Sony SA Series Discussion Sony's next new 13.3 laptop

The problem with the VAIO S was it was over 4 pounds on a 13.3" model. Anyone know what the weight will be on the SA?

Samsung has been getting quite good lately however only has certain market segments.

Asus is getting quite competitive lately but has limited marketshare.

 

the TDP means the maximum as it can go, and as you point out the SB sips power, and when needed eat it like a big boy. This is due to intel speedstep and turbo boost tech.

With those you can direct the power and shut it from some cores, its a dynamic process, leading to a much more power saving processor. If you check at the epeat page you can see the difference on power consumption between the last quads and the new quads, imagine that the arrandale duos use almost the same amount of power that the new quads use.

 

The current Vaio Z is already smaller than the MacBook Pro 13" volume-wise...making the Z even smaller would be EPIC to say the least. Apple absolutely MUST include switchable dedicated graphics in the 13" to stand out; but that would not matter because by then, the Z may be way ahead of the game.

 

I use Z because I like full color gamut and what I think is high contrast ratio. I'm not sure if I want to wait long for next, more compact and hopefully lighter Z. Am I correct that Z has one of the best screens on ultraportables and what are main competitors? I mostly need bright colors and sharp looking text for reading. I bought 11.6 inch Apple Air but contrast looked way lower than Z. What is contrast ratio for Z screen?
Any hints on screen quality on upcoming Sony laptops? Thanks!

 

3.4 lb according to pcmag

 

Apple doesn't seem to be treating its 13" the same way Sony is treating its Z. The Z is Sony's flagship, whereas the Mac 13", even the MBP, is meh. I suspect that the 15"/17" MBP will always be given priority, and within Apple, the iPad and iPhones appear to be the hot products for now.

 

OMGAWD! That means a non-existant bezel right??? ... but seriously... how much more thinner can the Z get??? I just hope they wont solder components on like the MacBook Airs... :/

 

Yes you are right. It has the best screen of any Ultraportable and one of the best screens in the market (regardless of screen size)
It also has one of the brightest screens with 300nits brightness and a contrast ration of 700:1 or more.

 

^ oh yes i agree the Z screen is awesome and I'm super thrilled. I ran the Pantone hueyPro USB color calibration tool on this screen and the Sony factory colors didn't need any correction! It is the same after calibration and the default color temperature is equivalent to the Pantone hueyPro D75 setting and the gamma is equivalent to the 2.40 setting. My previous laptop needed massive correction! This Z screen is a joy for photoshop use! Bye

 

Beaups this is a help-me question for u.. or anyone who would have the right answer..

I am not so concerned about the new release of the SA or super excited, i trust that the z13 is an amazing laptop + my need to pick a laptop is v v urgent.. my usage is mainly graphics heavy softwares for web, print & advertising work.. My main lookout in a laptop have been, an amazing mattish full hd screen, fast, light, good battery, can handle anything i throw @ it.. so z13 kinda matches everything i need..

I am posting from India.. We get the z138 as the highest model here, and there is no way of having a larger ssd on it than the 256gb.. (apart from hacking the dvd drive and manually putting an extra drive instead) - which honestly i wouldn't do to save my 3 year warranty)..

However, my question is if the z14 has launched in japan going upto a 1tb ssd.. (which probably will be expensive like hell esp once it reaches india) I would be really interested in picking a model with the 512 ssd (256 gb just doesnt seem enough for my kind of work).. could u give any light on the fact on an asia release of the z14.. and when could one expect an estimate launch date for the same..

I intend to pick the z138 within the next 15 days.. but i would hate myself or rather my luck if the z14 is released here with the 512 gb ssd option within the next month or so..

just to let you know when sony upgraded the z12 with the z13.. india had the new z13 much before singapore or even hong kong..

 

Hey!

I do not think that 512 gb SSD option will be available in India. For the simple reason that 512 gb would mean a significant price increase.
Z138 is already expensive at 1,59,990.
With 512gb ssd we are possibly looking at 1.8lacs + which would be insane and I don't think people would pay that much for a Z.

 

The SA looks more or less what a redesign would look like had Sony continued with the SZ platform.

Tell me more.........I've got your fullest attention.

So there will be two 13.1 inch flagship notebooks offered by Sony? How will they market both these business notebooks to business people - by design and appeal? Because, they're both high-end IMO.

Agreed. 13.1 inch and thinner. The screen aspect ratio on the SA must be different from the Z to differentiate itself.

 

That's exactly what I'm thinking about. Z and SA are both high-end and IMO won't ship together for models carrying same platform unless someone replaces one another. Actually, I'm not expecting Sony to drop their latest SA which is considered to be their top model suggesting that it has a carbon fiber lid.

In this case I'm speculating that the new Z must be released carrying the new Ivy bridge next year because if released in May-June carrying Sandy Bridge platform it would be just 5-6 months far from the launch of the new Ivy Bridge and Sony probably won't be able to upgrade in case if the new CPUs require a new motherboards. This at least gives the SA a period of time to express itself and also for keeping something new for 2012.

 

Hey avmaxfan

I am not so sure on that end..
see, when we look @ the current z13's, the highest end models come with a 256gb ssd pre customized on the z138/9.. and in places (such as the US [website]) where the z series is customizable.. they let u upgrade it to the 512 gb ssd..

looking @ that trend, if they are coming out with the z14's.. (hopefully not just for japan).. it might just be the case that they launch it as z148 and z149 with the 512 ssd.. and again, in places where one can customize and order; the 1tb is probably gonna be optional..

just my guess & you could call it being optimistic/hopeful..

there are chances of the price increasing a wee bit.. but i doubt 1.8 lacs would be the figure.. maybe 1.6 - 1.65..
ssd prices have been decreasing recently ( i am guessing )

 

Not for SONY
IIRC the 512gb ssd upgrade costs 700$ which would mean a price increase of 30k. 1.59 + 30 = 1.89k

 

well, i stand corrected with my assumptions..

the vaio z14 in japan comes with 3 model configurations..

