The Official Haswell/Z Speculation Thread

I realize most of this thread's followers will disagree on that. Z is not just the stotry of weight and size. It is the story of power packed INSIDE that weight and that size. If you drop the preposition literally you drop the concept, don't you?

Pro is just another ultrabook, even not a unique newbie in terms of w&s and FullHD, given some earlier innovative products by NEC (LaVie), Asus (Zens), and Acer (S7).

The thin, light and powerfull one has the time to appear, following Intel's schedule.

 

The Pro is lousy successor to the Z. The Z was not only thin and light, it was also a desktop replacement, with a dock that offers mulitple monitor setup, optical drive, additional ports, more powerful graphics card, a full power CPU and RAID 0 blazing fast SSDs. There are very good Ultrabooks in the market that offer more or less the same as the PRO, Sony no longer has a strong competitive advantage. The Samsung Series 9 is almost as light and more sturdy with more ports (VGA+HDMI), the Zenbook will also be a very good alternative (HDMI+display port), the Acer S7 etc. Why get the flimsy PRO over those products? All of them will have FHD IPS screens (and even higher resolutions for some), SSDs and ULV processors.
The sole advantage of Sony is the sheet battery.

Actually the Pro is what the T series should have been at its launch.
I still hope that Sony might introduce a more professional PRO later in the year, with a docking solution (or thunderbolt port), matte screen, fingerprint reader and RAID 0 SSD. Till then I will stick with my Z2 and will be looking to buy an SVZ if all hopes fade for a Z replacement.

 

Agreed, the T series was/is flawed and this pro is what should have been the T series.

 

Anyone has benchmarks of 256GB or 512GB models? That 128GB model does not have PCIe ssd drive.
I'm interested how much that pcie improves drive speeds.

 

I've checked in Sony store on Madison ave. in NYC today - they expecting vaio Pro this Friday or next Tuesday.

 

Eventually the push-pull battle between performance and form-factor crash into each other and it's impossible to achieve both in the same unit.

Instead of a compromise that is "a little too big" and "does too much for an ultrabook" at the same time, Sony split the baby and created a new series just to take the MacBook Air head-on. As a Windows user that wouldn't be caught dead with a Mac, it's a welcome addition to my office toolset. This isn't a computer designed for the average, I-own-one-computer, type. It's like a weekend car. It's a second computer for the wealthy crowd.

BJ

 

I feel like Intel's GPU naming system is what's causing some of the mixups in reviews/representative statements in regards to what the Pro has inside. 4400? 4600? 5000? Iris? Is Iris the 5000? .... or is 5000 the assumed name with some journalists for the new GPU because IvyBridge was 4000?

 

The T wasn't that bad; really, it wasn't that different from the Z. It was perhaps a bit heavy at 3.5 pounds, and it had ULV procs, HDDs standard (SSDs available as options) and a really crappy screen (the dealbreaker for me) but other than that it looked a lot like the Z. This pro is more of a cross between the T and the Z than a true successor to the T, given that its starting price is $1250+ and I think the cheapest T's were around 600-800. (Note, I'm only talking about the 13.3" true ultrabook T and not the 14 or 15 inch models with optical drives, etc.)

The pro combines the light weight, standard SSDs and good screen of the Z with the ULV procs, Ultrabook status, and touch screen of the T. Even the price is just about halfway between the T and the Z. Clearly Sony made a compromise here, for reasons I won't speculate on.

I would definitely have preferred it to be more towards the Z side but I think it's fairly obvious Sony had a target price point they were trying to reach with this. I guess if they don't come out with a more powerful one by the end of the year I'll buy a duo (or kirabook?)

 

A little too big? You know the SVZ is literally 1/10th of a pound heavier than the PRO13 despite handling double the TDP, twice the processing power and possibly a faster SSD setup? Of course it was double the price of the PRO13. Sony knows only a select few would open their wallets for the Z, bigger audience with a cut down version. No, my SVZ isn't my only computer. 4 desktops and 3rd Z. This is the first time I've heard someone complain that a laptop does "too much" lol

More like, the PRO13 is a kit car for people who wished they could they could afford the real thing.

