months into both machine's introductions.

 

I dunno...I really wanted an HDMI when I was looking, then finally decided that the SR was fine as is. Now that I have it...I just can't figure out when I would actually use the HDMI port. I mean, fun to have? Sure. Actual usage? Probably nil. Plus I got such a great deal on this one, with the coupon and the campus package, that I'm not going to return it and pay more for a single port.

 

Typical sony MO. There is usually a sweet spot before the release of a next version of the same series though, like when i was purchasing, the campus bundle AND the free upgrades to 2gb of Ram + 160 GB HD AND Office 2007, + it was right after the 100 dollar price drop(from 1399 to 1299) were all going on. So i got a $2100 system for $1450, nothing will make me regret that, unless all of a sudden the next iteration has HDMI, a radeon 3650, hi-color screen option, and some other crazy thing. Then again, if a model came out with that stuff, it would cost at minimum(with all of those goodies plus my specs + warranty) like 2300. So long story short, the waiting game is endless, so if you see some great value/opportunity, just jump on it, chances are, it wont be for a while until some deal that is equivalant to yours appears.

 

I got my SZ before the Z came out - and I'm happy with it
(Mind you - I dislike the Z's design and wanted an SZ)

You generally buy what suits you. In most cases if your not convinced with a product you don't need it that badly that you couldn't have waited a little bit.

As thebigpants27 pointed out - the waiting game is endless.

 

I agree with the being ticked off part of your comments, if I was that desperate to get the SR or FW when it was first released.

 

That's nice. I still like the price for my SR with what I got with it. Still worth not having an HDMI port.

I don't even own a HDTV. I think the newest TV in my house is 3 or 4 years old and is a big old CRT Type.

 

Huh? I thought the first series FW1xx always had HDMI.

 

Yes they did, I mean now the new SRs have HDMI out and the new FWs have 1080P screen options and better ATI Radeon GPU in the U.S. I didn't think they would refresh them so quickly.

 

yah, everyone knew the SR would eventually have HDMI due to the dead port on the side... i didn't realize it would come this soon though.

 

Are they adding anything else besides HDMI?

 

The Graphics card is now 256mb instead of 128mb.

Still GDDR3 of course.

I don't know what that "FeliCaポート" thing is though.... that might be a Japan-only feature though so it might not matter.

 

I don't know what that "FeliCaポート" thing is though.... that might be a Japan-only feature though so it might not matter.[/QUOTE]

It's a smart card reader.

 

Oh.... I see. I didn't know what it was, I've never seen one of those on a laptop before.

Hmm... interesting placement for one though. I doubt the US version will have that though. xP

 

That Felica reader on the palmrest is a Japanese only feature which Sony invented and one use is for online transactions, instead of entering your card information just tap the card on the reader.

 

Wow, I don't know about you guys, but I'd be incredibly worried about security if your laptop did get stolen.... and it had that ability.

Eh... but that would be pretty convenient for people that are mobile and on the go.... like many Japanese people are.

*Doesn't really know much or care much about Japanese computers.*

 

On the American SonyStyle website, you can see the new SR200 models listed in the support section, should be similar to the new SR91 models announced in Japan.

The new Japanese SR models also have a Blu-Ray drive option with the HDMI port. The SR has inched quite close to the Z.

I'm surprised the SR and FW have been refreshed so quickly.

 

Sony is ridiculous when it comes to updating. They do it so much it's irritating. When i bought my FZ last year, they updated it like 2 months later...much better look/heat reduction, fix stupid mouse click that didn't register 100% of time, ect... I was really pissed off and assumed it was probably just a special scenario. Well lookie here... Sony has done it again less than 3 months later after public release...

Oh so what? You expect us to return/sale our current SR's to upgrade to your new and improved only few months later?

SCREW YOU SONY. STOP ****ING AROUND.

Establish a model, make it right the first time when it was possible to do in the first place and make your customer feel firm in your product instead of unnecessarily updating ever 2.5 months, when it should have had its simple fixes/features (hdmi, blu-ray, way quieter left mouse click) in the first place.

(I mean come on... the ATI card is HDMI ready...so is the Intel one from what I heard. How difficult is it to mold a tray for the SR for blu ray? (they did it for the z), and didn't they notice how **** loud the mouse was during testing!?)

 

I think one of the problem is called market pressure...

One thing Sony could do is offer a much more powerful laptop right away, then not do a refresh for 6 months but reduce a price when other companies get refresh their models.

Alternatively, they refresh their models quite often.

The problem is, that, if a laptop has been on the market for say 6 months, a lot of people who don't recognize specs will say its outdated.
Is my SZ outdated?? No way. I don't need/want (!!) blue ray, so I don't need a blue ray drive, or HDMI. A little more battery life, not required, although I wouldn't mind it.
The current specs will work fine for the next years.

