Sony New Series , when ?

i wonder when sony announces new series of laptops !!?
any info ? date ?

 

I too would like to know this as i don't know if to buy an SZ now or when the release of montevina in june and hope that sony updates their SZ

 

During the summer/fall, using the montevina platform. And I believe the integrated graphics on the laptops will be the X4500 (or somewhere around it)

 

Yup, we'll get new notebooks when Montevania hits. In fact I know Sony will be probably the first with a Montevania notebook on the street. Goooooood things are a coming.

 

I hope Sony will update the SZ to a hole new series with the Montevina chipset. I expect blu-ray drive and SSD in this upcoming models.
Furthermore September/October must be the time of the TZ/G to incorporate the new chipset. Can't wait!

 

They just announced a small refresh to the G, but nothing major (basically Vista SP1 and some XP stuf).

I remember they announced the SZ series in May a few years back, so expect to see some announcements over the next few months. SOny tends to refresh the line every 3 or so months in one way or another.

 

Cool ...

 

Latest inside news I heard was the FZ Series was going to be replaced with a 16.4inch FW Series next month and the BX Series will be replaced with the BZ Series ...do not have any more data on spec's yet though.

 

Hmm, that would suck... Then there wouldn't be any 15 or 15,4 inch Sony VAIO model? IMHO a close to perfect size...

 

I heard that they were going to replace the SZ series with an SX series to compete with the macbook air.

 

I dont think there will be an sx series exactly but id say put off buying a new sz for a few weeks longer, its gotten to the 7's which is a pretty high number for sony before they retire a model. I doubt well see these new gems this month or there would be more hype, more likely late June at this point.

Doubt it would be a challenger to the air though it doesnt seem to be the target market or design but... who knows new model new market.. but i still doubt theyd include blu ray thats a big sacrifice of battery life for a business model+a bump in price. Would like to see alot more models with bluray though now the latest 'format war' is long over.

 

Hi all. Any ideas on what graphics card we can expect in the new SZ? The size/weight of the SZ is perfect, but being greedy, I want more than a Geforce 8400. Any chance of a 8600GT or equivalent, or is that just too hot?

 

ya, new fresh design is needed, SZ in new design , slimmer and more stylish would be great!

 

The SZ replacement will probably have a 128mb or 256mb Nvidia 9300GS. It will run cooler than the 8400GS and give better performance.

 

Sony has incredible screens on their notebooks. I just hope that they continue to make such beautiful screens for their future models. I also hope that they offer better video cards. The AR only has a 8600 GT. Its a 17 inch, so its supposed to have much better performance considering its hefty weight. Other 17 inch notebooks have an 8800 GTX or 8700 SLi. I just don't understand why Sony doesn't add more powerful graphic cards to their line-up.

Another important area of improvement would be battery life. The FZ series are gorgeous notebooks. The only problem is the 1-2 hours of battery life. Probably from the double-lamp screen. They should start offering LED screens to conserve battery life.

Sony is a very unique/high-quality brand. They should refresh their model line-up with something new and reliable. I hope they do during the summer.

 

of course not, nobody wants to maek anything as cappy as the air.

 

you won't want to get anything more powerful than the NV8GS in the size of the SZ.

Dell also does not put anything more than it in its XPS M1330, cause we dont need decreased battery life and heat noise issue in a small mobile laptop.

People try to judge all laptops by their gaming power, but it is the balance , not the raw power.......if you put something like NV8600GT into a laptop of SZ or XPS M1330 size , you will lose alot of its charm and gain almost nothing.

For mulitmedia use, you would not need any more powerful GPU than the NV84gs.

And the SZ and XPS 1330 are not gaming laptops.

 

I really hope they will add a blu-ray drive in the new laptops, I will not be surprised is Sony fits in their ultrportables the blu-ray drive without discreasing the battery life.
My thoughts about Sony new series are:
-July (after Montevina release) a hole new S series and upgrading the FZ
-October (after the SFF Montevina release) an upgrade or new series of TZ/G series.

 

Really? Is the FZ really gonna be replaced by a 16.4 inch? I'd prefer them to keep it the 15.4inch-way...

 

yes i agree, FS -> FE -> FZ -> FX ?
currently i still stick with my TXN and sold my SZ, and im waiting for something unique and stylish by sony !!

 

The Acer Aspire 6920 uses this 16.4" screen, it has a 16:9 aspect ratio vs 16:10 in 15.4" displays.

I also heard the replacement for the 13.3" SZ series will be using a different screen size, I think 13.1"? Maybe that will also have 16:9 ratio?

I guess laptops are slowly moving towards 16:9 ratio to match HDTVs, have one standard.

 

It will be weird at first to have those funky sizes, but it does make perfect sense.

 

the Acer 6920G is amazingly cool laptop and cheap , I think all laptops will have the 16:9 ratio as rahulnirmal says above.

 

I think that is the case with the 16.4" screens. I recalled that on one of the articles here at notebookreview.com, it mentions about the LCD makers going that direction in the very near future.

 

im glad i read this thread, i think i'll hold off buying an SZ for now

 

The last thing I want is a wider widescreen format. I've been thinking of searching for one of the few surviving non-widescreen notebooks since they are better for working with documents.

John

 

A "wider widescreen format": Will it be suitable to show two pages side by side? Can that be a benefit, or will the text be too small in such a format (now given a screen of the TZ (11,1 inches) or even 13,1 inches)?