 

ok so it's official (just appeared 12min ago in france) for the CTO on the sony.fr and bad news, no 12gb ram and no HD5000.

VAIO® Pro | Choisissez votre VAIO® Pro | Sony

 

The red edition you will see has nothing more than the colour ... red and it's 400€ more EPIC LOL

 

on the ads RED looks really awesome. not for 400 euros though.

I have a feeling that we don't see more powerful models as there is no hardware from Intel of full voltage CPUs.
Apple have not updated their retina macbook pro either.

So probably Sony will release something in fall. Either new series or upgrade.
Now we have what we have. lack of HD 5000 is still a party pooper.

 

I think that they will probably upgrade their PRO Series in february 2014 (like they did for SA => S13P last february 2013). It will be in 8 months, not too long not too short for them...

 

I think Sony is going to release a new S-series or similar in the fall but probably not a more powerful pro... for that we will have to wait another year most likely. Maybe I'll buy a duo now and a pro after the next refresh...

 

For a notebook I'm going to use, maybe, 20 days a year out of 365, $1300 is more than enough money to spend. It's a luxury item for those to whom 2 lbs in the briefcase makes a huge difference. Though I can afford it, I'm not spending $2000 on a part-time notebook that's a travel companion for a few important days and a paperweight the other 345 days.

Thin, light, luxury item. That's what this is. A toy for the business class traveler enroute to Europe and Asia who needs something more substantial than his iPad and something less substantial than his desktop PC.

BJ

 

That 512GB upgrade costs too much. I wonder how soon NGFF SSD will be on the market. Like the one that ADATA showed on computex and what will be the price.
May happen that manual upgrade is much cheaper than buying form Sony.

 

The new 13" macbook air vs Sony Pro 13"...
Sony Pro 13 has Full HD screen and it is lighter

The new MBA has 802.11ac, Intel 5000, longer 12 hr battery, and it is actually cheaper.....

 

It seems that by adding sheet battery sony get's those 12hrs but becomes also heavy.
So for less price apple includes that battery in body but sony offers you an option to get lighter ultrabook.
Both seems to have PCIe drives. but Apple's 512 upgrade is definitely cheaper.

 

It would be an easier choice for me if MBA has retina

 

I think you are perhaps mistaken in assuming your use-case is the majority. I used my Z3 (IB i7 quad, 256gb, 8g ram) as my one and only computer. I carry it with me everywhere I go, every day, all year long. I need a computer that can be my daily driver yet also be portable enough to take everywhere. When I was at home I had a 24" monitor and a keyboard, mouse, and speakers that I used for it as well. The new pro is simply not going to be powerful enough for me.

 

Not just that, but he believes we're comparing it to the 2004 Pentium M Vaio Z1 judging from his previous posts. Not sure he's actually ever seen a modern Z2/Z3. Looks to be one of those guys that upgrades every 6-7 years and does nothing more CPU intensive than open MS Word, so for him this is a great computer no doubt. He missed the original point though of us wishing Sony would build a true Z sucessor. Not all of us are afraid of a $2,500 price tag. We're not disappointed because we expected a better Ultrabook. We're disappointed because we expected a Z.

 

Well, that's a bit harsh don't you think? It is pretty impossible to hang out in this forum without having seen one, seems like everyone has pictures of them in their signatures. But yeah, I was also hoping for a Z not just a middle-of-the-line Ultrabook.

See the thing is, if you only need it for 20 days of the year you're absolutely right, you shouldn't be spending 2k on it, but you should also realize that you don't need a Z. Any old ultrabook or ultraportable will do if you just need it as a lightweight second machine to carry when you travel. The point of the Z is that is was as small and light as an Ultrabook/MBA but you could actually use it as your only computer. It had the same power as a regular notebook in an ultraportable frame, with a few concessions (i.e. shallow keyboard, poor speaker quality). Add in the decent-resolution (even as of last year I'd only consider 1080p decent) and exceptional color-quality of the screen and it really was pretty close to perfect for a lot of us. Personally I'd never spend anything on a computer that I would only use 20 days of the year, but I can't really afford to.

