VAIO TZ 10 Year Anniversary Japan Official

You can always take the standard configuration and you have both things: 1.8" 100GB HD and an optical drive. But of course is a slow hard drive

 

Yes! This is exactly the point! Sony! Bring in the 64 GB as soon as possible!

 

This is a nice external optical drive but is little expensive

Sony Vaio DVD+R DL/DVD+RW External Optical Drive ( VGP-DDRW4 )

 

wouldn't it be easier and smaller to just get a tiny external HDD like the WD passport or a 16GB usb flash than an external optical?

 

Yes, that's true. But the whole point is for what you plan to use the TZ. Most of you people you will use as an ultraportable but at home you have already another laptop that you put your multimedia files and programs. In this case TZ with the 32GB for sure will last. For me though that i plan to have TZ as my only laptop the things are different. You are right the external optical is more big than a external HDD and the WD that you said is really tiny

 

My point exactly. ask yourself what you plan to use your laptop for.
Is this going to be your ONLY computer?
How often do you use an optical drive? Do you burn, encode often....etc?
What do you plan on installing on the laptop?
Do you have an external HDD or network attached storage at home for storage?

Base your configs on these questions. Each config has its own advantages and disadvantages, but I'm happy that we have options. its what makes this world turn.

 

For those that are interested in the drivers for the TZ. I emailed sony UK that their site currently do not list the TZ in the driver download section and when it might be available. Also, if I install the TX drivers for the TZ, would there be any issues.

They replied that the TZ Vista drivers will be out next month, and whether or not the TX drivers would work, you would have to call VAIO UK support.

If someone lives in the UK interested in finding out, let us know.
number to sony vaio UK is 08705424424. I'd call myself, but I live on the other side of the pond.

 

OK, since everyone is so damn confused and obviously can't read this thread, let me summarize why I believe that the SSD/DVD is the best combination:

1. OS/Applications -- Windows XP Pro takes 5GB. Windows Vista takes 10GB, but can be reduced by vLite to about 7GB. All my 90 apps and utilities, and you'll have less because I do a lot on my computer, take up 5GB. So, with Vista that's about 12GB. Since the drive holds 30GB net, that leaves you with 18GB for documents.

2. DVD burner -- for big data like pics that you might need to access, burn them on a DVD and they'll be instantly available. I'll do that for my pictures primarily. Plus you can watch movies on it, which you'll definitely want to do with that killer, true 16:9 screen.

3. Outboard HD - I recommend the new Seagate FreeAgent GO 160GB, which is $135 at Amazon.com (no sales tax and free shipping, if you're a prime customer). On that drive, I will keep all my 60GB of data, including my iTunes music (12GB) and my total pictures folder (10GB). That drive weighs only 6.4 oz./181gr, so it's easy to carry with you at all times.

Everyone clear now?

 

Everyone clear now?

Thanks again! Just one thing! Does the vLite take away the AERO from Vista? Hope not!

 

1) Yes is going to be my only computer.
2) I quite ofter the optical, so i need it.
3) I am going to install Adobe, Office, Firefox, AVG, Ad-Aware, and some other programs and files.
4) No, i don't have an external HDD or network.

 

Visit the site and look at the screen dumps, you can control what components you remove, and each component has an explanation of what it does, which is extremely helpful:

http://www.vlite.net/about.html

Besides, Aero can be turned off in Vista by the user so Vista runs faster, so there's no need to remove it.

 

Sony announced the VAio CR today. Is coming the turn of TZ??

Rahul call sony uk and ask. They will know for sure.

 

Do you think laptop will be able to boot from external usb dvd drive?
Or how OS can be installed?

thanks

 

Yes, the laptop will be able to boot from an external cd/dvd drive or diskette drive, I think it should also be able to boot from an external hard drive or flash drive.


Aside...I found a nice closeup of the TZ that I thought I should share with you all:



Check out that screen!

 

TZ video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86hgkUCXR00

 

Bad-quality video, I'll try to do a better one.

 

how about doing some benchmarks, like super pi to 2M, 3dmarks, etc

 

This is not a performance lappy, the TZ is optimized for long battery life and usability, i.e. fast start-ups after putting it in hibernate, which is what the SSD does best.

