Sony SB, a little disappointed with some stuff.

- ALPS touchpad doesn't allow 2-finger scrolling, this should have been a Synaptic. Huge let down for me as I drop Thinkpad's trackpoint for this.
- Speakers are not up to par with the competition. Very thin sound.
- With a little tweaking, Screen is only OK.

Otherwise, I'm pretty happy. Mine has i7, 6630M, slice battery and I installed an SSD.

 

Are you serious? No 2 finger scrolling on the VAIO SB? Will this be the same on the SA? If so, what a huge let down!

 

Unfortunately, I am not kidding here. The spiral scrolling works OK with wide active zone though. Still not 2-finger scrolling... Why don't they do it?

 

Check the site:

S Series : VAIO Notebooks & Computers : Sony Australia

 

Hmm try to find newer drivers from other notebooks with ALPS touchpads. I'm guessing newer version should do it.

 

Yes, it has all that, but it's not enough for me.

 

Tried already... I'm not complaining without having tried to solve that problem.

 

I've had my SB for a week and playing with the alps 'tap' function with firefox it seems that a 'tap' is triggered when none is made, ie, wham you're at another link all of a sudden. Experimented with settings (yes, everything possible) to no avail so had to turn off tap. Maybe sony will implement a new alps driver as the current version is from 2010. and yes, no 2 finger scroll is pitiful.
cheers...

 

sorry, mistake

 

I agree, I see all your points exactly the same way...still i somehow like this notebook...the designconcept is cool (battery slice, port replicator), it is lightweight and it is good looking...

re. the two finger vertical scrolling, you have the scroll area on the side..i do agree it is not the same thing, but it is kind of a livable "workaround...." for some more, for some less...

 

Great to see minds alike!

After using my SB for 2 weeks now, I find the touchpad despicable (as well as the speakers)... Which makes it not very usable for me without a mouse. Very annoying when I'm on the couch or in the bed...

 

I'm demoing an SC from Best Buy. This is a B- effort. Potential for excellence, missed by near or far on almost all counts. Other than sheer cpu power, features like USB3 and WIDI2, decent looks and form factor, nothing about this model is impressive. The screen can be adjusted to be at the top of the bottom of the pack, no better. Sound is pitiful. Trackpad is worse than my 2009 HP DV4 ALPS.

If you don't need the raw processing power, any number of 1-2 year old computers are better in almost every respect. If you do need the processing power, and X220 is miles ahead of this half baked effort. Also, I will take a Z11-13 refurb - even for $300 more - over this disappointing effort without hesitation. And if you really want raw cpu/gpu power and you don't care about screen quality or any luxury nuances, the Acers are way better for less money.

I am disgusted that this is the best Sony could come up with. To think an SA is basically this computer with an SSD, a slightly better screen an a few less ounces - for $2,500. Meh. These guys are making themselves into non-players. Can't play in the same league as Lenovo, Asus or, of course, Apple (hate the corporation, but their products are superb). Sony is on its way to second-tier mediocrity and appear to be making no effort to avoid it. Seeya.

 

It's not! You people can't pay mid-range prices and expect a premium product! You should have bought the Z series if you wanted the best of everything. The only thing the Z lacks is a SB CPU, which shouldn't be a deal breaker as the i5/i7 in the Z is capable of anything you throw at it.

The S series is not the VAIO Premium range! So stop expecting too much from your mid-range machines.

 

lovelaptops:

While the screen and touchpad of the SB/SC is pitiful (yes I've used it for a few days), it is still way above average of the competition in other aspects. Lenovo X220-No discrete GPU, low capacitiy HDD to start off with. Apple MBP 13"-Same as the X220. Asus' machines are comparable to Sony's but I wouldn't consider either to be particularly superior over the other.

Actual user experience may not be that great on the SB, but spec wise, the SB is probably one of the best of its class. Really depends if you favor specs or actual user experience though.

 

^The fact remains that the SB/SC are positioned as sony's lowend platforms for 13".

 

Yep one thing that I could never understand is why people compare the Z and the SB or even worse the SC.

At launch the Z cost 2x as much as the SB.

its the same thing when people compare the pavillion with the envy in the HP side, and so forth.

A temporary replacement, due to whatever the reason is not a replacement

 

How is actually the keyboard on the SB/SC?

 

Especially comparing the SC to the SB even. SC is pretty much a cheapened Best Buy version of the SB will good components but poor quality.

 

Telling someone to buy a Z ids not an option.

If they upgraded the Z with SandyBridge I would buy that argument. But they are replacing the Z with the SA, and it is just not as good as the Z. And there is no way I will pay a premium for the Z when it has a previous generation CPU. That is too much like what Apple likes to make you do. And even Apple has improved in that area.

 

^folks are speaking of the SB and SC here...not the SA. And you should read more threads

 

Understand. I was only responding to the suggestion that if people don't like the SB then they should get a Z.

Do you see the SA as an "upgrade" to the SZ? Because I don't see any 13" offering that will replace what the Z offered.