 

Again, I'm never going to argue that the Pro 13 is going to be a computer for a power user because that's not its intent. Even Apple themselves put a premium on the Air's form factor over horsepower. I think many of you miss the point of the Pro 13. There's a market out there for people who want to trade off some performance to get the slimmest/lightest notebook they can buy for the OS they support.

So when you say "its not going to be enough notebook for me", I simply say, "okay, so what's your point?" It's not intended to be anyone's primary notebook. It's a situational product, it's the PC equivalent of the iPad, when you need to travel yet need a full sized keyboard and the use of Excel, the Pro 13 is a magnificent option for those who can afford it. I'm going to Asia for two weeks, not going to drag my office Dell around with me, the iPad isn't capable of keeping up with my emails and spreadsheets, hello Pro 13.

BJ

 

The Z1 was my favorite notebook of all time because, back then, it was great looking and as slim and light as one could get from a premium brand.

The last four years my position didn't require me to travel that often and when I did the iPad was all I needed for some simple email and the occasional attachment. New job, new responsibilities, a very thin and lightweight notebook becomes paramount and in looking at the playing field I was very disappointed by Sony's current offerings. That was, until last week when the Pro's were announced. Perhaps as you say, by skipping a few generations I missed the memo that said a notebook under 1" thick and under 2.5 lbs weight with ridiculous performance under a Sony label is commonplace. To me, it never was about performance, was always about weight and style and that's what has me excited about the Pro 13.

BJ

 

When the Z1 came out, there was nothing like it on the market. You couldn't pay half the price (say $2k vs. $4k) and get 75% of the functionality. Whatever else you bought had significant compromises when compared to the Z1. So, Sony could probably justify making the model. Not to mention that Sony had a leadership that didn't seem to care too much about actually making money for shareholders.

Fast forward 4 years, and there's now a plethora of machines on the market with SSDs, full HD screens, light weight at pretty aggressive price points. All of a sudden the consumer can spend $1k, $1.5k or $2k and get their choice of a fraction of the Z's capabilities. People no longer have to pony up huge amounts of money - they can pay a fraction of the price and compromise on those features that they don't really care about (e.g. no discrete graphics, or an extra 200g, or no TPM or whatever). The market for the $4k Z just shrunk significantly.

And of those that were buying the expensive Zs, I suspect that the larger part are the well heeled execs and IT consultants that want a decently powered laptop, that's got a good build quality and doesn't weigh down the briefcase. And that's the new Pro.

Not to mention that Sony seems to care about making money now. Expensive trophy projects are probably getting a lot more scrutiny these days.

 

What's my point?

You keep talking about the Pro 13 but this is the Z Speculation Thread. I'm not missing the point of the Pro 13, I get the point of it, I just don't care. You're right, the intent of the Pro 13 is not to be the computer for a power user. It's not intended to be anyone's primary notebook. However, the Z was a computer for a power user, in a tiny package, with a great screen. The reason we are all unhappy about the Pro is that exact reason, it does not fill the same niche as the Z, it is just another Ultrabook, and there is really not another computer on the market right now which can fill that hole, so we are basically out of luck. I'm considering buying two computers now (a desktop for at home and a thinner ultrabook-ish computer for taking with me every day) because there is no longer a computer on the market (that I can see) which can fill the role my Z did. Obviously my Z is only a year old and isn't even close to dying or anything, but I am probably looking to upgrade in the next 6 months (maybe 12 at the latest) and I am not seeing anything out there that fits my needs. It's not an issue of money, there is simply no laptop that ANYONE is making that fills this role anymore. It's funny that we now have more advanced technology, faster processors, and I am faced with the prospect of having to buy a SLOWER computer (yes, for less money, but again that's not the point).

