Sony SA Series Discussion Sony's next new 13.3 laptop

The absense of an expresscard slot is baffling because theres plenty of space on the chasis to fit one and it allows you to add an eSATA port or a firewire 400 port if you need it. Most people doing doing mobile music production are likely to have a firewire soundcard. As mentioned earlier in the thread, there are an increasing amount of USB 2.0/FW 400 hybrids but they are pretty expensive.

 

Are the harddisks 1.8" or 2.5"? Because it's possible to get a Dual SSD with the config for the SB. I'm wondering if it's possible to replace the harddisk with an SSD.

 

How can you know that without having either taken one apart or seen photos of the inside?!

An ExpressCard slot takes up a not insignificant amount of space inside the laptop (especially one of this size); it's not just about the footprint of the hole on the side bezel.

 

I want to believe.

 

More close-up photos of SB, including the bottom side:

http://www.pcworld.idg.com.au/

Any surprises?

 

Not that I can see... (you have your URL tags the wrong way round btw)

I just want mine to turn up now! (I rang Sony earlier to enquire after the status of my order and they basically told me to stop whinging, as I will be one of the first 50 people in the country to get my hands on a custom-build SB )

Also interested to see when the dock & slice battery are coming out, and the prices. The slice battery is up on the Sony online shop but no price yet.

 

I think that the long life batterythat you can order in the custom, it's the slice battery..

 

Well spotted, I think it is. I think when I was ordering mine I just scrolled past it when I saw the standard "Please note that the long life battery will slightly protrude due to larger size", thinking it was more like a typical extended battery, and you could also order the slice on top of that.

Can't afford it at the moment anyway (or, to be honest, have much use for it apart from bragging rights!), was just interested as to the price.

What would be useful though is a second power supply, since it looks like my several years worth of 19.5V ones I have distributed in various locations won't work with this laptop. Does anyone know if the charger that comes with the slice battery can also function as a laptop PSU? If it did it would make more sense to spend £120 on the slice battery with included PSU, than spending £50 or whatever Sony will want just for a second PSU..

 

The charger of the slice battery cannot be plugged in when the battery is in use. The onlu way to use the charger is to put in on the battery (there's no wire from the charger to the battery) so the battery must be out from the laptop. I know that when the battery is plugged in the laptop, the psu of the laptop charge the first battery and then the second one... but there's no way to use the second charger as a psu..

 

Read somewhere the mention that the S(B or A) lid was very bendy.
Wondering if that will be the same story as with the previous gen Z with scratches and bruises...
And I would recommend people to actually see those before you buy them because Sony can fit some really crap displays on some of their models.

 

I know that you can charge the slice battery by itself using its own charger, or when the slice battery is mounted to the laptop and the laptop plugged in, it will charge from the laptop charger after the internal battery is full.

But what I meant was: can I use the charger that came with the slice battery just to plug into the laptop to power/charge it - and by extension, could I use the power supply that came with the laptop to charge the slice battery by itself?

Since they run on the same voltage I think the extra charger that comes with the slice battery will hopefully be the same as the main one. This enables workflows like taking the slice and one charger with you, then when the slice runs out but you still want to be mobile you can take the slice off and leave it in a corner charging while you run on the internal battery. It would be a real PITA if, when you left the slice-charger at home, you could only use the laptop charger to charge the slice if it was already attached to the laptop, if you see what I mean.

Plus the fringe benefit that you'd then have two chargers - I have five or six of the 19.5V ones from various Vaios I've had over the years, and it's really convenient being able to leave one at work, a spare one in the car, some in different rooms round the house etc... Obviously it would cost a fortune to buy five new chargers for my new laptop, I'd just like to replicate some of this convenience if possible!

Edit: I've just found some pictures of it, and it looks like you're right; I see what your 'no wire' comment means. If you can only use the slice-charger to charge the slice and not the laptop, and only use the laptop-charger to charge the laptop and not the slice by itself, that's a really crappy design decision seemingly made for the sole purpose of getting more money out of me for extra chargers!

Edit 2: in fact the picturesaren't very clear - does that little box contain the charging circuit only and not the transformer then? It looks like it's just plugged into a DC lead, so either they're giving you another PSU with it or (more likely) just expecting you to use the PSU that came with the laptop?!

 

Here is the reference to the "bendy" lid:
Sony VAIO S Series Hands-On - TrustedReviews - TrustedReviews

The lid is very flexible, but not because Sony has skimped on quality. Rather, it's made to resist bumps, dents and scrapes – to bend rather than break, so to speak. This and decreased weight are the main reasons Sony went with magnesium over aluminium for the lid, and as an added bonus it doesn't show off fingerprints, dust or scratches.

 

^"no wire charger" - How am I supposed to plug it in an electrical socket?

 

What we mean is: Electrical socket - wire - charger - battery.

Between the charger and the additional battery there's no wire.. so you plug the charger directly into the battery..

 

No scratches... very good.

