Sony SR Photos (visited sony store)

Hey guys,

I've been doing research to buy a new laptop and been reading/watching forums here. I want to buy a 13inch laptop so I'm down to Sony SR or Dell XPSM1303.

There is a lot of hype around the new sony models so I head to the Sony store and they had SR and FW on display.

I took some pictures to share with you guys, you can read my impressions after the pics, so here they are: (click on thumbnails please)

















Here is what I experienced:

- The screen looks very sharp and nice
- It looks very sleek, I think the one I was playing with was the glossy silver (they had glossy pink which was really nice too)
- It's obviously light and not thick at all
- I am not used to this kind of keyboard but I had no problem typing and I could see myself adjusting and getting used to this type of keyboard really fast

Overall it was a nice laptop, but did it live up to all the hype I've been reading on this forum? My personal answer is no. I think people are just "too" excited and an XPS from dell will do the job just as well; however I have yet to hear Dell announce their new line of laptops with Centrino 2 technology and whether they will offer ATI graphic cards or the new nVidia 9000 series for laptops.

Btw the sony sr config I have in mind is :
Core 2 Duo 2.4
1GB Ram (I will upgrade to 4gb myself, thanks to newegg)
200gb 7200rpm hdd
ATI 128mb gfx
and the rest will be just regular stuff

Thanks
-Moe

 

nice find moe.

i also stopped by a sony store this past weekend (the one in vegas), and was able to see the sr and fw in person. by the way, the sales people had NO idea what was going on... anyhow, i agree, the laptop is nice and sleek and the screen was outstanding. but the screen also had a ton of flex. maybe i'm used to my latitude's metal screen backing, but i was a little suprised by the sr's flex.

overall it's a great looking laptop though...

 

yea i noticed that too, the screen was pretty flexible

 

I think I like it in black more.

 

Thanks for the photos!

Regarding the "hype" of this model, first of all keep in mind that most of the "hype" is for the Z model, not the SR. I think you'll agree Z is truly "hype-worthy" (if ultra-portable high-performance laptops with full size keyboards interest you ).

Now for the SR, I think any hype is for a few reasons:
- It's using Montevina, which should offer better battery life and performance (yeah, Dell and other manufacturers are coming out with Montevina laptops too, but they're running a little late in the 13.3" area)
- It looks nice (and has a very nice keyboard and large trackpad)
- It has a Sony screen (no other laptop manufacturer has beat Sony in the area)
- It's competitively lightweight and relatively affordable

Compared to the competition, it's faster, should have better battery life (thanks to Montevina), very light (way lighter than Toshiba/HP/etc. 13.3" models), and has a superior screen. Compared to the Dell M1330, it's close in specs, but way ahead in screen quality and probably build quality / cooling / etc. Personally I'd never get the M1330 because there are so many reports of bad build quality (falling apart over time, etc.), and I've confirmed these by looking at in-store models - the m1330 on display was starting to show cracks, chassis separating, logo falling off, etc. after being lightly handed for only a few months.

I'm also interested in seeing what Dell will have to offer, particularly their 13.3" model with a "3.0 pounds target" weight (although 3.0 pounds is just what they want, not what they've achieved, so it remains to be seen). But if they don't deliver something better than the Sony before the Z starts shipping, I'm just gonna go with the Z, because I trust Sony's engineering and build quality a little more than Dell.

 

In addition to that SR is Montevina while Dell 1330 is still SantaRosa and has the problems with the Nvidia chipset.

 

Great photos. Build quality looks quite good. Did you snap any FW pictures?

 

The in-hand build quality seemed good, but perhaps not as good as the sz.

 

Are they discontinuing the SZ in favor of the Z or will there be anymore refreshses of the SZ?

 

No more refreshes of the SZ are expected.

 

Ive looked at the M1330, and people never mention it but the cleaner/sleeker design has quite an impact when using the laptop. the M1330's daft silver framing is distracting and just blah design. Dell even at their best are miles off Sony in getting a harmonious design.

 

i agree there is no doubt the build quality is above what dell offers, so is screen.

but im wondering if i should get a dell xps 13inch now with that 25% off coupon (i know its not the newest processor) or should i just buy the new sony sr which will be about $600 more.

 

Or wait for the new dells perhaps?

 

yah, it's a huge price difference, but you know how fast these things turnover... you really want to buy a brand new machine that's already outdated?