The Pro 13 is a good option for the average Ultrabook user, it's a ho hum middle of the line computer, it costs less than many other computers. It's no longer the thing that everyone wants but can''t afford (as the Z was), it's just another Ultrabook. There is no more issue of "a magnificent option for those who can afford it." This computer starts at $1200, not $2000. I'm happy all you wanted was an Ultrabook and now you can get it, but everyone is making those now. I want a Z.

TL;DR: It's just another Ultrabook and I Don't Care.

 

Looks like all the pros in HK come with max 4GB RAM...

 

I've no idea why they are capped at 4GB RAM. Seriously? This is 2013 and surely 4 GB more isn't too much a cost.

 

So if the entire industry is ignoring the concept of an incredibly thin notebook that is incredibly powerful, what does that tell you?

Perhaps it's time to get off the soapbox and climb aboard the two-notebook strategy like the rest of us.

BJ

 

I mean, including my work laptop I have three, but that's sort of beside the point. Yes, perhaps I'm making a big deal of it, but I think I have the right to be disappointed that in the past there was always a device that fit my needs perfectly and now there is not, despite technological advancements in miniaturization and lower-energy procs. And again, it's not a problem of money, I would have been fine if they had raised the price if they had made an actual Z-series replacement. I absolutely think they have a right to be making a profit on their products, it just sucks that they completely discontinued it.

Plus, it seems like they didn't even take advantage of all the changes they made. They took out the full-voltage proc, removed some of the fans (judging from the bottom of the computer), took away the RAID 0 dual-SSD options, took out ALL the metal (which I think was the only thing making the Z3 as sturdy as it was, i.e. not very), took out the VGA port and the fingerprint reader, didn't increase max RAM at all, essentially the same screen (with slight color improvements) and for what? Width and length are pretty much the same, it's 0.02" THICKER in the back, 0.16" thinner at the front, they dropped ~.2 pounds? And it still apparently has issues with cooling/fan noise. Yes, it's less expensive, but other than that it seems like if they were going to take all that out (i.e. the majority of the main features that made people want the Z save the screen) they should have been able to get a little more than that.

I'm not saying the Pro isn't a decent machine, or a good value, or anything else. But it has almost nothing in common with the Z other than the design/looks and the screen. It is more like a T with a good display and slightly higher-end base config.

 

Whilst I agree they've taken a lot out - which is a shame, it's worth remembering that they've also added a touch screen, which adds a fair bit of width and bulk to the screen.

I'd also add that losing the metal parts may be no bad thing, especially considering it would appear they've replaced those parts with carbon fiber ones. IIRC, Carbon fiber is atleast 5 times stiffer than alu..

 

Yes, the bottom seems extremely flat. I can't see a single air intake. It seems they take in all air from the back as seen here. On the other hand, those holes are probably also used for audio output so it's probably not only for sucking air. Also, if they only take the air from the back, it will be hard to cool stuff at the front side. Probably not too much to cool there, but it's a whole new route for the air to take. I just hope it works good enough.

It *could* be a reason for the throttling/fan noise we've been seeing reports about.

 

That's not really a thing... how thick are you talking? What weave? There's no way you can make that sort of general statement without knowing MUCH more information than you do. And "stiffness"? Do you mean strength, and if so tensile or shear or what? Or do you mean toughness?

 

The Pros are available in both touch and non touch (matte) versions, although it looks the first configurations are pushed with.

We're talking about 15.8 mm <> 17.2mm and 940g <> 1060g. Thats roughly a 10% differnence which in the ultra thin market is quite a bit imo.