As I also work a lot with text writing and editing, I am very concerned with these issues. I think for instance that Word 2007 has a serious limitation compared to earlier versions (e.g. Word 2003) that the Word 2007 "full screen" doesn't take advantage of the whole screen, but leaves two perpendicular areas on each side of the screen that not can be used to anything.

 

please would you show me the link?

I want to read it.

 

Any chance something on the lines of the CR will be launched...?

 

TBH, widescreens on notebooks is useless if you want to fit 2 pages on the screen. It is just too small. On the otherhand, 4:3 screen notebooks provide the benefit of less scrolling, and showing more on the screen at the same time.

BUT I would not purchase a 4:3 notebook because it seems out of style!

 

oh yes widescreen ... something really is needed in sony collection!

 

Although I remembered the screen size of 16.4" wrongly from the article I read (& I apologize for my mistake), the following links will give you a rough idea about LCD makers moving from 15.4" screens.

http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=3980
http://digitimes.com/displays/a20070926PD211.html

 

I think notebook makers are moving from 15.4" (16:10) to 15.6" (16:9). This will result in increasing 15mm in X direction and reducing 12mm n Y direction.

 

Good point. I forgot about losing the vertical space.

Bummer.

 

what does that mean in resolution terms? 1280x720?

 

thank you very much for your link.

 

Does anyone actually have insider info on concrete features of the new SZ? Come on, just break the NDA if there is one. I am at this current time, tempted to purchase an SZ7. To wait or not to wait, that is the question!

 

I won't break NDA, but I'd say wait. You'll be happy you did.

 

When Sony is involved there are no concrete fearures! They know how to mantain these info absolutely secret and then one day day they announce...Here we are only expressing what we would like.
I hoped that Montevina ULV were available also in June, but I'll have to wait more for the small form factors chips. It will be difficult to wait untill September when June new models are coming.

 

I am 100% sure the new SZ replacement will have a Nvidia 9 series graphics card, Intel P series processor, and LED screen. All that means more battery life in the new model, from the efficiency of an LED screen, smaller 55nm graphics card, and 25w sucking P series processor. Plus maybe an Blu-ray drive, slimmer chasis, and wimax option, I would definitely wait. Besides Computex is only 21 days away!

 

Does 16.4" model weigh significantly heavier than 15.4" model? If that is the case, I would just order FZ now since weight and portability is very important for me.

 

i'd like to know more about the new SZ series ... maybe SZ8 !?

 

How'd you know they'll give out everything in Computex? last year there were not a lot of laptop companies out there...

 

I don't know. All I know is that we will see the Montevina and Atom, and within a couple days new laptops will be up for preorder.

 

You mean within the couple days from Computex or from now?
God I've been waiting for so long, checking the internet everyday has become a part of my life...I guess I'll still keep doin it even when I get a new computer

 

Maybe that is not necessarily so?
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=3353428&postcount=3

I think that the basic design of the SZ is fine as it is but adding an HDMI port would be a good idea for those that need it. Maybe upping the dedicated VRAM up to 128MB would also be a good idea.
The keyboard i hope that they don't give the SZ the same keyboard as the TZ because i really don't like keyboards like that. They could work though on making the current keyboard maybe a tiny bit more quiet.

 

Montevina is absolutely worth waiting imo.

Do you guys think that the next TZxx will have an option of 128 Gb SSD? Is just too little for me the 64 Gb...

 

I'm torn between the current SZ series and the new models that will be announced in June. Sony just started up their memory + drive upgrade promotion again which makes the wait for the announcement even more excruciating.

One of the deciding factors for me is the graphics card. Does anyone have any information (or reasonable speculation) on what the new model will have? I was always of the opinion that the SZ should have come equipped with the 8400 GT instead of the GS. 64MB of dedicated video RAM just does not cut it. Since the hardware differences between the two were minimal I always assumed Sony chose the GS to cut costs (64MB instead of 128MB). My concern is that they'll do this again with the new models or just do away with the discreet memory altogether. There aren't many mobile chipsets being manufactured anymore with 64MB VRAM so I'm guessing the latter. Thoughts?

Also, are most of you in agreement that the new models will offer Vista-only drivers? I just don't see Sony investing the time into creating drivers for XP for a completely different platform. For those that wish (or are forced due to compatibility) to continue to use XP the SZ may be the only (and last) option.

 

First specs:

VAIO VGN-BZ11MN / P8400 2GB 160GB 15.4¨ 976.28€
VAIO VGN-BZ11XN / P8400 3GB 200GB 15.4" 1074.40€
VAIO VGN-BZ11VN / P8600 4GB 200GB 15.4¨1270.65€

VAIO VGN-FW11L / P8400 2GB 250GB 15.4¨ VHP 1042.17€
VAIO VGN-FW11E / P8400 3GB 250GB 15.4¨ VHP 1042.17€
VAIO VGN-FW11M / P8400 4GB 250GB 15.4¨ VHP 1184.94€
VAIO VGN-FW11S / P8400 4GB 300GB 15.4¨ VHP 1422.87€
VAIO VGN-FW11ZU / T9400 4GB 300GB WVU 1708.40€

VAIO VGN-SR11M / P8400 3GB 250GB 13.3¨ VHP 1232.53€
VAIO VGN-SR19XN / P8400 3GB 160GB 13.3¨ WVB 1232.53€
VAIO VGN-SR19VN / P8400 4GB 200GB 13.3¨ WVB 1422.87€

VAIO VGN-Z11MN / P8400 4GB 200GB WVB 1766.39€
VAIO VGN-Z11WN / P8600 4GB 250GB WVB 2276.71€

 

Nice, the SZ will finally look different after three years. Can't wait to upgrade.