 

I can't stand it anymore, where is my TZ? I heard from Dynamism and they said that they have been shipping units all week, mine is suppose to go out today, I hope it does.

Has anyone that orders one from dynamism received it yet?

 

nice video man. it looks like you're one of the first to receive it. being that I saw it at work, I couldn't hear anything due to lack of speakers, so anything you might've said in the video, I'm ignorant of. did you get it from dynamism?
is there anything specific you plan to install, use it for? is this your only comp or a secondary one?

 

Yes I realize that, but it would be nice to see how much faster it is over the tx.

 

Here's lots of pictures comparing the TZ to the TX and the Fujitsu Lifebook P7230/Loox. Enjoy.

 

Thanks for the pictures.. the new TZ looks really nice.

 

What about the noise issue in the TZ? There were a lot of complaints about the noise that was caused by the Vaio TX. How does the TZ stack up noise-wise?

 

Thanks to those who have answered my previous questions! This is a great forum.

I'm wondering, if Sony states the AV mode will not work with the SSD + HDD, then why would it still keep the buttons on models shipped without the optical drive (the movie posted earlier has one in this configuration with the AV buttons)? In terms of manufacturing, Sony still had to do some work to put together non-optical drive models (e.g. adding the usb port, internals, casing, etc.) but they chose not to get rid of the buttons. Is this a sign that it may be possible in the future to somehow get the AV mode software to read media off the HDD instead?

 

You can still use the buttons in Windows to control applications like Windows Media Player and ITunes for instance like the stop, forward, play functions. The AV Mode button can also start the default DVD player program or any program you specify in the options menu.

It would be nice if they could get the whole mode to work eventually without the optical drive.

 

Oh cool! I did not know that, thanks Rahul...hopefully someone will figure out a way to get it to work!

 

Just because the AV would not work with certain configs, doesn't mean those media buttons won't work during actual media playback. The only button that wouldn't work is the actual AV button which starts the laptop without booting windows.

Its cheaper for sony to leave that alone than it is to build another template for non optical drive models.

Think about this the same way car manufacturers build cars. They have one general template, and for certain models that lack some features or buttons present on the higher end models, they just cover the empty space with something rather than build another template for the lower end models. its all about cost control, cause if not, the cost would sky rocket.

 

If the TZ does not have Centrino Duo, why is the sticker on it?

 

sturmnacht wrote: "What about the noise issue in the TZ? There were a lot of complaints about the noise that was caused by the Vaio TX. How does the TZ stack up noise-wise?"

Anyone who knows? I am also very concerned about this.

 

The TZ runs coolly and quietly. Rarely do its cooling fans cause a racket -- and it doesn't get particularly hot during use either. If you're worried about burning your lap, the TZ is the one to go for.

http://reviews.cnet.co.uk/laptops/0,39030092,49290810-2,00.htm

 

They just put a video of TZ here:

http://reviews.cnet.co.uk/laptops/0,39030094,49290810-1,00.htm

 

Thanks exetlaios, nice review and video.

I saw at trustedreviews.com the samsung Q40 and i quite having a thought also at this ultraportable. The good is that has a HSDPA module that for me is very important, but no optical drive integrated and Core Solo as a processor. Sony TZ is from another planet though! If only Sony put a simcard inside

 

I read all the posts in the topic and feel really helpful for more understanding this machine...

Actually.. I planned to buy the SSD + DVDRW version (because I'm located in Hong Kong and I don't think I have other option if I want the carbon fibre version)..

32GB SSD really not enough for me.. so.. I'm asking...

1. If I want to replace the DVD drive to 2.5"HD... do I need to buy some ATA or SATA adaptor or even some mounting for replacement?

2. If I want to replace the 32GB SSD to 1.8" HD, again, can I use back the original SSD mounting and connecting sockets?

All experts, can you give me a little help? thanks!

 

Does anyone know if its possible to add in your own 32gb SSD?. The plan is to get the 2.5" 160gb HDD version and use the SSD to have vista and OSX + the usual Office bloatware running directly from that. This would leave the 160gb 2.5" as a file store and SSD image drive for back-up and redundancy.

