Sony SA Series Discussion Sony's next new 13.3 laptop

Vaio SB with i5 just arrived at the SonyStyle store in Victoria, BC. They have a i7 (VPCSB1AGX with 6GB ram, 6630 graphics, 500GB hybrid drive but no finger print reader coming any day, say price is $1,500 Canadian). Just FYI

 

When is the SA coming out?

 

Sony Canada rep told me today 7-10 days before it comes up on the Canadian website and thinks we should have a CTO option, but he was not positive. Debating on waiting for the CTO or just buying the i7 thats coming to the store and upgrading the ram to 8GB and giving up the biometric finger print reader which I know is just a toy really...

 

It should be out in a few months according to beaups.

 

Is the only difference with the SA supposed to be a 1600x900 option? That would be PERFECT.

i7 2620M
4GB DDR3
Radeon 6630M
13" 1600x900

All I'd ever need.

 

It's also a bit lighter since it uses carbon fiber in it's chassis.

 

Ahhh...

So more expensive as well.

 

Most probably...

 

I'll check back in many months from now to check the offerings.

 

SA or new Z would be perfect for me if

-i7-2630QM
-6GB DDR3-1333
-HD6630 or+
-Display 13,3" 1600x900 ips
-HDD or SSD
-1,42kg... carbon fiber
-Thunderbolt port
etc...

 

You're not going to see a quad core in a 13" from Sony any time soon.

 

Why would you need 8GB ram? 6GB is quite a bit!
And speaking from experience the finger print reader is completely useless, using is just a hassle. I type in my passwords much faster than the fingerprint reader on my HP can read my fingerprint

 

I agree the finger print reader is a toy......Although I do like toys....I am not going to lose any sleep over it. As for the RAM for the cost to max it out to 8 now I would rather have it then try to upgrade it later. Will stop in and see the i5 version tomorrow in person, but will wait for the i7 and see what the difference is between the instore version and the CTO when it comes online...

 

The fingerprint reader on the Z is pretty fast it may not be faster than typing my password in, but it's sure as hell easy to use and lets me be lazy. I like it because I can set for each finger i scan, what application, etc i want to open which is just toying with it at that point, but i do set my index finger to lock the computer, so when i have to run out of the room really fast, i'll just lock it with a swipe and keep my pesky roommates off my lappy.

 

I can't give you extremely accurate measurements, but I'd say that, on low brightness and less intensive usage (just Internet/IRC, etc.), it lasts 6-7 hours on one charge. Very quick recharging, I have noticed.

 

So has anyone run 3dMark06 on this yet? Where are the benchmarks?

Also is the video card stock clocks or underclocked?

 

I concur with the above. Pretty good. A far cry from the SR I know which takes forever to recharge.

 

I'm happy it's missing just because it won't get in the way of pressing the buttons. I don't see myself using it.

No idea about the clocks, but to give you an idea, the new Vaio CB gets a 3dmark06 of 6446.

 

Ah, thats a pretty cool feature. Alternatively for locking you can hit windows+L as well

 

I also use the fingerprint reader.
It remembers all my passwords to various places/sites.
Also, if there are people around they won't see me typing in my password.

 

i don't suppose you can update the SSD firmware on the Sony Z micro-SSD's?

mine has dual Toshiba SSD, and i can't find any firmware. (THNSNC064GMMJ)

 

Ok, later today ill run 3dmark06/vantage and will run a stress test to see how it is.

 

thanks! Can you get some temps while gaming and etc? do you by any chance could take the temps on the bottom and top of this beautiful thing?

 

Sorry, I am not sure if this is the correct thread to post or the owners, but
Are there any software tools for safely overclocking the AMD 6630M 1GB?

 

i'm not sure if this is for nvidia cards only but most people use msi afterburner or evga precision. if not, just google it?

 

evga precision is nvidia only, msi afterburner works both ways

 

can anyone post some REAL info on SA release date?

 

Does anyone know if I will run into any technical issues ordering a SB with a traditional hard drive & swapping it out with an aftermarket SSD? I don't want to pay Sony's price for the SSD option.

Thanks,
Chris

 

it shouldnt, since those dont void any kind warrranty

 

I already replaced it with an ssd, runs very good . The dvd drive is taken out easily as well, just 2 screws on the underside and then you can slide the drive out. Im still waiting for a bay i can use.

 

That´s far away... any reviews comming much earlier than that?

 

Question:

SB doesn't come with the Fingerprint reader now let alone the TPM chip in the USA.

Will the SA be the model which provides all the features in the USA?

i7 2620M, AMD 6630M 1GB VRAM, 6GB Ram, 500GB hybrid 7200rpm, blueray reader, 1600x900 resolution, carbon fiber lid, fingerprint reader with TPM chip, USB 3.0. (Thunderbolt possible? Would like it but its not mandatory and I heard the Sony's next MacBook Air competitor will have it)

These are the specifications I am looking for in the upcoming SA. If the SA will come out with these specs but at a later date like June 2011, then how much further till Ivy Bridge? If Im going to have to wait for May/June 2011, might as well wait all the way till Ivy Bridge with the new chipset already.

500GB SSD will be too pricey at this time and the 500GB 7200 Hybrid's are the best overall solution to get lots of space in a faster drive.

If I got a real SSD it would drive up the price too high.

 

But you can still swap out the traditional hard drive for a SSD without having to replace/lose the DVD right?

