VAIO A Series Spec Sheets

Sorry guys, forgot to post links to the spec sheets, I updated the article but here it is again:

Sony VAIO VGN-A190 view VAIO VGN-A190 spec sheet

Sony VAIO VGN-A160 view VAIO VGN-A160 spec sheet

Sony VAIO VGN-A150 view VAIOVGN-A150spec sheet

 

It PAINS me that they only gave it 64mb VRAM [V]

 

Abaxter... there wasnt any mention of the new S series with 13.3 widescreens? There is a model with the 9700 and they support Dothan. No news on that at the conference?

 

It seems like the difference between the a160 and the a150 is the included docking station (or whatever that thing is called).

I'm confused about the spec sheet though, it says the 15.4" screen is WXGA but with 1920 x 1200 resolution. Isnt WXGA 1200 x 800???

Its disappointing too that they had to use the 1.5Ghz chip on the lowest end. I don't think any other manufacturers out there have released Dothan laptops that have the 1.5Ghz.

I also thought the thin and light factor was going to be huge with this laptop. But it weighs in at the average, if not slightly more, or around 8 lbs and certainly not think of 1.7 to 1.8". I've seen many laptops out there that range between 1.3 to 1.6 using the Pentium 1.5+ Banias.

Any news on what exact date these puppies will hit the website or stores. I checked right away and didn't see them. I'm excited, I need a laptop.

 

Yeah, either the pixel count is wrong or the WXGA statement is wrong.

Editor in Chief http://www.bargainPDA.com and http://www.SPOTstop.com

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by Brian

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by Air

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by Slat

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by funky102

 

Here's a nice English language site for the A Series on SonyStyle Europe:

VAIO A Series

 

Thanks darrow for the link, nice to see that Europe already has it so hopefully its coming to the US soon.

Slat: Your'e going to have wake up from dreaming the 64MB vid card is a typo It gets worse, for me at least. The 15.4" (on the Swedish link) does indicate an WXGA screen so now I might have to rethink getting the 17" because it has WUXGA. The 15" is still using the Banias processor while the 17" uses the Dothan. I guess Sony's marketing scheme of forcing me to get the more expensive machine is working. I don't know how a 17" laptop is supposed to be portable [|)]

 

Hey Funky,

I believe the A160 15.4" model uses the Dothan processor because of the 2MB L2 cache for the A150 to A170 models. I'm not too sure of the 15" non-widescreen model though. The spec sheet lists off the 15.4" screen as being a WXGA and lists the resolution as 1920x1200, but at that resolution it should be WUXGA (hopefully it's a type-o).
At 15.4", it should still be a good trade off for power/features & portability. This is probably the unit I'm gonna get, I had an HP NX7000 with a 15.4" WSXGA+ screen and I loved it, but this unit is a bit larger and heavier than the HP, but I'm sure this will be a better unit because of all the extra features.

-Vb-

 

Venombite,

Your'e right, the spec sheet does say 2MB but the Swedish website has it at 1MB ( http://shop.sonystyle-europe.com/SonyStyle/b2c/init.do?shop=SST_SE_EN ). The specs are all over the place, hopefully all the specs are typos and the 15.4" has a WXSGA or WUXGA screen [ ]

Would you be willing to take the WXGA screen even though your'e used to the WSXGA?

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by sebas

 

I believe that there are several mistakes in the specifications!

According to the spec, the A160 (15.4") and the A190 (17") have the same sizes and weights. weird![ ]

 

Don't know if this has been posted in the other topic but I found several pages relating to this.
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0%2C1759%2C1591422%2C00.asp
http://www.pcmag.com/print_article/0%2C1761%2Ca=127025%2C00.asp
http://news.com.com/2100-1003_3-5210833.html
http://hardware.earthweb.com/news/article.php/3352901

 

One of the articles posted mentioned that the A series will be coming out later this month [ ][ ] I hope this is right...

 

As firebird posted in the News forum, the A series is available for ordering:

SonyStyle Sony VAIO Notebook A Series

 

It's weird, the SonyStyle website doesn't seem to have the 15.4" Widescreen model available, it's just the 15" 4:3 & 17" widescreen. Anyone know when/if the 15.4" Widescreen model will come out & when/if it will ever be available in Canada?

