Sony SA Series Discussion Sony's next new 13.3 laptop

So the difference may be MAXIMUM about 70-80 g... not 300g.

 

Still don't think that magnesium cover is lighter than carbon...
SSD without chassis/outer case and 2,5 HDD is not just of 80g difference I believe . Will see.

 

Vertex 2E 2,5" 77g
Seagate 2,5" Momentus 750GB 115g

So...

 

... different outer chassis under keyboard? Unlikely. Carbon fiber minus 300g? DVD drive off?...

 

First, I want to thank you for sharing all this insight with us!

And to clarify, does this mean that the disks won't be using proprietary connections on the SA, and that one could opt for the cheaper HDD option and easily replace it with an SSD of their choosing?

Will there be a blu-ray option on the SA? This is 2011, after all.

 

Surely it will, the SB has it.

 

Ah, didn't realize the SB had it--thanks!

 

https://shop.sony.co.uk/shop/VAIO-Laptop-PCs/S-Series-13-3

 

correct. The weight difference is probably due to carbon fiber use in SA. SA is more refined than SB, that's why it is taking more time to arrive and will cost more. I believe the SA with HDD will be around 1,5kg

 

Wow SonyUSA is lagging so much behind the SonyUK/EU... SonyUK/EU has the CA, SB and the VPC-Z avaliable for customization... the US... doesn't >< How does Sony expect to compete with anyone in the US at this rate?

 

The stock models aren't available to buy yet, but the custom models have been available to order since last week. They were 2 week lead time when they went live, now showing 3-4 week so i guess they are both selling well.

 

They're available to order in the US or the UK/EU?

 

In the UK

https://shop.sony.co.uk/shop/VAIO-Laptop-PCs/S-Series-13-3

 

They'd better not be making SB available only at Bestbuy like last year's S...

 

I am not sure if this link is posted here already:
S Series : VAIO and Computing : tab3 : Sony

It is confirmed; the Sony Vaio SA/SB/SC is lighter, barely smaller (volume-wise), and barely thinner, than the 13" MacBook Pro, yet the latter does not have dedicated graphics.

 

Maybe Sony has decided that it is in their best interest to simply give up the US market? Just kidding.

 

There will be no SA with HDD, at least as I know.

 

Hi guys,

I'm quite close to ordering one SB. I'd like to put an SSD there, but I refuse to pay 480€ to lose HDD and get one. So I'd like to go for an HDD and replace either the HDD or DVD drive with a reasonable SSD (OCZ vertex 2 or Intel x25m or?).

I don't mind the DVD and would even prefer to have both SSD and HDD instead. Would it possible to replace the DVD drive with an SSD? What do I need for that? This will not void the warranty, right?

Or is it just better to order the cheapest HDD and replace that one? Wouldn't I then need to demount the entire laptop (and void the warranty) to access it?

 

I dont know but i want to do that as well. Ive seen the pdf and the drive is taken out in the first step so it could be possible that you can take it out without losing warranty. Even without having to undo that many screws.

I also got an e-mail saying that my SB is going to be sent between the 11th and 16th of march. there is a 7 day delivery time so that means i would have my laptop between 18th and 23th of march . Thats a lot better than 4-5 weeks time or even 5-6 weeks thats on the website right now.

 

Beaups said the opposite a few pages back.

 

so the differences between the SA and SB are basically screen and the materials of the chassis, and thats it?

 

i believe the chassis of both SA and SB are aluminum, with the SA having a carbon fiber finish on the lid

there's no way they would have 2 separate manufacturing processes just to produce a carbon fiber chassis SA and an aluminum SB, it would be too costly

anyway, my guess (from no evidence whatsoever) is that the SA has both the integrated and AMD gpu, whereas the SB will only use the integrated gpu

 

The SA I think does have a carbon fibre chassis - there's no way a 300g difference could come from replacing the magnesium/aluminium lid with a carbon fibre one. A CF chassis was the selling point of the old SZ series.

The SB also has hybrid graphics, though the default option is the weaker 6470HD, with the 6630HD a £60 (70€, US$100) option.