 

Well as long as it's not scratches on neither the lid nor the display!
Here the no scratch mention is for the lid

I've already been bitten once by Sony claiming that having a bendy lid as a very clever idea (VGNZ) and then went for a stiff lid on the replacement (VPCZ).

 

But from the pictures it looks like that box is just the charging circuit, and still needs a laptop transformer/power supply?

So it goes:

Electrical socket > Mains AC wire > Transformer > DC wire [i.e. up to here it's what you'd plug into a standard laptop] > Charger > Battery

The question I'm trying to find out the answer to is whether you get another 11.1V mains transformer with the slice & its charger box thing, or whether they expect you to use the one that comes with the laptop.

 

^I totally get your question.
Another question might be: if a transformer is included, does it have to be the same as for the notebook? I could definitely possible that the charging unit for the slice battery works with a different voltage than the one from the notebook.

 

-sigh- im gonna have to wait till these displays get reviewed on sb and c series. My radiance display is too beautiful but man i wish i could have this envy 14 magically change to a sandy bridge envy 14 with radiance display

 

I think it will almost certainly be 11.1V the same as the laptop, otherwise the engineering challenges of getting it to charge off the laptop's charging circuit when the slice is attached to the laptop would be interesting, to say the least.

I just think it would be pretty harsh of them to go 'Here's this new smart battery concept that you can charge outside the laptop! But if you want to leave it charging at home and take your laptop somewhere else, you have to leave your charger there as well!', but I can totally see them doing it.

See here for the battery, and look at the pictures - the little block that attaches to it isn't a transformer as I first thought, because it takes the 11.1V DC input. So the little block will just be the brains of the charging circuit, which is fair enough - no point integrating that into the battery and making you cart that around attached to the laptop when there's already a charging circuit in there. But note under 'supplied accessories' at the bottom there's no mention of getting another transformer. & although they're not listing an SB-specific charger yet, they want about another £100 for a second charger....

 

Why do you need to get a new laptop? What is wrong with your relatively new HP?

 

also every 1 wondering if it has a faulty board or not.

I read that intel will be giving manufacturers stickers to place on the outside notifying that it is a non faulty motherboard so you know for sure what you are getting. So just wait till people start receiving and we will know.


Theres nothing wrong with it actually I just want sandy bridge

 

The lust for shiny things is too much!

 

You do extreme CPU intensive work then? It doesn't make sense to sell a relatively new machine just now if your only wish is SB. Why not wait for Ivy Bridge & the other hardware upgrades that will come with it?

 

i dunno man i have a bad addiction always wanting the newest thing but i do love this display on the envy 14 i've owned atleast 15 laptops in my lifetime and this is the best display ive ever seen

well its not better then the dell 30" u3011 super high rez IPS and the 30" is the coveted 16:10

ok im gonna hold off till ivy bridge. My warranty lasts till then anyways so might as well ride out my 2 year warranty b4 i change

And if my radiance screen breaks and they have no replacement oh boy i will milk HP hard to make that up to me

 

What is Ivy Bridge? Will that be the next gen of processors? How weird that this information is already known, if this is the case.

 

There is nothing wrong with my statement. Actually it is not mine but Intels statement. The only problemtic cougar point motherboards were the ones with these partucular quad core i7 processors with q suffix.

Here is the intels statement at the end of the of the Cnet article I posted.

List of Intel Sandy Bridge laptop processors. To date, laptops based on Intel Sandy Bridge Core i7 quad-core processors-- listed with Q suffix--are the only laptop systems potentially affected, according to Intel.

(Credit: Intel)

 

is this Sony Vaio which i found local in stock still a worthwhile choice?

Sony Signature Z13SGX/BJ

The cpu and twin SSD drives look awesome.

but im a bit concerned about that 330M hybrid video. is that a bit weaker than all the 460M stuff I have seen lately?

 

well Sandy Bridge appears to have some nice battery life benefits as well as a very nice integrated GPU, so if anything, you'll notice better battery life which is nice

the GTX 460M is a beast of a card... you mean the 425M found in the Vaio F series? well here's a rough list of all mobile gpus:

Mobile Graphics Cards - Benchmark List - Notebookcheck.net Tech

 

thats probably what i meant.. i just see a lot of hjigher numbered cards out now than the 330M thats in that Sony.. i would think the 5870M I had in my G73 blows it away...

 

But you start from a wrong comparision:

SB or Z is a ultraportable laptop, small screen, laptops that must work for a lot of hour with only the battery.. we talk about 6 or 7 wi-fi navigation.
G73 is NOT an ultraportable..has a bad battery-life and the weight is not even similar. It's a different range. It doesn't aim to be portable so it can have a powerful GPU.
It's impossible to have powerfull CPU, GPU, small screen, small laptop, long battery life and good materials at the same time. If you seek really powerful GPU adn CPU, aim to a desktop replacement or similar, if you want something very portable, with long battery life and medium/low GPU (cuz there's no space enough for disspation and powerful gpu are energy eater) SB/SA and Z are ok.

 

very good thoughts.