However, if I take an average person with no clue about specifications, if I present him two laptos, an tell him, this ones got a newer chipset, say Montevina instead of Santa Rosa, DDR3 RAM instead of DDR2 - actual values, e.g. 2,5GHz and 4GB being the same, this person will pick the newer model.
Is the difference noticeable? Not really, maybe when you put a lot of stress on your laptop when gaming or simulating. Not when most of the stuff you are doing is going to be mutlitaksing -> for me: SonicStage, Outlook, Firefox, ICQ/QIP and Word...

I've played some games (older ones really) but stopped now...

Same with the banking crisis. Lower prices here and there, reckless lending. People wnat to pay as little and want the newest gadget.
If you'er an insurer and wanted 100 Pounds/Dollars more for the same service you wouldn't get any customers. No matter that you may actually be ensuring your company survives an economic downturn.

Most people don't really look and analyze the situation.

Basically: In no possible scenario (or szenario??) will all people be happy. And getting things right first time...
Micrtosoft released Vista as a Beta version, then as a Release Candidate 1 - and still, before SP 1 it had plenty of problems.

Reason - people want new stuff quicker and quicker. Also - a lot of companies don't build things to last anymore. People change their equipment so often nowadays, if its not perfect, nobody cares too much as they'll often get something new after 6 months.

I don't agree with it - especially with laptops, but also all other things, but that's how the world has changed.

 

Come on, guys...Sony has been doing quarterly refresh since they jumped in PC market in 1997 and it has been mentioned many times in this forum. You may not like it, but you have been hanging around here long enough to know that before you made the purchase. And like any computer purchase, the best time to buy is when you absolutely need it, not when something new first come out. If you hate your SR1xx that has no HDMI, just sell it and pick up a discounted Z5xx now...

 

hey I saw the SR today in a store for 1419 euro (normal price 1599) till sunday, but it is the sr19vn. Aside from the hdmi difference, is there anything else better on the sr20 version? I saw the videocard is 256mb, will I notice a lot of difference when I use solidworks and photoshop?

 

will the screen change at all? i'd be all over it if it came with a wxga+ option. im currently holding out for the macbook refresh, if it comes in the next few weeks, otherwise i'll be getting the z...

 

i'm waiting for the macbook refresh as well, seems like it will happen in 10 days. if the new macbooks have HDMI and cheaper than SR2, i will dump VAIO straight away.

 

Unless sony changes their ways, this is my last VAIO laptop. I am starting to enjoy that some companies build to last instead and stick with STANDARDS. IBM/Lenovo for example, seems to stick with their keyboard design, their cases, style, ect... This probably makes it easier to get replacement parts in the future... unlike Sony where in less than 1 year your ****ing laptop is discontinued and finding parts for it is a *****...and if you do it's still expensive as hell even if its 4 years old.

getting sick of it already and i've only had my SR for less than 2 months... but if it breaks...more likely WHEN it breaks down..and i use my warranty... I wouldn't be surprised if they no longer carry the part anymore since they release new models ever ****ing 11 months instead of just sticking to a standard and stop playing ****ing fashion dolls with their seemingly business/ professional equipment.

 

Now Duke - do you need to use such language?
Every now and then everybody cannot control his/her temper and swears...
Do you need to do it 4 times though?

Now:
Some people like change, some don't. Business or not doesn't matter here. Now I dislike change, so do you.
Other people need it. One person I know changes her desktop (picture) quite ofte I belive...
Now that's only small change... (and I wonder if women are more likely to change "stuff" often...)

But that's not the point.
Even when parts aren't very "Sony" they csn be expensive.

I've wrecked the keyboard on an old Medion laptop (if I use the keyboard, its now USB and external), if I wanted to order the keyboard, its 100€, if Medion did the repair its 100€, the laptop is more than 3 years old and not worth it.
And that's a normal, unbranded laptop keyboard.

Certain people like to stick with a certain dedsign - you do, so do I. Not everybody does. Now Sony got a positive response with the TZ - thus they implemented the design in all their laptops.

And I said something about the refreshes above.

And unless you've noticed: IBM(Lenovo) laptops are normally only used by professionals. I have yet to meet someone who hasn't gotten his due to his work. Also, when I decided on the SZ, I did extensive research, and at this price couldn't find anything with similar specs and similar size, weight and power at the same price.
And I doubt that replacement parts from IBM(Lenovo) would be cheap...

 

The main difference is the HDMI connection. Also 320GB harddrive and 4GB RAM. More details: http://geizhals.at/?cat=nb13&xf=85_13.3~525_Sony~12_2048

Current version of Photoshop is not GPU accelerated. I don't know about solidworks.