 

Right. Alternatively you can usually have the traditional HDD with a SSD in the DVD bay.

 

i got to try out the SB at the sony style store.. imo, i'm pretty disappointed with it. the first thing i noticed was how subpar the screen was. the viewing angles were not good and the colors didn't have much pop to it. the quality was on par with the previous S model. the display lid felt a bit wobbly tho. looks-wise, it def looks much nicer on the internet than in person. oh and the bottom felt warm. i don't like how the air vents were pushing out a lot of warm air on the bottom corners. i don't see myself having this on my lap for long periods of time.

 

At the Sony Store did they have just one SB model or multiple models and did any have the fingerprint reader?

I presume you went down to the 550 Madison Avenue Store @ the Sony building.

The model is a stock most likely AUO Panel 6 bit color with the viewing angles I posted above. Its not the 1600x900 model and quite frankly I dont know who will be making a 1600x900 panel for 13.3" since not a 1 is out right now.

AUO merged with Quanta Display which is the notebook ODM as well. The specs are matte and the panel is a good panel. Nothing special but no special panels were made at the 13.3" range. The 13.1" Sony Z used a different panel.

The 13.3" will hopefully have a 1600x900 offering with a better panel but I don't know who will be making that since I don't even see any such 13.3" notebook panels from any of the makers right now.

 

At the Sony Style store in Seattle, they had two on display. One was black with the sheet, and they had a silver one right next to it. Sorry, I didn't notice if it had the fingerprint reader or not.

I did notice how much extra bezel there is on the bottom. I didn't really like that. The texture on the outside (textured plastic) felt very cheap and wasn't very pleasing to look at IMHO. I didn't mind the metallic smooth finish of the previous S, but this new exterior reminds me of "crappy American car plastic interior."

 

yea it was at the 550 madison sony building. they had the black finish with the sheet battery on and the white without next to it. neither had the fingerprint reader. is AUO the only panel they're using? i had a macbook pro that had an AUO panel (1st gen unibody) and i remember that a lot of people, myself including, being disappointed with that display as well. it was such a huge difference looking at the Z's screen then at the SB.. the SB's display looked washed out compared to the Z. iirc, it's almost the same quality as the YB there.

 

I presume so, till the models come out with the higher resolution and Im not sure who makes those panels since I don't see any on the open market at this time.

I am presuming the VAIOs that came in stock were base SB's. Just 2 different colors, one with the sheet battery and one without with the entry level specifications.

Obviously Sony has more models to come out in the future and hopefully some of them will have the fingerprint readers.

The Earthquake and nuclear issue in Japan is definitely affecting future shipments. Shipments have been turned away due to Radiation levels from what Ive heard and some factories are still shut down.

Sony Store may have gotten them first, but other stores should have better pricing as they get them in stock and hopefully should offer a wider array of option choices in the future.

Im not in a rush to check out the models in the Sony Store since if I saw them in person I would be expecting exactly what I know about.

Will wait till lots of vendors get a wider array of selection of Sandy Bridge and perhaps Ivy Bridge notebook models in to choose from. Still too early in the process to bother to see anything.

Thanks for letting me know though that the Sony Store did get some in so I presume they have stock of the basic VAIO SB in the store.

Still waiting this one out.

 

Man, sounds a bit disappointing.

It's too bad the Samsung ZX310 (or whatever it's called now) is $600 more than the Sony SB.

 

Someone could easily cut your finger off and access your notebook when you were not looking though...

 

unless he has nuclear secrets on his laptop, I doubt someone would go to such an extreme just to log into his notebook

 

Mythbusters once proved that all you need is a printout of a fingerprint to cheat the reader

 

depends on the kind of fingerprint reader, some readers require heat and are harder to fake. Still though no security measure is perfect.

 

ha ha is that right? i must try that printout!! i thought they put 2 metal lines (thin bars) there on the reader to run a small amount of electricity/current through or something.... hmm...

 

Just checked out the Sony SB at the south cost plaza in CA and I have to say that I'm truly dissapointed in 2 areas. Screen viewing angles are at best average if not worse. Actually I felt like it was very similiar to my old Toshiba R700's crappy screen. Definitely a deal breaker for me. Also there was just too much flex all over its body. Even the alu keyboard surface flexed a lot. The top left where odd sits flexes so much that if felt like it was made from cardboard. The old S definetely feels much more rigid. I decided to give SA another try as SB is no go for me.

Then I had a look at the Samsung's 13 inch 9 series (ZX310) at microsoft store and I loved it. It looked as cool as macbook air but a little bit classier. It had the one of the best screens I have ever seen on a laptop. Colors were amazingly vibrant and brighness was out of this world. Build quality was impressive as well, no flex at all any where on it. Beatiful backlit keyboard and very smooth touchpad. My only complain was the micro SD/HDMI slot.

 

Sony Style Canada just put up the SB Series on their website. You can't CTO yet.
Sony Canada

 

interesting, but I don't that bezel is killing, plus the vent in the rear covered by the screen, damn you sony.

 

Bezel is no problem when you actually use it, the cooling could have been better as the screen covers it. But still that isn't a problem until you start to fully stress the whole pc, only stress tests get it that high.

 

Bad news, hopefully SA has a lot more decent 1600x panel, because if not, then be a waste of time waiting...

and I assume that thunderbolt no will be a novelty in the...