As for the "new Z", IIRC it is not even 13", so why are people even calling it a Z replacement, unless they are referring to its flagship status.

 

errr... you need to read more threads

 

----------------------

 

I'm sorry if I am not as up to date as I could be on the new Z. At first it was rumored to have a smaller screen, but I guess it is going to be 13"... feel free to correct my mistakes. There is no summary on the 1st page of the new Z thread and I have not read all of it.

But would it not be a bit more civil to correct someone if they have incorrect information rather than mocking them? Just my opinion.

 

Sorry, I really wasn't trying to mock you either, just having some fun The new Z thread is typically one of the top 2-3 threads in the forum here, though. I agree it's quite long.

 

indeed it would, but most of our fun is from interactions with other people if we take it away its going to be one boring thing

now the abstract:

Z is going to be in 2 pieces

The notebook:

CPU: up to i7 2620m
GPU: intel HD 3000
HDD: SSDs in RAID 0
Ports: HDMI, USB 3, thunderbolt, VGA... we dont know the rest
Screen: FHD
Materials: dunno
Weight: 1.3ishkg

the external thingy:

GPU: whistler XT could be either the 6770m or the 6730m, I do believe its the former, I do think they could have put something better in there
ODD: Blu ray
Weight: 0.600ish kg

now you are up to date

 

Cool, thanks. Did not mean to come across as thin skinned. I do appreciate the insight the regulars here bring and I probably should be willing to take some flack in a good natured way.

 

thin and thick it doesnt matter, treat people well is the rule, fun is the rule too.

 

I disagree with the comments on the touchpad. I think it's fairly well done. Personally, I've never had a laptop that used 2 finger scrolling, so it wasn't that much of a loss.

To give a comparison, I play FPS's with the touchpad. I am now scoring much better with this touchpad than any other mouse/touchpad I've ever used.

As to the keyboard, it took a little getting used to. It still doesn't feel like home to me, but that could be because I've used so many other keyboards in the past few weeks. But there's nothing annoying about it beyond the lack of dedicated pg up/down home/end keys

 

how do you expect them to give you the netgear adapter, hybrid hard drive,bluray for free (SC vs SB)? They have to cut costs somewhere. Plus, the difference is not as much as you are making it out to be.

 

keyboard problem is simeple to solve - just remap keys. Read my other posts.

 

Very well put, especially your last paragraph. Personally, I never got much of a charge from running benchmarks on my computer,lol. But you are right that someone who wants to do light-medium gaming, video encoding, fast data transfers via USB3, etc, the SB/SC are the price leaders to beat. On the other hand, the really mediocre keyboard, dismal touchpad, screen and audio quality, etc. of the S series sends me either to older, slower models with classier materials or, to pay more because I just can't go backwards in user experience with a machine I will be using most of the time.

For me it's easy: I'm sticking with the Z, upgrading (via Sony refurb 20% off sale) to the i7, 256GB SSD, 1920 X 1080 screen, 9 cell battery (7-9 hrs.), I even have USB3 via ExpressCard adapter. net cost after selling "jr" Z11: $450. (It helps to have made an exceptionally good deal on my Z11. )

 

The lack of bluray player gets to me, I know I bought it knowing this but this was the closest thing to meeting all my specifications.
I dont find the screen all that bad, and at home I use an external monitor.

 

What is the specification of the SB's SSD? Who makes it, is it sata 3, what are the speeds like compared to others, etc?

 

The next-gen Z series was not an option for me, no discrete GPU. I wanted the best GPU in a 14" chassis or smaller. And I did not think the current Z series was all that great, especially for the money.

I've only had Thinkpads until now. But Lenovo have nothing that suits me since they stopped making 14" 3D workstations (T4xp or W series). The SB was the best choice. In the 13"3 class, only the Acer 3830TG had a better GPU but the design and quality is not as good.

The keyboard is good. I find the spacing between keys a little too big, but I'll get used to that eventually. I miss my thinkpad keyb though. And trackpoint...

 

Come on! How can you play better with this touchpad than any mouse?
I'm sorry, but there's a problem there...

The touchpad is bad... My cursor moves and even sometime click while I'm typing... It can even click while I'm doing nothing!

 

The 3830TG is a far bigger dissapointment than the SB IMO. Acer got so many things right on the 3820TG, that the 3830 should dominate the 13" slot. All the 3820TG needed was a backlit chicklet KB like the new X1, USB 3.0 and an HD+ display. The 3830TG is a disaster. Sony's SB is a far better version of an economical 13" full power CPU/dedicated GPU notebook.

Any throtling issues with the SB like the Timelines are having? GPU throtles at 75C and CPU at 85C.

Bronsky

 

Yeah, my eyes were on the 3830TG. But that throttling problem, the move back to 1-fan design and the build quality (which is not bad, but not enough for me) made me look elsewhere. It surely should have dominated the 13" with its cheap price. Next time.

No throtling issue here.