Sony SA Series Discussion Sony's next new 13.3 laptop

It may have been already explained or simply obvious but what exactly are the difference between the options of extended sheet battery vs large capacity sheet battery?

The latter is cheaper than the former as well.

 

So you are going to pay for:

256gb --- 600
300gb --- 550

so you are not only overpaying it, 50 bucks, but 80 more since that is the price of a SSD of ''40gb'' of size (its going to be more, you are going to only have available for you something around 240gb, thus enlarging the gap to 60g)

with a proprietary format, which if the drive fails, you are faced with the only option of sony SSDs replacements.

and without trim to add that to boot.

damn thats wasting money

 

Alright, so the S series (SA/SB/etc.) is running on Intel HM65 Express Chipset.

So does it support SATA3 HDDs/SSDs?

On another note, does the S series have 2 HDD slots hiding?

I've seen options for 2xSSDs, so I'm wondering if I can do that aftermarket?

 

That's where the form-factor issues come in that we're discussing. I believe it's proprietary from what I've read, though I personally do not have a Z.

 

I don't know when this refresh arrived but it looks much better than the first release. VPCSA290X, with a 1600x900 display! Now THAT,s more like it. I am ordering it blind without having seein any display models. Does anyone know if it will be anything like the 1600x900 on the Z?

 

I think it's pretty clear just by comparing the prices of Z and SA that SA's display won't be anything like old Z's. I know there are other differences between these two laptops, but the price gap is just that big. I think SA's display will most likely be the same quality as SB or maybe just a bit better.

As of now, the price difference between SB and SA (same CTO config) is $200. I think resolution upgrades in general are usually about ~$100 (some manufacturers offer them in their CTOs), but that's all very relative. So, yeah, maybe it will be a bit better than SB. But I don't think we should hope for Z level of quality.

 

It would be really sweet if I could add SSD instead of replacing HDD completely. And I wouldn't have to buy a SSD with much space (just enough for Win7 and a Linux distro), so it would be less expensive too.

Is there any way to actually do this in a laptop such as SA?

 

You can replace the dvd drive with a hard drive and do it that way.

 

What I'm thinking about is the way they put 2 SSDs in SA. And, if I understood correctly, some said that there might be problems with replacing HDD with a standard 2.5" SSD because Sony might make HDD bays smaller for RAID purposes. So I'm thinking if I can buy somewhere a SSD with a smaller case which would fit next to Sony's HDD. I know there are 1.8" SSDs but I doubt they are much thinner.

 

you will need a Y splitter and engineering skills for doing this, for one you would have to develop a thinner 1.8'' HDD, so thin that it should resemble the SSD without the housing.

now what you could do is to take a look at the owners lounge and see if the intel 310 fits the pcie slot, and if it works. that is your best option, doing this you retain the SSD (max capacity is 80gb) and the HDD

and no the size of the bay is the usual fare

 

The Z was/is extremely overpriced.

I have been told by 3 people from Sony that the 1600x900 is the same quality of the Z.

 

Holi shiznit... you found not 1 but 3! ppl from sony who know what is going on?!

I had to talk to 2 sales reps (phone), 2 sales reps (Sony store), and 2 tech support guys
(phone) to find out the only thing they know about sony products is what you can find out
yourself by browsing their website...

NONE of the 6 ppl confirmed that the display panel on the SA is "better" in terms
of viewing angles and color vividness.

Only thing they would say is emphasize the resolution difference, since they themselves
had no personal knowledge on the subject matter; only what is stated on the website.

Sony must be also outsourcing it's call centers, because everytime I called, the rep
had some sort of accent. In addition, I could hear people in the background having
private conversations in Spanish or Portuguese.

 

yeah these reps can't be trusted..

im planning on getting the SA if the display is as good as the old Z Series (which is significantly better than the SB display)

if the display is not on par....im going to get the old Vaio Z Series with the slightly outdated hardware....I'm starting to think the display on laptops is THAT important..where i would sacrifice some newer technology (like sandybridge cpu)

FYI - im not into the new Z Series...external GPU/ODD..no thank you.

I can't wait for the first review to come out on the SA!!

 

Holi shiznit... I never said they knew what was going on, did I? I am simply relaying the information I was given.

 

I think Z was overpriced too, but I think rather than the branding it was because of its uniqueness; it was the only small-sized laptop with great high-resolution screen. If SA had such screen quality, its price would be higher because it would currently be the only such laptop too, since Sony stopped selling the Z.
Well, I think new Z comes out relatively soon, so they might as well have NOT overpriced SA and will overprice the new Z because of its past fame.