 

The arguments about what they took out and what is left in the Pro vs the SVZ reminds me my complaints when the Z2 came out compared to the VPCZ1. But the truth is that the Z2 was much more powerful and the PMD provided a nice multi monitor solution that didn't exist with the VPCZ1 (my Display link solution was really mediocre). Also the increase in battery life was important. And 3 years later I don't miss the optical drive at all. But at that time I was thinking that the weight of the optical drive that they eliminated was not enough progress. But the Z2 had better cooling, etc.
Unfortunately now we have a much more limited "successor". Slower, less connectivity and ports, etc.

10 years ago when laptops where very expensive and my income was lower I had a desktop at home and a laptop from work. Then when I started my business I continued with a powerful laptop and the desktop. File synchronisation was a mess. And that laptop was too heavy and had a crappy battery to carry around. I used that laptop as a desktop replacement for a while, then it died and got me the VPCZ1.
It was by chance, I was looking for a Thinkpad, but when the previous one died I had to buy one quickly and got an entry level Z.
What a revelation. The only notebook that made me get attached to it.

It is really a pity that Sony decided to ditch the line. I am sure other competitors or later Sony will fill the gap. Apple keeps decreasing the weight and adding power in its MacBook Pro line and thunderbolt is very useful for docking. I am not used to MacOS but some PC manufacturer will compete, Samsung or Asus. But till then I will get me an SVZ.

I also don't like the idea of using also a desktop. With the Cloud file sync is easier, but somehow I don't trust it that much. I travel A LOT and want to have everything with me.

 

I think I will get the Duo 13 but it kinda sucks that there is no i7-4650U option...I am thinking of CTOing it from somewhere else.

Did you finally find a SVZ?

 

I was just making a generalised statement - I didnt realise I had to go into so much detail, yet from that you're assuming you know how much I know?

Interesting..

 

I am still in shock how bad this decision by sony has been,

Yes they needed an Ultrabook in the range but why drop the Z, they could of increased the screen size to 14" and kept the same size and made it different from the Ultra book range. I was expecting more ram, higher resolution screen
and better CPU but this is quite shocking. There are other manufacturers offering much better line up than sony is currently with their Thee Thy Tho Thumb range lol

I dont see the duo 11 and 13 really taking off and can imagine they will be gone next year or next and never to return, I truly believe the market for vaio Z users is order of magnitude larger than any possible Duo market.

The only hope for us now is Sony Vaio X line, they seem to come and go every 5 years or so but they are so underpowered historically. There is just nothing out there which ticks all the boxes like the Z did.

I am still hoping they return the line named to something like Vaio Ultimate or something. The Z and vaio X are what have defined sony and by dropping them and going common sony its loosing its spark.

 

Sony dropped the Z because it isn't selling, that's why most for-profit companies do what they do.

We live in a world with the iPad and a confusing new version of Windows, there isn't much reason to buy a new notebook especially at a premium price. Sony tried doing it your way (performance) and now they're going to try it my way (weight-size-price). Doesn't mean they don't go back to the Z next year, just means that this year is about "taking on the MacBook Air" for Sony, a valiant endeavor that will make more older Z customers happy than sad. More of us wanting the size and prices down, fewer wanting something this tiny as an everyday desktop workhorse.

As for 'spark', I haven't thought about Sony computers for work since the iPad came out. The moment I read about the Pro 13 on Gizmodo I bought one, first one off the line as far as I can tell.

BJ

 

"confusing new version of windows"
doing work on an ipad
continously bragging about ordering a 4gb ultrabook

 

Sorry oled, I did not make it clear that I was referring solely to his statements about the carbon fiber used in the Pro and not about how much thickness is added by the touchscreen.

Exactly my point, you can't make a generalized statement and actually say anything. Your statement had no meaning.

Yes, you're correct in that I am assuming you have not managed to steal a pre-production Pro and rip it apart to determine the weave and thickness of the carbon fiber they are using. If my assumption is incorrect, by all means correct me; I'll happily admit I was wrong. But use data and facts this time, not meaningless arbitrary generalized statements.

 

I don't see matte non touch Pro on USA site and any other except Japan.
Any info on where to order it?

