SZ Premium series hands-on test

I just got one of the first SZ Premium models that are available here in Europe. It's a SZ1XP which is in fact the same model as the SZ160P/C in the US. At first glance I am pretty impressed by the product since the build quality seems pretty good overall. I still find the shiny black palmrest with an brownish tad a bit plastic-like. But well, nothing is perfect. The screen is pretty good and robust even if it is quite thin. The keyboard is different from the S-series (as many reviews of the standard edition already state) but okay. My main interest in the new model were heat and noise issues so the first thing I did with it was to boot it in stamina-mode: In fact the fan turned in after a short while even without teasing the notebook with hard work. Well the fan seems to be still alright - but I will have to give it a try in a silent environment. There are no heat issues yet even in speed-mode. Give me a couple of days and I will write down some more information and run some benchmarks. If there are any specific questions I will answer them in this thread...

Oh, I should mention that this model wears a preproduction label and the serial number ...0000005. So it might be diffrent from the final retail product.

 

Can you post your thoughts about the screen and a little more about build quality? Ideally if you had another S series to compare to... but oh well. I am just curious about that new LED screen more than anything.

 

Please give us a complete a review as you can in several days? If I cannot wait for meron, I will be buying a premium model.

 

Have you owned a Vaio S series before? How does the notebook compare to it especially concerning fan noise (or other previous models you have had)? Of course most interesting would also be battery life. I know there was an issue with USB 2.0 and Centrino Duos but nonetheless, how many hours do you approximately get?

As I'm also from Germany, where did yo get your SZ and to what price? All the places I have looked at had none in stock.

 

Does the SZ have both an expresscard slot and PCMIA card slot? Sony specs are unclear.

 

how is the quality of the built-in camera and mic?

mike
http://mwang.org

 

Is the keyboard silver or black? Is the case shiney/smooth or more pebbled like the SZ120?
thx

 

I am really interested in how the thin lcd screen looks. Thanks

 

The screen seems to pretty good. But honestly - I dont have any comparsion here (only an old Z1 series - and thats no comparsion.) But it looks very even - and the white looks very white. By the way the lid is not too thin. Thanks to carbon-fiber it seems to be quite robust. The only thing I dont like is the palmrest area - it feels a bit cheap.

About the screen: Maybe I can manage to go to a local sony retailer to take some pictures with a s-series.

 

I am pretty busy these days so I wont manage to write a complete review - especially becauseit would take me quite a while to write it down in English. Sorry.

 

That is all right. I looked at a non premium model today. I thought it was all right, but could not really play with it.

 

I have not owned a S series before but I have been testing S1xx and S4xx models. Bothe were good computers but I have been critizising its fan noise (and the lame battery life in S4xx due to its brighter screen!). Now the fan turns on from time to time (in stamina mode) but its is very acceptable.

With maximum brightnes and turned to stamina mode a battery life of 4:15 to 4:30 seems realistic. (I have not performed any tests with usb2-connections).

 

It does have both slots.

 

The mic is quite good for an built-in mic. But you shouldnt expect crystal-clear sound. The camera is crap. (at least I havnt found any way to make good pictures).

OT: The keyboards is kind of annoying - the space bar does its job not very well.

 

It has both PC and express. PC on left, and Express on the right.

 

How about post some pics of your new toy?

 

He just posted what I was thinking.