OMG im just thinking how cool it would be to have 12hrs battery and know my data is always safe, in a 1.25kg package. Amazing. My perfect laptop.

 

It's that and more. Twelve hours is hype though. My medium-sized battery lasts 5 hours. So, the bigger one should last proportionally longer.

The best part is that the SSD drive is totally silent and makes Windows Vista run nice and fast.

 

Thanks for the reply Ubercool. I checked out the CNet review of the TZ. The video and image gallery show them using the medium battery and the review itself reports a battery-eater runtime of 3 hours 28 minutes. This correlates worryingly with your 5 hour runtime. Was expecting about 10 hours from the TZ. Unfortunately this effectively rules out the TZ for me and means im gonna have to stick with my poorly built and supported Asus R1F. Damn it.

But i would like to get your opinion on one thing ya said about the battery life. You said the 12 hour battery life was "hype", it sounds like a blatant lie to me by Sony?

Thanks again for the heads up. If i had bought the TZ and only got 5 hours i would have been raging.

 

you have to keep in mind the way battery eater works. it stresses all the components of the laptop keeping everything at its max. in the real world, we don't use our computer this way unless you plan to encode a video for an entire day on battery power alone.

I can't think of anything out there that can run battery eater for 10 hours straight on battery alone and still keep the weight at a minimum. imo, the enhanced battery for the TZ can give you about 9 hours of real world use since the stated time is 18 hours.

 

So with light battery how many hours will last??

An ultraportable first of all should have a great battery life. If it last 3 hours what's the point?

 

Hey Outrigger. What i meant with the mention of battery-eater was in relation to Ubercool's geting about 5 hours from his TZ in real world battery life. To be honest every laptop manufacturer exagerates when it comes to battery life but saying something does 18hrs when it will only do 9 or that the standard battery will last 12hrs when in reality it only does 5hrs is in reality a lie. Especially considering the fact that the T series has such a fantastic reputation for doing the Duracell bunny thing.

Considering one of the main reasons a lot of people will go for this laptop is the promised battery life its hard to swallow that pill. And you have no idea how much i actually wanted to spend €3000 on this little thing.

 

The lightweight battery is quoted up to 6 hours, so 3 hours basically in real world usage.

 

And the Standard battery is quoted 12 hours, so 6 hours in real usage.

The 5 hours of ubercool is near the predicted by Sony. Furthermore he was using wi-fi and bluetooth open and full brightness.
For me if there is an ultraportable worth of spending $3k is the TZ

 

If you turn Wi-Fi off and brightness down, it will do over six hours.

 

12 hours is probably with lcd turned to the lowest settings (or even off), hard drive spun down, wifi, firewire, cdrom, modem, etc powered down. ubercool's time is with lcd on brightest (which, imho is blindingly bright, at least on my TX), which really eats power. On my TX, setting 4 vs 9 (max), the difference the two settings makes on power while idling is around 2.5 hours (8 hours vs 10.5 hours).

 

so is it safe to say that tx has better battery life compared to tz?

 

you can't compare the battery life of two laptops with 2 different types of CPUs. it wouldn't be fair.

 

that's true. but for me, i need a longer battery life more compared to a faster CPU

 

When i got my Asus R1f Tablet the claimed batterylife was 3hrs 30 minutes. Actual runtime under real world conditions at the start was more like 3 hours.

If you relate the claimed time to actual times it should look something like this
Claim Actual
3.30 3.00 = Asus R1f
12.00 10.20 = Sony TZ

5 or 6 is not even close.

If the TZ is getting only 5, maybe 6 hours and the TX was getting more than that, does that not mean we have regressed in terms of battery life. If someone could perform a test using XP we would be able to see how much is down to Vista sucking the life out of the battery.

Asus didnt sell its laptop with amazing claims of battery life, Sony shouldn't either if it is a false inducment to purchase.

The irony of this is that my Asus battery has degraded 25% in a month. Any TZ owners want to calibrate the battery to be sure they havent lost 50% battery capacity since the box opened.

 

anyone have pics with it's extended battery attached?

 

You have your batteries mixed up. The extended battery is rated at 12. Mine is the "large" battery, which is not rated as high.