It would be really sweet for all of us if, when first tests show up, you could say "I told you so!"

 

Check out this site. There's a variety of preconfigured SA's listed. Seems like they're preparing the site for launch. It provides some of the specs. being offered. I believe you can CTO from them as well.

 

Is there anybody out like me which is afraid about the cooling system position? Its on the rear side between case and screen, i think this a problem for the airflow?

 

I would have to say that I agree with you here. When I bought my Vaio SR, I didn't really know anything about the screens, I just liked the specs. Now when I go to BestBuy, or Walmart and look at the laptops isle, I'm amazed at how terrible they all look - the viewing angles, the dim backlights, the low contrast - it amazes me how prevalent these problems still are, even coming from respected brands! The screen is far more important than the specs for a laptop which I will be on all the time.

As far as the Z series is concerned, I can see the appeal for office workers, but as a student I'd rather have it all-in-one. Docks are just one more thing to lose, and it sounds like something else to break (or have hellish driver support).

 

Yep, they're an authorized dealer. I purchased my Z from them when it first came out and was a great company to deal with. Offered me a free OS upgrade and case when my order was delayed due to Sony. Looks like they have a ton of preconfigs that don't have the blu-ray player if you're looking to save some $$$.

 

Most of the vents are located on the bottom of the notebook though, so it's not only the vent on the rear of the case that's doing the job.

 

How on earth can you lose a dock?! It'll be on your desk! You are more likely to lose your laptop than the dock.

 

True, but the issue of driver support is a serious one. Sony's driver support is not great. As much as I like the dockable concept, my preference is still to a completely integrated unit, since I use my GPU while traveling as much as at my workstation. Having to carry the dock defeats the purpose of having a portable unit.

Do the cooling fans exhaust through those other vents?

Bronsky

 

I completely agree. If I want my GPU in a dock, I can just buy any Sandy Bridge laptop and $50 DIY vDock.

I'm going to go look at an SB in the store today. I really hope the viewing angles aren't as bad as everyone is implying.
The 13" GPU/SandyBridge market needs more choices...

 

That's the problem... if it has my ODD/GPU in it, I'll probably wind up taking it with me to work/labs on occasion. Like I said, I'm a student, and I commute 20 miles to school every day. I certainly would be bringing it with me if I intended to do heavy graphics work. And I know if I put it in my office at work, I'd forget it there and be sad when I got home.

Yep, and for my work I'd probably wind up carrying the dock about half of the time. I'd rather sacrifice a little more weight/size than to have more proprietary Sony parts to deal with.

 

Still no word on uk release date, it look like 3rd June in the US, it looks like the stock models will be fine and best option to get one quickly is uprgrade the ram / ssd yourself

 

what you say makes no sense. don't take me wrong but you don't seem to understand that the new Z is rumored to be a tablet/pc hybrid.

the "dock" as it's called is nothing but the standard notebook keyboard part (the one with all the components but the screen) while the screen will be more tablet-like, so a litle thicker since it will get the CPU,etc and not just the screen but both parts will work as ONE, like a notebook.
that's what's SO HOT about the new Z. have you seen an Asus Pad transformer or whatever it's called? now imagine that in a 13'' and with an i7 instead of an Intel Atom/Nvidia Tegra2...

how could you forget it if it's locked to the other part? it's a 1,2Kg main tablet part plus a 0,7Kg dock part so it will weigh just about the same as the SB/SA...

 

New Z is not a tablet. But even if it's the same weight as the SA/SB, it's still going to be 33% heavier than the current Z which is 3lbs. New one is 4lbs with two units.

 

I did not understand this about the new Z, and neither win7 nor linux are suited in the tablet area, at least from my point of view...
The only thing I've enjoyed doing with my touchscreen laptop is web brows.. well, web scrolling !! and clicking around, mostly with flash games...

not suited !

 

I'm pretty sure the new Z is not a hybrid... this would be totally out of place for the series. I definitely got the impression from this thread that it's trying for really thin/light offloading the unecessary features into a dock of some kind. This seems to fit perfectly with the business mindset of office work followed by meetings, travel, etc.

 

How can you be "pretty sure" that it's not a hybrid? They've been saying it will be one this whole thread.