 

I dont understand where the misconception that the vaio Z was not selling well? Over here at least it was doing quite well, the base line model was not much more expensive than the pro but with better specs out the box in comparison.

It was doing well, I can understand that the ultrabook is where most sales are at and have said that sony needed one ultrabook range but why dorp the performance TRUE Pro range. Really Sony needs ultra portable, ultra book, midrange and performance range. Put these out there and let the customer choose what to buy, their range is confusing right now.

 

Unfortunately not, so far only Japan & Germany have mentioned non touch models.

The only 13" non touch I found is from Sony Germany available for pre order.
Sony seems to push the touch pretty hard.

 

I was speaking from the perspective of the "typical" PC buyer, especially one in the Z and Pro's wheelhouse.

The PC notebook industry is in a massive slump because of tablets like iPad and Windows 8 which is radically different than the Windows my mom is used to. Read a newspaper, read an investors report, learn something.

I am not bragging about my $1200 notebook that I'm going to use, maybe, 30 times a year. I am merely pointing out that those of you whining about the lack of power and features don't understand the purpose of the Pro 13 which is pretty staggering since Sony themselves have made it very clear- it's designed to be the Windows version of the MacBook Air. A situational computer to compliment a true desktop, something for a wealthy executive to take on the plane. It's not an end-all PC for the power user.

BJ

 

There is no misconception that the Z Series was not selling well. If it were selling well, Sony never would have dropped it.

The notebook business is in the tank, it's brutally bad out there for brands and retailers who can't give them away, especially expensive models with premium configurations. I used to be lost in the details back in the pre-iPad days, would configure my own notebook, the works. These days, buying a notebook is like buying milk. There isn't enough difference in power and features that the typical user can see or feel, might as well spend $500 for the kitchen computer the whole family uses, and spend nothing just take what the company gives you at work.

What makes the Pro 13 special is its form factor. It's the first notebook I've gotten excited about since the Z1, what, nine years ago. It's the first notebook I'll use for work that wasn't given to me by my company since 2007 or so. That's what's exciting about it. There are more of me out there than the notebook enthusiasts who are crying here every day. That's why the Z is gone. Not enough interest in a very difficult market.

BJ

 

You clearly aren't even reading the other posts in this thread as I've addressed this issue at least twice already now. Please, start reading or stop posting. First of all, the Z and Pro do not share a wheelhouse, they could hardly be more different. Other than light weight they share almost nothing.

"those of you whining about the lack of power and features don't understand the purpose of the Pro 13 which is pretty staggering since Sony themselves have made it very clear- it's designed to be the Windows version of the MacBook Air." Yes, we all read the same news articles and interviews you did. The Pro 13 is another me-too ultrabook which is perhaps slightly lighter than its competition. We are not whining about the lack of power in an Ultrabook, we are saying that we did not want an Ultrabook to begin with. The Z was not an ultrabook, it was not a second computer, it didn't "compliment" [sic] anything, it was designed first and foremost as a mobile ultraportable desktop replacement. It was designed to have power, and be the only computer you needed. Yes, the Pro is not designed for that. We all understand, you can stop saying it. Again, our point is not that we wanted a more powerful Ultrabook; we are not asking for the Pro 13 but just a little better. We wanted a fundamentally different machine, aimed at a different market. We wanted a continuation of the Z line, and instead we got a continuation of the T line. So please, stop telling us what we don't understand.

Regarding reading investor reports, maybe you should take your own advice. If you had read any tech analyst reports about Sony or had followed them for the last 10 years or so you'd know that their core competency is not cameras, or phones, or tablets, or computers, or any of that, it's making things smaller. Sony excels at figuring out how to make things smaller without giving up power. They did it with the walkman, they did it and are still doing it with cameras (have you seen the RX-100?), they did it with computers for years, look at all their ultraportables (TT, G, Z, U, SZ, X, and about 15 more). Sony was one of, if not the first company focused on making incredibly portable computers. I just searched "sony core competency" and found 2 of the top three links reference miniaturization of electronics as one of Sony's main skills. In other words, this is their thing, and we loved them for it. You'll have to excuse our "whining", but we are a bit disappointed they have stopped making products we were interested in buying.