 

SR 290 out on sonystyle.com
Its a little confusing--maybe sony made a mistake
the 256mb 3470 is available with the configured model, but not when u configure it urself.
I most likely will be buying a fully-upgraded one in about 2 weeks...

...or should I wait for the SR3xx? lol

Quick question: it would be possible to swap video cards in the future if there will be a better one that matches the size of the 3470? I know for a fact that the 3470 (as pretty much all cards now) are easily swapped, but dont kno if it can be done b/c of drivers and standards.

 

You must be thinking of desktops. On laptops, you absolutely cannot swap out your video card, except in very rare instances, and even those tend to be on larger desktop replacements rather than smaller form-factor laptops.

And really, buy the laptop when you need it! There's always going to be newer, better and shinier in the future, especially in a market like electronics.

 

I apologize if I offend you with my following comments.

The thing is that technology, especially computers, changes at such a rapid speed that no matter when you buy your laptop, it is still going to be obsolete like 6 months later. I know this sucks but that's the way it is with computers...

Furthermore, you still get the option to return it within 30 days in countries like the US, depending on the retailers. Just imagine buying it in most Asian countries. Once you paid for it & brought it home, that's it! No returns at all. The only option is exchanges but that is just for "like-for-like" exchanges.

 

2 changes to the SR290 over SR1XX:

Weight increase, 4.23lbs instead of 4.1
New processor options (never heard of them) T3200 (Pentium Dual Core) and P5800 (why not P7350?)

 

ok sorry guys for the crazy post(s), I happened to write those as soon as i woke up in the morning. Anyhow, I now see the point.. by the time a laptop is 3 years old and may need repair...it will be very outdated and that's just how the world turns.

And I guess I could look at it this way... I love the new SR keyboard...YET..if sony had not changed their style, I would have never had the oportunity to have it. So...I just proved myself wrong I guess.

I apologize. Sony I love you..continue to play fashion dolls with your laptops....

 

I thought that the PS CS4 is already out...and it is GPU accelerated...

 

I think you're right, I was talking about CS3.

I think X4500 will be good enough though, but I'm not sure.

 

What I find more frustrating than Duke's complaints is that so far, unless the SR2 CTO page is only part finished, Sony seems to be railroading SR2 buyers into a 64-bit system. There is no option for 32-bit Vista unless you pay extra for Business (and oddly, it appears that their 64 bit version comes w/out SP1). Given that 13.3" systems, while good enough for most things, aren't top of the line when it comes to performance - what use is there really going to be in having a 64-bit OS on these laptops? It doesn't seem like that 1 extra GB of RAM is going to make that huge a difference.. I wonder if they're hoping that 64-bit OS = people buying fancier hardware (like 4GB RAM and that nice 7200 RPM 320 GB HD they're offering that wasn't available for SR1). Though that would contradict the fact that they have lower grade processors available also..

I may have to give up on getting a Sony.. I was hoping to catch the SR1 in a sale and then the $300 off coupon came out, I missed it, and now the CTOs are out of stock, and the SR2 is just driving the price higher and higher...

 

In my opinion 13.3" laptops can perform like any other laptop. Actually the Sony SR with 2.8 GHz CPU is top of the line when it comes to performance.

Actually any Core 2 Duo laptop with 2GHz CPU and 3GB is fast enough for Vista 64bit.

The question how useful Vista 64 bit is is another question, but the SR is more than fast enough.

 

pushing a 64-bit version?? sigh...

 

So does that SR2 CTO only come with 128MB VRAM for ATI graphics or that's just a typo?

 

Alright, now that I've complained I did something crazy and ordered one(!)

I'm still waiting for the sticker shock to set in and since it's "back-ordered" maybe I'll lose my nerve and get the u330 that I almost ordered instead (staggering price difference... if I were a little more sane I should probably feel sick). I got the pre-configured VGNSR290JTH in the new color, Titanium Grey. Black would have been preferable but the pre-config black is $100 more and comes with Vista Business.

Really hoping they fixed battery drain on the 200s..

 

Speaking about 13" laptops - I'm pretty sure that the SZ at 13,3" was the top off the line laptop that Sony offered!
Maybe others had a better graphics card - but overall, I think it was the most powerfull.

 

can anyone tell me why a pre-config. sr2 has 256mb 3470 and a config. has only 128?

 

Does anyone know the shipping price to return your SR? I'm from the east coast and wondering if mailing the giant box and messenger bag will be worth it.

 

mine cost 12 bucks to ship via fedex with 2 neoprene cases.

 

Is the screen quality on the new SR series models any better? Some people mentioned before that on the older SR series models, there was a green tint and the colors looked rather cool...

 

there's a green tint when it's OFF..but as soon as you turn the laptop on, it goes all black. There is no green tint at all even on white screen backgrounds. if you seriously convince yourself that there is a green tint you will think that there is.