Sony Vaio Z13 Pre-Launch discussion

Where do you see the $2316? I was hoping US can finally get the HDD version and bring the price down, but no Sony up the ante and only offers 256GB SSD as starting point...

Oh well, at least the huge rise in Japanese Yen is not reflected in Z's price...

 

Cheap? What exactly was the cheap part?
With a metal body, carbon lid, I would find it very hard to call this cheap.

 

The hinges that are notorious for breaking, the LCD that scratches because of defective design, and the palm rest that discolors after a few weeks of regular use. I have seen more than enough people make excuses for these issues on this model, and in my humble opinion, all three of them are inexcusable on a $2000 notebook these days.

Hinges should be among the strongest parts of any notebook since they will see the most action, aside from the keyboard and touchpad. Yet I read about complaint after complaint of them failing within a year.

Having to place something in between your keyboard and the screen when you close it is absurd. I have owned many laptops - not one of them have ever had any issues with the screen getting scratched because of a design that does not provide the needed space between the two when the notebook is closed. If the tolerance is that low, build an LCD that is durable enough to withstand somebody using it normally. I would deal with it if it was a $300 netbook, but not a high end machine.

The palm rest issue is probably the most baffling. The deck is metal, but the palm rest, the part of the machine that is going to see the most contact, is cheap plastic that does not have a sealant on it. The HP dv9000 that I paid $1100 for two years ago has a durable plastic deck that looks just as pristine as the day I took it out of the box, has a high gloss sealant on it that prevents any kind of tarnishing. Yet there is a thread in here around a gentleman who actually disassembled his Z and added protection to his palm rest just to make up for this glaring flaw that his $2500 high end laptop had.

I admit that the Z is light, sleek, and stupid fast, but I need to have confidence that it is going to hold up to me carrying it around and using it daily without failing structurally. My short experience with it today made me see how all of these regular complaints can easily come to be.

 

i agree with your post. And i am a proud owner of Z's.


and i can also add that lugging around a Z11 in a normal sleeve protection in my laptop bag with heavy textbooks, it holds fine.

 

I have not seen one report of a broken hinge on a z. If you are referring to the plastic piece, that is simply a cosmetic cover. The hinges are stainless steel.

 

You figured that out all from a brief trip to the Sony store? or from a few squeaky wheels on a forum site?

What notebook are you getting instead? Have you visited their forum and found absolutely no reported issues with it?

Nothing's perfect, not even a Z. Just because some people have certain issues with their Z doesn't mean all people have all of them.

 

Yes the plastic palmrest is an issue, but it's an issue for ALL laptops. It's the nature of the beast, sweaty/oil palms = fading palmrest. It's bound to happen.

I've never seen my laptop screen get scratched from the keyboard. Please note that the complaints you see on this forum are simply because people have problems. The people that don't have problems with their Zs probably don't post at all. You are reading about a very small percentage of disgruntled owners.

Read the reviews. This laptop IS, and if not, one of the best ultraportables for a long time. The positive factors definately outweigh the negative ones. This laptop will not fail you structurely. Perhaps aesthetically, in regards to the palm rest and maybe the 'laptop-screen-that-scratches-ever-so easily', but definately not structurely. There's even a picture with someone just holding the laptop up by the screen... it won't fail you structurely.

All in all, I'm glad you've had better experiences with your HP, maybe you should stick with it.

 

Please please don't buy the Z!! I hope less people buy it, otherwise its price will keep going up!

 

Don't feed the trolls.

 

Well I wish you all the best with your Macbook.
In the mean time Im very happy with my imperfect Z

 

Same here. And mine was only $1500, not $2000. And if you're Canadian you can order one for around $1200 (though I have yet to see anyone receive theirs from that deal yet).

- Hinges: No issues here
- Screen scratches: None whatsoever, maybe this only affected the older models?
- Palm rest fading: Nope, none. I am a self-admitted clean-freak though. I wouldn't touch any mouse or keyboard with sweaty or greasy hands, let alone my baby Z.

 

Well, that's gonna cause problems for your skin - you do need some naturally occurring oil on your hands to keep the skin healthy. What do you think is more valuable - some laptop or your skin? You can't just buy new skin you know

 

I know you're being sarcastic so I'm not going to justify that with a real response. So here's a cat sliding into a box!

 

You don't know much, do you?
11 Causes of Dry Skin Problems
Point is: your skin is always oily, so everyone's palmrest on the Z will wear out w/o protection (i.e. clear plastic film protector), the only difference is how fast. However, if your skin is truly dry, you gonna have much more to worry about than just a worn out palmrest on Z.