VPCZ14AHJ · VPCZ14AGJ · VPCZ14AFJ

out of the three, VPCZ14AGJ comes with the higest configuration.. but as it mentions it comes pre configured with a 256 gb ssd..

see.. Google Translate

well, i guess i could go ahead with buying the z138..

and if and when the next upgrade releases.. if it turns out to be better.. new z or sa.. i could try selling the z138 and get the new one..

 

Thanks for the info!
I will skip the SA completely and wait patiently for the new Z.
Will the new Z still be powerful?

 

... And is it expected to be released this year (before Christmas)?

 

That was my question at well. If the new Z will be a powerhouse like the current Z I will hold off until later in the year for that one.

I want to thank Beaups for all the information given so far. I understand that his access to the information is probably covered by a NDA and he has to take care on what he says. But any tidbits of information is always welcome.

 

I thought I already mentioned, early summer. SandyBridge, of course. Very different from current Z.

 

Any word whether this revised Z will be the powerhouse that the current Z is? Importantly will it still keep the discrete graphics or will it utilize integrated graphics?

 

Can you say unique in a good way or bad way

 

Will it be more powerful than the SA?
Thanks!

 

In a more compact laptop, maybe discreet graphics will be detached from the main unit and used only when required

 

Will it have Quad Core Sandy bridge CPU ?
Cuz going by benchmarks SB i7 dual core is not as fast as quad cores.
The first gen it was quite close. i7 640m in the Z was almost as fast as 740qm. But not in Sandybridge.

 

^Where have you seen dualcore i7 sandybridge benchmarks?

 

are we talking about ATI XGP here, with PCI Express 2.0 support? Also, I hope new Z will lose CD tray for good.

Cheers,
Miki

 

Probably they are going to concentrate on portability aspects while keeping performance for SA.

 

when you come to think of it, it DOES make some sense:

HD3000 is about Nvidia Geforce 310M performance (ok, not DX11), and don't forget that 330M in current Z is underclocked. Also it's obvious they won't put powerful video card in new Z, so I think with PCI express slot 2.0 and bundled ATI card makes sense as you get best of both worlds: stamina during your everyday Office tasks, and if you want to get nasty.... you have powerful external GPU It does sound nice

Of course, I can be totally wrong on this...

Cheers,
Miki

 

Beaups is going to get all pissed now

If Sony splits the discrete GPU from the main body, I think they will use a really good one. Otherwise, what's the point?

 

^LOL, but yes the 330M was NOT underclocked

 

And the 330 overclocks nicely !

 

it was only a low binned model.

So any news on the SA? The thinkpad edge e420 is looking good as well.

 

Dunno what I'll do yet. Waiting for 22NM processors and the new SSD drives which are being worked on.

SA is a contender but just one of many. Will see how they fare against each other.

VAIO Z gets high marks while VAIO S gets poor marks. So I will wait for reviews of the products and check them out in the store before I buy it.

Obviously there is a disconnect between factory, production and consumer, but I see the notebook pc as the total whole and which ever one meets my needs as well as cost I will purchase.

The one bad thing I see is that AMD Fusion is delayed so this will allow Intel to reap higher profit margins as there is virtually no other competition which will lead to high cpu prices and profit margins. While this may be beneficial to Intel, it is not beneficial to the american consumer who will have to pay more to Intel for their products.

 

beaups, could you please tell me when to expect SA to ship?

 

After Feb 20th ...

 

And before ... ?

 

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The good 22NM models wont be out till much later as well as the next gen SSD's with 25NM modules or better like Micron C400 or Intel X25M Gen 3

The good stuff. The SSD's should be shipping to OEMs in February but I don't know if Sony VAIO will use micron or intel SSD drives in their models.

I'll be purchasing something closer to mid year. Not in any serious rush right now.

 

thank you....

 

what is the next big computer event where we could have a SA displayed?

 

Perhaps Cebit?

 

when is it happening?

 

Homepage - CeBIT

March 1 - 5

 

that´s not usefull then, since it´s scheduled to be released in the same week.

 

Is this the date when it will be available for retail as well or just a preorder on SonyStyle?

Just to clarify. So there will not be a refresh of the Z for a while since the SA will be given an introductory period as a temporary Z replacement. So for those that don't find the SA appealing, when will the Z be refreshed - Z14 in the USA? And is it somewhat confirmed that it will have Sandy Bridge and support USB 3.0.

 

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My best guess I think will have the Z be completely redesigned. Much smaller, much longer battery life, have a full powered quad-core Sandy Bridge processor and USB 3.0 with all the goodies of the current Z, but no built-in graphics card. It will also be cheaper.

Instead, there will be a graphics card built into the dock. This will be a bit expensive but the cheaper price of the Z makes it about the same price as the current Z.

I think this is the way it is going to go because the only real current limitation of the Z is the subpar battery life compared to other ultraportables. Plus, who really uses a graphics card while on the go? Yeah... there's going to be some people VERY vocal about it, but they are in the minority.

 

I've decided I won't like it if the discrete GPU is in a separate slice that's bulky. It's... un-Z-like The whole point of the Z is to have all the good stuff in a portable form-factor. If the discrete GPU ends up on a bulky dock, what's the difference between that and say some other notebook utilizing ViDock?

 

CUDA?

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