Sony Vaio Z and the Thinkpad X200, brief comparison

I originally bought an X200 and then I decided to go for the Sony Vaio Z720D/B instead. I thought I'd give a brief comparison since there are few laptops in this class: extremely portable with a full speed processor onboard. The choices for an ultra portable working laptop boils down to basically these two plus the Dell and Thinkpad X301, both of which are more expensive.

X200 pros:
- Extremely durable. I have no qualms about throwing this around.
- Locking and firm lid.
- Amazing battery life and very cheap batteries. I bought an extra 6-cell for $50, 9-cell for $60. I get realistically 7 hours out of the 9 cell, and 13 if just reading a pdf document.
- Lots of very handy keyboard shortcuts (the forward/back browser buttons are my favourite)
- Amazing track point, best I've ever used.
- Weak keyboard light helps somewhat
- Lighter than the Sony
- Spill-resistant keyboard
- Tiny AC adapter

X200 negatives:
- The dreaded FN/CTRL key swap. I tried to live with this; I really did. It is incredibly annoying.
- Noticeable keyboard flex.
- Very average display, abysmal vertical viewing angles.
- I like the general business style, but the huge display bezel looks awful.

Sony positives:
- Gorgeous display. This is a huge deal considering how much time you look at it. Beautiful 1600x900 resolution. This is the primary reason I switched.
- Built in HDMI output is awesome. I usually buy docks just for the digital video out, and I didn't need to do it here.
- Built in DVD/CD-RW drive
- Amazingly stylish
- Correct FN/CTRL keyboard layout
- Extremely firm keyboard with no flex

Sony negatives:
- Keyboard has very few specialty buttons and no dedicated home/end/pg up/down.
- Slightly heavier and bigger.
- Accessories are much more expensive.
- Only 2 USB slots
- Real pain to swap the hard drive
- Durable, but probably not as much as the X200

In short, I'd pick the X200 if I were going to some third world country for an extended period and needed a true workhorse, and the Sony if media is even marginally important.

 

You forgot about the DVD/Blu Ray Drive too.

i'll say Z is best for someone who doesnt have desktop and at the same time looking for portable notebook.

 

bfrog, thanks for the brief comparison between the Vaio Z notebook & the Thinkpad X200 notebook. Appreciate it. I'm very sure it will help quite a few people who are currently in the market for either of these notebooks.

 

But, according to what he said, it is not good for third world country
For me it is an unacceptable comment made, apparently, by an ignorant. Period.

 

Don't worry zukiki, I will be traveling all over the world with the Sony.