As I said in my last post, I am super happy that all you needed was an ultrabook, but I need a real laptop I can carry with me every day and the Pro is not gonna cut it. So stop telling us we don't understand, because we understand what the Pro is for, it's just not for us.

Anyways, moving on. I would like to propose we change the theme of this thread a bit to a discussion of possible Z alternatives.

The Pro is obviously an option, but due to disappointing specs I'd say it's definitely not a slam dunk. The duo is actually looking better to me, since it comes with the slightly higher processor. I think the 4650U is about as low as I would want to go considering that the 45xxU procs either have poor graphics (HD 4400) or poor cpu performance (1.3ghz base clock?).

In terms of the gaming laptops, they seem to have plenty of power but even the "portable" ones aren't really. The new Alienware (14") has the power and actually looks a tiny tiny bit less ridiculously ugly but I still wouldn't want to be seen in public with one and it starts at 6 pounds. I must admit that the Razer computer intrigues me as well, and it actually doesn't look horrible (but not as good as the Z), although I don't really need anything more than integrated graphics if I could get something in the 5000 series or better. Plus, it's definitely on the heavy side at 4.1 pounds but it is exactly as thick as my Z3 (0.66") and they aren't charging exorbitant fees for the SSD upgrades, $300 extra on the base $2k gets you an upgrade from 256gb to 512 (sadly no Raid 0). The rumors about the screen being bad do not make me terribly hopeful, though.

I must say at this point the Zenbook Infinity is the most interesting thing, although it is an unfortunate design because all that glass will not make for a light-weight computer (remember the HP 14" Spectre?) It is apparently going to be offered with a 28W (still technically a "U" but much more similar to the 35W "M" IB procs) Core i7 with Iris 5100 graphics and a 1440p screen, so perhaps that will be the best option for a true portable semi-Z replacement, albeit at a loss of portability. Wonder what the battery life will be...

I am also interested in what Samsung has planned for the Series 9 line but I can't seem to find much... did I miss an announcement somewhere?

 

Samsung's announcements are on June 20th.

Based on what got released and my needs to have SLAT in the processor as well as 16GB, I just picked up a Samsung Series 7 Ultra which will replace my Duo 11. I love the Duo 11 in so many ways but not having 16GB proved to be too limiting. The i5-3337U seems close to the i7-3217U in the Duo. I replaced the 128GB mSATA SSD with a Mushkin 480 and popped in the 16GB. Weight wise it's like the Duo 11 with the sheet but more balanced. It's a bit on the heavier side. Having used the Duo 11 since last October with its 11.6" screen, I can't relate how much a 13.3" with 1920x1080 makes a difference.

The keyboard is not as good as the Duo 11 (I'm one of the few that liked it) and the trackpad is bad. I miss the optical nub. That said, even by trackpad standards, this one is crap to me. I need to find a good mouse.

The best part is that I got an open box special so because I had the SSD already, with the 16GB, I still came in at under $1000.

I wish I could claim the Duo 11 was a bum one due to Sony cheaping out on the IPS, but I know it won't happen. I'd swap my Duo for a Pro 11 with an i7 as a vacation-type notebook.

I'll keep my eye out for what comes down the road, but unless something is spectacular, I'll pass.

 

I'm quite surprised HK's Pro doesn't have 8GB, as they always have very high specs since CTO isn't available in Hong Kong...

Yes I did manage to get a SVZ with quad core 8GB ram 256 SSD. I'm actually very happy with it, it is noticably faster and the fan noise is actually lower compared to my Z2 in my 3 external monitor setup.

 

Exactly. This is the important point that many here are missing. As I said a few pages ago, the Pro is much more of a successor to the Vaio X than the Z.