TZ91 vs. G2

Hello fellow notebook enthusiasts! This is my first post, I hope you can give me some insight on this TZ91/G2 dilemma.

Target: subnotebook to use as main computer (great keyboard a must) and on the road (good battery life, light, and as rugged as possible). My current laptop is an X505, which is as light as it gets and with the best keyboard I've ever used, but battery life is so poor.

My questions:

• I got a chance to try the TZ keyboard. It's the same unusual style as the X505, and almost as typer-friendly. I spend most of my day writing code, so I could do without a mouse for weeks but a less-than-great keyboard will quickly drive me up a wall. How does the G2 fare in this respect? (This is the main reason I'm leaning toward the TZ.)
• What is the weight/battery life ratio of the G2 vs. the TZ91? I've read both can get to ~10 hours, but the G2 does so with the enhanced battery (for which I can't find the weight, but I guess it brings the machine to the 1000gr area) while the TZ91 needs the extended battery (which means ~1300gr according to http://conics.net/catalog/images/tz90-batteries.gif)
• Ruggedness. I've searched the forum and seen the TZ being described as a bit fragile, with the G2 being praised instead. I'm religious about notebook care (three years with X505 and not a scratch), but then again the road is the road. How really "fragile" is the TZ? I'd be keeping it in a neoprene sleeve like http://www.datavis.com/Tucano_12in_Second_Skin_Black_Neoprene_Notebook_Sleeve.html
• Looks. I'd take the TZ with the extended battery. I couldn't find photos of the TZ with it, though, other than the side view linked above. Not a good sign... Is there any photo lying around? And also videos of the G2?

Lastly, and not really related to TZ vs. G2, does anyone have experience with receiving in Italy from Japan with EMS vs DHL (or similar)? Three years ago a phone call was all that was needed to get the X through the customs office, lately I'm hearing horror stories about months-long waits...

Thank you for any advice, and sorry for the longish post.

 

Personally, I don't think either model can be used as your main computer. The performance of these ultra portable's ULV processor is very limited. You will probably have problem running more than 50% of current software on the market. However, if all you use is Office + Internet Explore... you will be fine.

1. By judging from the shape and size of G2's keyboard, it should function as good as IBM's x61. TZ keyboard is also very responsive with minimum flex. But you do need a small hand to be comfortable with either keyboard.

2. G2 is lighter (2.4lb vs 2.7lb) and with longer advertised running time on standard battery (11.5hrs). The extend battery VGN-BPX11 8700mAh for TZ weights 1.1lb.

3. G2 is suppose to be more rugged than TZ according Sony own announcement. But TZ is no mean of fragile among the ultra portables. There is no LCD flex like R500 or Dell. I have also dropped my TZ accidentally from 1.5 feet to wood floor and there is no sign of damage.

4. You are lucky LOL... I decided to be nice and take a picture of my TZ with extend battery. Well, the appearance is not my flavor but nothing I can't live with. To give you an idea, I can get 6~7 solid hours with WWAN EVDO on, full CPU stepping, full brightness on the extend battery.

The real difference between G2 and TZ is the screen. TZ uses brighter 11.1" LED widescreen with 1366x768 resolution while G2 has standard TFT 12.1" with 1024x768. It seems Sony designed G2 with business user in mind, 1024x768 would be more appropriate for connecting to a projector.

 

Hi psun786!

That should be fine, the X505 has served well as main computer to this day and with just a 1.1Ghz Centrino/512MB RAM/20GB HD it even runs a 3D desktop happily (ok, that might be thanks to Linux rather than the machine itself, but I plan on using the same OS on the new machine, so nothing lost), and I'll be writing code most of the time, so performance isn't that critical.

Is 2.4lbs the weight of G2 when with extended battery? (I saw it advertised as 868g, which would be ~1.9lbs).

Great news!

That doesn't look that bad. Is the one on the far right the "standard" (as opposed to the "lightweight") battery?

Thanks a lot, this was useful.

 

yes, 2.4lb is the actual G2 weight with the standard battery installed. The far right is the standard battery on TZ.

 

Hi there,

With some research in this forum you can find a lot of pictures about the TZ with the extended battery. I don't remember exactly the thread, but I do remember the pics of a bordeux TZ in various angles.

I live in Italy, and I recieved from Japan a laptop without any issues. No delay at all! But, from what I hear depends if it is EMS or DHL... ect. Mine it came with UPS and arrived after 3 days. Of course, I had to pay the 20% IVA

 

Screen resolution is probably the biggest difference. The TZ is for people with excellent reading vision and the G11 is ideal for those whose eyes are past their best.

There's not so much difference in the size of the notebook itself - The G's panel makes much better use of the the size of the lid. Much of what is in my G11 review (link below) also applies to the G2 series. The latter has a dual core CPU and a spill-proof keyboard.

John

 

can't agree with you better. I having problem pressing the AV mode buttons on TZs....LOL can't seem to use them without holding TZ firmly onto the table with the other hand. So, I just diabled them all together... at least it save some startup time.

 

Well, I own the G1 and the G2. I haven't powered on the G2 yet due to being on the road and I want to have time to get it properly configured. I've posted this in other threads, but I really do love the G. It's the best ultraportable I've used to date. I'm going to do a G2 review and compare it to the G1 when I get my G2 up and running.

My G2 with the extended battery and the SSD I think is about 2.1lbs, not 2.4. Either way, it's light. The keyboard is very usable, and also not cheap. I mean, the keys on my old JVC 741 were falling off like a month in. It's also much sturdier than my SZ90.

The knock for some is that the G is not a widescreen, but this isn't marketed really at non-business folks. Screen quality is also good - I thought I would miss that SZ display (similar to the TZ), but I don't.

With 2GB of RAM and the SSD, it's pretty powerful. I regularly run Outlook, some browsers, Word, and a few VMWare Workstation virtual machines at the same time.

If you tweak settings, have moderate use (i.e. don't access the HDD/SSD a lot), don't plug in a lot of devices to be powered by USB, etc. I can get anywhere from 7 - 10 hours with the extended/standard battery (it's the only battery I own; I don't own the lightweight one).

The G also has PCMCIA, not ExpressCard if that makes a difference to you.

The G is definitely more akin to a Panasonic Toughbook than it is your standard SOny computer. By now I usually have some sort of hardware issue since I'm on the road nearly every week. The G1 has been very sturdy.

I only am upgrading to the G2 mainly for the 64GB SSD. The 32GB SSD is a tad limiting for what I do, but for the general person, may be more than enough.

Is it cheap? Heck no. Worth it for me? You bet.

 

I think the SSD version might be lighter. The HDD version weight 1111g with standard battery. Which is 2.45 lbs.

True, the only feature that I can think of TZ been better than G2 is TZ's display. Higher resolution, Greater color depth (72% color accuracy) and LED back light instead of CCFL. Also, TZ does have a better display than SZ. G2 probably won on everything else.

 

Another cool thing about the G is that both batteries have the same footprint - so other than weight/capacity, they make the G look the same. Nothing protruding at all.

People are amazed that the G is just 2lbs.

 

True, the only feature that I can think of TZ been better than G2 is TZ's display. Higher resolution, Greater color depth (72% color accuracy) and LED back light instead of CCFL. Also, TZ does have a better display than SZ. G2 probably won on everything else.[/QUOTE]The G series also has a LED backlit display.

John