-Vb-

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by Venombite

 

I don't think they solder their CPU's to the board, it's more cost effective to replace just a defective CPU then it is to replace the entire systemboard.

-Vb-

 

No, it doesn't [V]

Anyone know if Sony solders their chip onto the mobo?

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by funky102
Yeah, I was ready to order one until I read your post and realized the 15" wasn't the wide screen one. [!] I called Sony up (before realizing the widescreen wasnt out yet) and asked them about the hard drive and they said it wasn't replacable after its installed. This doesnt make sense [8)]
<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'></font id='quote'></blockquote id='quote'>

I think what they mean is that the drive can't be removed by an End-User. The HDD is most likely under the keyboard and requires a "Tech" to get access to it for removal. I'm sure someone's going to figure it out sooner or later.

Plus, I think the 15.4" Widescreen model may only be available in the US, I checked the Sony Japan site and they don't seem to list a 15.4" model, just the 15" models (I could be wrong because of the language of the site).

-Vb-

 

I checked the japanese site and they dont have the 15.4-inch wide screen there. I am a japanese by the way.

 

Somebody shoot me.[xx(] Is it going to be widescreen 15.4 as advertised (at least in some publications) or not?

The widescreen 17 appears to be available only a WUXGA--any word on this?

You would think Sony could be a wee bit more precise with their PROMOTION of a new series[V]

 

I have just looked at the european site as per the link in earlier thread - and thewre appears to be no mention of the av entertainment dock anywhere.
Does anyone know if it comes as standard with the a series no matter where you live????

I am in the Uk and would maybe consider buying one from the usa if i cant get this dock - i cant even see it as an optional extra anywhere - does anyone know why this would be???
[V]

 

I don't know about the european market, but I know you can't buy the dock as an option (accessory)here in the US. I am considering the A-series and was trying out the configure-to-order option and it stated that the dock is not available as an option (meaning you have to include it when you configure if you want one). Maybe ebay might have one available when the A-series becomes available in the stores.

 

Hi all,
Just some help needed.
The A series....I see a lot of third party companies now make TV tuners that go into the USB ports or in the PCI slot.
Companies like ATI or Intel too.[ ]

http://www.aver.com/media_room/press_intel.shtml

I am inquiring to know if the A series or any other Sony can after un-docking still veiw TV using one of these after market devices ?Any insight would be helpfull. Thank You [8)]

 

See my post:
http://www.notebookreview.com/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=1938.

 

They'll work on any machine that has USB 2.0. It boils down to cost and performance, I'd hope for $350 the Sony docking station has better quality due to higher throughput and amount of hardware that must be in that beast. Hauppage and ATI will give them a run for their money though, even without all the special VIVO options.

 

Yes, all the tech companies are racing to be the first......

It's fun how fast things are changing,
It is to the point that your ordering some new hardware that is already out date as you wait for that puppy to arrive!

life in the tech fast lane ..................

 

Hey guys,

Have been looking for a laptop since yesterday, and came across the A series and haven't found anything that really compares in my book so far. It is a bit pricey though, and I noticed especially how expensive the RAM is. I'm a graphic designer, so anything less than a gig of ram is really less than desireable for me. I noticed someone said that RAM at Fry's was much cheaper than what Sony was selling it for, so my question is does anyone forsee difficulty in ordering the notebook with 512, and then just replacing it with 3rd party RAM when I get it?

I have noticed that nobody has this in a store yet, so I can't poke and prod around it. And as it looks like these things aren't shipping for another week I'm assuming nobody has one yet?

 

Called Sony yesterday and talked with sales support. They indicated the Series A would go into production next week--so models will not likely show up before June.

I asked about the previously "reported" widescreen 15.4 inch model and whether the 17 inch would be available in SXGA. Got the impression that a 15.4 version is a possibility along with a lower res 17--but ever elusive--no commitment date.[ ]

 

Wonder, could the " A " series notebook work just fine with an after market TV tuner card for more mobility ?????????????

That way I leave the docking station at home ???????