 

So IMHO Series Z at the moment has a lot of bad points against the SB. The olny two good points are that it has a very good display (Serie S SB has a worse one... but no one knows if it's however a good one or not) and it's 1,4 kg and not 1,7 kg (and better materials).. So, I don't think it's a good idea...unless you see weight as a very very very important point.

 

BTW next gen SSD drives will be nearly just as fast as the Z series quad raid 0. And for half the price probably.

 

"a lot of bad points" - which ones?

another HUGE point in favour (at least to me) is the higher res offered with the Z.

 

This is such a massive consideration. For a lot of people, 1600x900 in a small form factor IS the selling factor. That's why I got my Z.

If I were to upgrade, it would be for the SA.

 

Does Sony have any other laptops with an aluminum palmrest? (I believe that's what the SB has.) A few years back I purchased an SR, which was mostly plastic, and the paint began to wear away after less than a year of normal use. After over 2 years the palm areas look pretty bad now, and I'd hate to encounter the same problem on another laptop.

 

When I say "very good display" means higher resolution, brightness, wide gamut and contrast

And that's why I'm still hesitating to buy SB, even if the difference in weight it's not a problem (1.7 kg it's already very light for me) and the components are widely powerful. But that screen... If we'll discover that ita can give at least a contrast about 400/500:1 and a black around 0.5/0.6 and a gamut which is not strict as the previous..I'd buy. But I think it's difficult to see something like this on SB... (SA... I WANT THE SA!!!! :'( )

P.S. bad points for now:

- video card
- cpu
- no chance to have configuration without ssd
- (in my opinion, old design, i prefer SB )
- no USB 3.0
- consistently thicker (2.39 [min and max, from photos thickness seems to be regular] vs 3.27 [max, series Z is quite thick at the circle with electrical plug entry] )
- absence of a wide and thin battery (for me it's a negative point)

About the 34 xpress card... well... in tech specs it exists, who knows... XD

 

I would LOVE it if someone could chime in about whether or not we'll be able to outfit the SA with a "VAIO Display Premium". Someone in the know or something. ;-) ;-P. Hint hint

 

One thing I've noticed about the SA/B, if I'm seeing it correctly, is that the keyboard is recessed, which could be a plus over the Z. I just had my FHD screen replaced after about 6 months of use because it was showing bruising marks. Great screen, but too sensitive, and in my mind it's a design flaw to have the keys close to being in contact with the screen when the lid's closed.

 

So has it been confirmed that the SB series will not have the HD display? For its size, the resolution isn't as much of a concern as the quality itself.

Otherwise, these notebooks are looking pretty good compared to what the competition has to offer.

 

despite the sa/sb being thinner, remember that the z is 13.1 whereas the sa/sb is 13.3, the overall volume of the sa/sb is larger (which means it is less portable), not to mention that it is roughly 20% heavier (and this is without the slice battery)

also, i havent seen any usb 3 peripherals yet.. and usb 3 peripherals should work with usb 2, don't know about other people but usb 3 might save me a total of 10 seconds at most over a year of using my laptop

the only 2 things that would have me choose the sa over the z is the processor and gpu, which would allow me to play a lot more games

 

In some markets you can configure it with a hdd. Bought one myself in the Netherlands with a harddisk (CTO model from sonystyle)

 

I don't agree because the difference of 1 cm in D and 2 cm in L it's not so evident, if you put it in a bag, it's difficult to see any differences, I think it's more important the thickness: if I put a Z into my bag, I'll have less USEFUL space then SA (for book, paper, ecc)... and talking about volume, SB/SA has a lower volume than Z.
Even if the additional battery adds weight, you get 14 (12) hours which is excellent. And you get a thickness which is equal to the maximum of series Z. Having more weight is a good compromise in this case (if you want an additional battery).

For example external HD ( Analisi USB 3.0: quanto realmente pi veloce dell'USB 2.0? - Pagina 8 - Tom's Hardware - sorry for the italian article XD) or boxes for hd or audio card in high quality that are starting to be produced..or external SSD..

 

totally agreed!
In addition to that, I hate the large frame around the screen. It's just wasted screen real estate. Overall the laptop is like as big as a 14" compared to 13" of a Z (without knowing the exact dimensions right now).
To me those things (in combination with a HD+ or FHD screen) are a big deal, not to say the biggest deal. I don't care about having "the best" cpu or gpu. I just need a lots of RAM and an SSD. Of course the CPU shouldn't be the worst, but I'm sure almost the cheapest one available should do the trick for me.

 

There will be NO HD displays on SB. 1600*900 is reserved for SA series to be followed later, in May approximately.

 

The new 14" CA Series has the 1600x900 option:

https://shop.sony.co.uk/shop/VAIO-Laptop-PCs/C-Series-14

 

Yeah, but look at it!

 

I bet it sells well

 

I bet it does as well. It's actually a pretty good spec for the £750 they're asking for it in the UK, and portable enough to get a good segment of the high school/student market (i.e. all those kids I see about wearing clothes that are similar colours to the laptops! )

I'd be interested to find out whether the rumours of it actually being a Compal or something are true though.