 

Hi every one, 2 weeks a go I was almost getting the VPC-Z1290 with i7 620, 128ssd, 1920x1080, 4gb ram. price was $1906 Canadian before taxes (it is a very good price I think) but if I replaced the 128ssd buy 256ssd the price will jump to $2256 and the VPC-Z1390 become cheaper with the same components and just the i7 640 instead of the i7 620 at $2216.
After the VPC-Z1390 came out I was wandering some changes but i found non valuable compared with the options already available for the Z1290 !!!
Then 3 days ago I ordered the Z1290 with 128ssd (since I don't need any more hard drive space because all work will be transferred every night to server storage)
I wanted to ask if I have made a good choice getting the z1290 any way, even after the z1390 came out if I don't need bigger hard drive and if there is any significant changes that the Z1390 have and are not present in the z1290 option?
thank you for your help

 

I have had a VGN-Z890 for almost 11 months and a VPC-Z1120 for 7 months and had no problem with plastic material at all (I sold my last VPC-Z1120 because I hated the silver color) . But I was surprised that when they replaced the plastic buy the solid aluminum they were not smart to include the palm rest in the aluminum block !!!?

 

I am trying to decide between a Z1190 or 1290 VS a Z890 .. I want this for travel and for some photo editing. I do the heavy editing on my Desktop. I see some models of the Z890 on the refurb site for +/-$1300 vs the 1190's for +$2000 .. I understand the main differences are the i5 dual core vs an older P9700 processor and an SSD vs a HDD... but do you think the 1190 is worth that much more?

is the Z890 as nice feeling? metal cover, same quality screen etc?

 

I have the z790 sitting at home and now the z11. There are no major difference in everyday use. you can go by using the z890 if you do not want to get HD Screen. Save a few s and get the z890.

No issues like of z11 with plastic palm rest paint fading or hinges issues.

 

As you said the only difference are core i5-i7 vs p9700 and HDD vs SSD but I knew that the z1290 is only +/- 1200$ this week why not taking the z1290!! Buy the way the z890 is very very good but all plastic no metal there.

 

Where is the Z1290 $1200? I would take it in a second! I live in NYC not Canada

 

Huh??? The VAIO Z890 is all plastic?!?!? Are you sure you know what you're talking about?

 

yep the VGN-Z890 is a carbon fibre covered with plastic no metal there. I got one, 1 year ago and I even changed the SSD drive to 256gb (very easy to change no raid just put a normal SSD ), it is very fast and. I have not noticed any significant upgrade other than the i5 i7 cpu, the HD 1920x1080 screen and backled keybord for the new VPCZ!!
you can see the inside of the z890 same as this one http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bz2k2ydUOc8

 

Are you sure? The palmrest is aluminum, no?

By the way, I don't need to see the video in the link you posted as I've got a VAIO Z690 myself & I've opened it up a few times as well.

 

WaW even in Canada it is not available any more lol there is only the z1390 we are stick with 256 ssd, stating price 2016$ CAD

 

Then re open it, no aluminum in the Z590 Z690 Z790 and the last Z890 it is just the back of the keyword that seems to be metallic, your Z690 is carbon fibre with plastic covered.

 

So what you're saying is that the palmrest is totally made of plastic?

I guess I'm really an idiot to believe that it is made of aluminum after touching, feeling, tapping on it, etc. Thanks for the info & I appreciate that. I guess I learn something new today.

 

I think that the palm rest (and the entire exterior) of the Z890 is far better than the one on the vpcz ones, it is carbon fibre (even better than aluminum in my opinion). And if you have a premium carbon fibre model it looks really cool.

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/sony/519827-z122gx-b-1499-microsoft-store-4.html not 1200 but close... and you get a free xbox

 

I have searched the microsoft store but that does not come up. maybe they sold out?

 

sorry, the (Canadian) deal is gone. The Z1290 is totally out-of-stock.

I ordered mine at $1350 w/ premium carbon fiber came up to $1530 CDN or so with tax though :S

 

well, i'm not from usa, but in the thread i linked, someone said yesterday that
"Deal is still alive - at B&M stores".
I'm not familliar with this B&M store, no store like this in Israel.. but if you live in the US you might want to check it out.

 

B&M = Brick & Mortar. That means a physical retail store.

They were talking about the Microsoft retail store (B&M) still having some while the online store is sold out.

 

I just picked mine up from the MS store in So Cal. I put a hold on mine. When I picked it up, they said they had 7 left, 5 on hold, 2 unclaimed.

 

Well, since we got so far off-topic, are they still giving x-boxs with the Zs at the MS store?

 

Unfortunately, no. I was really hoping they would, but they said they ended that offer on 10/6. I missed it by one day... BOOO

 

I Just notices that the Z13 was now listed on the Sony US store. Do you think that there will be any chance of this xbox deal coming back as a promo for the Z13?

If any of you think that there is any chance I can wait a few weeks...if not, I think I'll just get it now.

 

Ok, now this notebook has been released in the US, please use the Z owners thread as this thread has now served its purpose.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/son...-z-i5-i7-official-owners-thread-part-2-a.html