 

how about you two spend some time and read the ACTUAL rumor of it. the rumor is speculative already but "you guys" just take it another step by adding your own ideas and talking about themas fact.

it's not a tablet, it's a ultraportable notebook with a new concept. apparently of splitting the components so it can double as both (real power) tablet and regular notebook.



often business people(amongst many other people and situational needs) don't need GPU or ODD, for example, in a presentation or work, so they used netbooks and tablets. But this means having 2 devices, a tablet/netbook and a notebook for entertainment and heavy work. So why not just simplify, since thunderbolt is enabling it, and just have ONE PC that can take on both jobs. that is my speculation.

 

Thank you, this is what I've been saying the whole time. People just make up their own stuff and spread it as fact. Drives me nuts.

 

Will there be any kind of student discount besides the stupid buy a 300 dollar warranty and get 180 dollars off?

 

I think all Vaios have some sort of student discount. When I got my Z last winter, you could get 5% off at the Sony Style store (don't know if it worked online) as long as you showed them your student id. You may be able to get more % off depending on the computer. The Z has a pretty weak discount. I wouldn't be surprised to see a discount for the new one.

 

I just called sony and asked. They offer a 10% discount on all laptops when you pair it with an extended warranty. Does anyone know if there will be any other kinds of discounts coming soon? I know they did a back to school sale last year, anything like that going to happen this year?

 

The 5% offer I mentioned did not require the extended warranty.

 

They no longer offer a 5% discount. All they have is the 10% with the extended warranty.

 

Can I get any confirmation that this SSD would work with a base Vaio SA if it's labeled as compatible with a Vaio SB?
512GB, 2.5-inch Solid State Drive, upgrades for Sony VAIO VPCSB190X Laptop/Notebook, CT2055670 from Crucial.com

 

Yes, it will work just fine.

 

I do apologize for any misunderstanding. I don't recall presenting my ideas as facts - I have not yet finished reading the whole thread yet, I started at the beginning and have been working my way through it. The problem here is that we're discussing rumors. I understand that it's fairly well accepted that the unit will split off the GPU/ODD, and the reasoning for this. I had not yet read that they intended to make the screen itself into a tablet, which is what I was gathering from ak-xs's post:

When I said hybrid, I meant that I had not yet read anything about them trying for that, and to me personally that seems rather strange. Since I wasn't able to search the thread (IDK why it keeps telling me there were no results for everything I search for, when clearly there is), I just stated that based on what I've read and how I've interpreted it, it doesn't fit. In my opinion, this would certainly not be hot, though to each his own.

I would have to say, that is my speculation as well, though we will have to wait and see what actually comes out!

 

It seems that some of this comes down to an interpretation of words. The new Z appears that it will be a hybrid yes.
The new Z appears to be an ultraportable laptop that will weigh about 2.5lbs and the ODD and gpu and other ports will be housed in an external device about the same size or not much bigger than an external optical drive. When some people think of tablets the Z won't meet their interpretation of the word. It will still have a docking station.
See this article about the rumored Z.
Sony Insider
It appears that there will be another device, a Freestyle hybrid PC released may be around the same time as the Z (ultimate mobile pc) and to me that looks very interesting.
Sony Unveils Two New Vaio Laptops | PCWorld

I'm still really hoping that the display will be really good. Sony really needs sales at this point in time and this will sell very well if Sony use a good panel.

 

I heard from Sony Center sales reps that Vaio SB is selling extremely well despite the poor panel, and I think that's one of the reasons why Sony isn't bringing new stuff to the market yet.

Edit: The reps emphasized that the cheap versions of Vaio SB are the ones that sell the best.

 

This is completely false. I have the 5% when I log in.

 

Anybody seen an SA in person yet? What's the build quality like?

 

For any Australian-based members, I received this response from Sony to an email I sent seeking an ETA for the local release date of the SA:

At this point and time there is no release information for that product, however please keep an eye on our website for more information.

 

I think people that had ordered were told to expect their machines from around the 15th June. I guess we will have to wait until at least then before we start to see any reviews.

 

Reps are always going to paint a rosy picture. Reps know **** all.

 

A dude in france was told SA will be out within 2 weeks.

 

just put an order for my SA. a word of advice - make sure you get a US sales rep: not only i got a free keyboard skin and an additional 5% discount but was also able to confirm that the screen is the same as on the old Z models (not the premium one, the one that came standard). had to call back though as the first sales rep refused to offer any additional promotions.

all the best.

 

1. what do u have to say to get the 5% off? was that from warranty combo?
2. they just gave you a free keyboard kin? or did u ask for it?
3. if the screen really is the old Z....ill place an order now...but i dont trust most of these reps...