 

but from the pictures i saw of the prototypes at CES, which i assume are the SA and SB, the chassis of both seemed to have a metallic shine

and i guess i have no idea what the difference between the SA and SB is then.. perhaps the SB doesn't have a backlit keyboard?

edit: nvm, looks like you're right, the aluminum part that i saw only made up the keyboard area of the SA/SB, the bottom is black, looks like it could be carbon fiber

 

SB has backlit kb, check sonystyle UK

 

Yep, the keyboard surround and palmrest is a single piece of machined aluminium on both SA and SB.

The only clear differences between SA and SB right now are:

> SA has a carbon fibre chassis and screen lid; on SB they are aluminium/magnesium
> SA has a higher res, higher quality screen by default (1600x900); SB has a maximum res of 1366x768
> SA has a better discrete GPU (6630HD 1GB); SB has a 6470HD (512MB VRAM) as the default option, but can be upgraded to the 6630HD
> SA probably won't have the Core i3-2310M as the cheapest CPU before customisation.
> SA will (according to earlier posts about its specs) have a HD webcam

I just hope there's a full HD (1920x1080) screen option on the SA - I was going to buy a VPC-Z with that screen but decided to wait for Sandy Bridge. That was the best screen on any 13" laptop IMO.

 

can beaups confirm if the SSD options of the SA are raided?

what I can see the differences between those models are really the screen and the carbon fiber body. if thats only it, I will go and buy the SB

 

The display on the SA is higher res but whether it's better quality yet we don't know and only can hope that it does have the premium display.

Also, you can buy the SB preconfigured with a 6630M GPU.
VPCSB1A9E/B (VPCSB1A9E/B) : Technical Specifications : VAIO and Computing : Sony

 

Beaups, could you please tell us (me in particular ) how is WWAN access implemented in the SA / SB series? I am interested if there is another Mini PCI-E slot except for the one for the Wi-Fi card and I was hoping to see the WWAN card installed in one... but in the FCC pictures I can't see such thing.
Is there another way WWAN is implemented or it's just a mini PCI-E card but the FCC didn't care much to show us that part?

 

Sorry, I forgot about that model - I was simply referring to base SB spec.

Seeing as the SA is the temporary VPC-Z replacement, we would expect it to have the premium display. Because the new Z won't be around till the summer, and because it'll be (according to beaups) drastically different physically and won't have a HDD option, a portion of the VPC-Z market (myself included) will move to the SA, so it makes sense that the better screen should be an option. If they don't offer the premium display, then they'll simply lose a lot of potential customers.

The screen in the SB is not a Sony panel, but a Chunghwa, and the maximum res for their 13" panels is 1366x768, so I'd expect a Sony panel in the SA. I'm guessing Sony make the VAIO Display Premium panels, while the cheaper panels are sourced from other manufacturers... Am I right here?

 

I wasn't aware Sony made any of its screens?

As a side note, my mate used to work for Chunghwa in Taiwan

 

Well I don't know about that because both the 1600x900 and the 1080p displays in the Z series are made by Toshiba.

 

I see... are they Sony-designed, with Toshiba simply being the contractor? I haven't seen any of these displays used in Toshiba's laptops.

That's pretty cool

 

What was cool was when I was in the process of getting divorced and need to 'get away from it all' I went to Taiwan to stay with him for 4 months as work provided him with an all expenses 2 bedroom apartment

 

Wow that's amazing! I'd love to go visit Taiwan sometime, but 4 months at an all-expenses 2-bed flat, that's just fantastic! That's very kind of your mate.

Getting off-topic a little now though...

Can anyone confirm what the expected delay with the SA and what the cause is. The faulty Intel chipsets were apparently only those which supported quad-core CPUs... unless quad-core CPUs are coming to SA (in which case me = ).

 

I don't know if the lid is really carbon fiber as the lid on the current Z is just plastic with carbon fiber dust which make it oh so sexy , but still prone to scratches... i do wish Sony decides to use carbon fiber as the material... it'll be more durable

and the 1080p screen IS the best screen on any 13" laptop... hell i don't know any other 13" laptop with a 1600x900 screen besides the VGN-Z

here's some OT, but this morning i was playing with some screen savers on Win 7... and there's this one called ribbon... looks so darn nice on my 1600x900 screen...

