SZ Poor Built Quality

Has anyone got his or her DVD drive door broken after only a few months of use? Mine broke today. It came off. I had to put it back together with super glue but I don't know how long it will last.

It seems that this so called premium notebook has very poor built quality. They sacrifice built quality in favor of light weightness and thinness. The screen frame is also poorly built. Try to pinch the lower left hand corner of the screen frame and you may hear something clicking, indicating that the screen frame is not properly clamped together. I have seen this both in mine and at a store display at Frys.

If you put the notebook inside your backpack or carry on luggage, the paint from the palmrest may leave some visible marks on the screen frame, although the screen itself is fine.

Sony better make a better built quality for this class of notebook or their customers may purchase another brand next time.

 

Which type of SZ do you own? I'm planning to buy an SZ some time in the future and I would like to know all aspects about SZ. Thanks in advance.

 

I've had none of these problems with my SZ3VWP/X Premium. Build quality is great on mine. Must be model dependent.

 

My door broke, but it was actually due to the way the bag I was carrying in at the time grabbed the laptop. I just ordered the part from the Sony DAPC and popped a new door on. Problem solved. Would have been fixed under warranty, but $40 was easier than sending it back, etc.

I no longer use that bag.

 

I have SZ381P, US version with Premium Carbon Fiber. I think the aluminum one is more sturdy but the aluminum casing bumps the weight and thickness beyond the limit that I would consider a thin and lite notebook.

Note that I don't think the aluminum casing has anything to do with my problem since the DVD drive door is made from the same materials in all version of SZs.

 

Which part number did you order? I did not find DVD drive door for my SZ381P from Sony DAPC website.

 

Sony claimed that their Carbon Fiber model is more durable and lighter than their Magnesium Alloy (not aluminum) model. In fact, the Premium (with Carbon Fiber casing) model has a LED backlight screen instead of the fluorescent one found in regular model (with Magnesium Alloy casing) resulting in thinner and brighter screen.

 

They looked up the part number and put the order in. It's not listed on the website, but with shipping it was just under $40.

 

It is lighter and very durable - when an airplane seat bent my screen into a U shape, it snapped back (although the monitor inside was broken and needed to be fixed). So Sony is right here.