 

the entire lid is carbon fiber

manufacturers often combine carbon fiber with plastic to make what is known as "carbon fiber-reinforced plastic/polymer" (as sony has done with the vaio z's chassis, which includes the lid and underside. the keyboard area should be aluminum), the plastic gives the carbon fiber rigidity as pure carbon fiber is extremely flexible. in fact, carbon fiber polymers (especially with plastic) are much more commonly used than pure carbon fiber and therefore it is commonly simply referred to as "carbon fiber"

i'm sure you notice how flexible the lid is, could you imagine if sony mixed any less plastic in with the carbon fiber? and unfortunately, carbon fiber feels exactly like plastic, so it is easily mistakable for plastic

 

Does anybody know if the SA will feature a Thunderbolt port (as an option like the FireWire was on previous Sony models) or if there is a ExpressCard with Thunderbolt to be lunched around the lunch of the SA? I just realized that I have no other way to get a decent signal to my 30'' LG but through the MiniDisplayport which is intigrated in Thunderbolt.

 

You should be fine with a hdmi cable.

Thunderbolt is also a Apple term for Intel's Light Peak technology so it is more than likely going to have a different name on a PC.

 

The chassis is Carbon Fiber, but IIRC from the Vaio Z i5/i7 owners thread part 1, the lid of the VPC-Z is just plastic while the chassis is carbon-fiber since not all lids are "Premium Carbon Fiber". Many asked Sony Customer Reps about it and the word seems to be just a carbon fiber finish on top of a plastic lid.

 

@NightFyre unfortunately at the moment it looks unlikely. All specs seen so far show that it's not the case. Since the SB is almost identical to the SA, we can assume there won't be a Thunderbolt port and there won't be an ExpressCard slot. There will, on the other hand, be a USB 3.0 port. Intel Wireless Display is available on some models (from looking at the Americas' User Manual posted earlier in the thread).

Maybe the next Z will have a Thunderbolt port...

@Brawn Carbon fibre is also very brittle, so when it does flex, the fibres simply break, so CFRP combines the strength of the carbon fibres and the resin used to bond them, with a polymer that allows it to flex without damage.

@Achusaysblessyou My SZ has a CFRP lid. It's easily visible because the lid is worn in places and the weave of the carbon fibre shows slightly if you hold it at the right angle to a light source

@uswarrior1 Light Peak was the name of the technology during its development phase. Intel's website calls it Thunderbolt, and since it's not a proprietary connector only for Apple devices, it should have the same name on PCs. It would be confusing for consumers if it had a different name.

 

Is there any chance that the SA would have a slightly thinner lid because of carbon fibre construction?

 

I don't know when the last time Sony has actually made their own panels. As far as I know, there are only a handful of LCD/LED manufacturers on the planet and Sony has never been one them.

It's a good question though. Who else even goes with the 13.1" screen?

 

I am not sure if I can get my old LG running with an HDMI 1.3 or higher port since I am not sure if the display can handle such high resolution as a single link input. I will try it out with an adapter and report to you all back ASAP ^^

Thunderbolt is the new name for a new interface under the former working title Light Peak http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thunderbolt_(interface)

 

this was found in singapore hardwarezone pages. Sony's Latest Salvo - Inspiring Innovation - HardwareZone.com

 

...and now it's available in the US also:

Sony VAIO S arrives stateside, brings along an advanced extended battery -- Engadget

 

VAIO S Series PC | Sony | SonyStyle USA

Up for preorder. Base price of $969 and ETA of the end of the month.

Has anyone been able to figure out if these are standard sized laptop HDs? I am thinking about ordering one but want to put my own SSD in it.

 

where the **** is the sa version. okay, jk. i know we have to wait until summer. $500 for bluray read and write = fail.

 

Standard 2.5" hard drive as far as I am aware.

 

the s series looks very competitive, looking at the pricing.. it doesnt even seem to have a "sony" premium on it.. can anyone find a similarly spec'ed laptop from a different manufacturer for roughly the same price?

also, since there's 2 separate manufacturing processes for the SA and SB, this must mean that sony is anticipating high sales, and from the looks of it, especially from the SB

i think sony has decided that it's time to destroy the competition