VAIO TZ 10 Year Anniversary Japan Official

yeah, that all make sense too...

I wonder how is it working with SSD+HDD configuration:
is user has control over hdd? can it be stopped and started manually to save battery and noise?

is it possible to have such control?

 

so many pages to read..... but youre all aware that SSD's are available for ExpressCard right??? just say yes if already touched base on Expresscard SSD's

 

This may be a little early to mention but what you all think may be the next update for the TZ (TZ2):

120GB 1.8" SSD
200GB 2.5" HDD to replace the 160GB
64GB SSD
Santa Rosa platform (with GMA X3100 graphics)
Reintroduce EV-DO WWAN from Sprint
HSDPA
Penryn dual core ULV processor (maybe not)
higher resolution webcam
no change and rather skip SR for the Montevina platform with Penryn

 

10%? Try 30% (45 divided by 65 is 69.2%, so a 30.8% improvement).

Look, 7200rpm drives are faster as well but not the panacea, either. We're on the 1st gen of SSD drives. The next gen (of which the SanDisk 64GB that is coming out is a part of) is already a bit faster.

So if you look at the SSD as roughly equivalent or a bit faster than the existing 7200rpm drives, it also has other advantages over a standard drive.

 

Yes, but these are faster than those SSD drives.

 

I saw an article, don't remember which, but saying the new sandisk thats coming out the 64GB will be faster and cheaper than current gen 32GB. When these become available, I will get them and load my OS for my desktop.

 

Faster - that's correct. They did improve it. Won't be cheaper initially, but you're still talking $500 - $800.

 

what I meant is a contribution of ssd to the improvement - that system has a better CPU and more memory.. I would assume that will also contribute to a faster startup time.

I'm sure faster and better disk will arrive at some stage. But I'm talking about what we have at the moment..
I'm planning to buy a laptop soon and thinking about the options I have now.

regarding other advantages of ssd - I still want to see how it will work in a system with ssd+hdd, maybe someone can shred some light on this.

 

I can tell you from experience (like 10 years of laptops), it's usually HD speed first, memory, and finally processor. If you've ever suffered on a 4200 rpm drive, you'll know what I'm talking about. Memory is a close second. Processor is usually a distant third.

I'm not sure what you want to know - the SSD to Windows is just another hard drive. It's storage. That's it. It's not complex.

 

I'm non-stop with computers for 15 years (programming, interactive) but never interested in hardware too much.. I just want it to work fast and stable and don't have time to watch for all the new stuff coming every few month..

Given all other advantages of SSD as battery saving and quite operation, I wonder how is it working with SSD+HDD configuration:
can user have full control over HDD: can it be stopped and started manually to save battery and noise?
Can ExpressCard SSD replace internal SSD or is that require drivers to operate? Can ExpressCard SSD be as fast as internal?

 

That would have to be determined by the BIOS.

Express Card SSD will never be as fast as an internal SSD, unfortunately.

 

I believe express card has the potential to be as fast as an internal drive. Express card ports are connected to the PCI express bus which is the same bus as the internal drive. You can actually buy express cards that allow you to connect external SATA drives.

 

You are absolutely correct. On my personal machines the CPU barely gets taxed. I can take two identically config'd machines and make one perceptably super fast while the other dog slow. The only thing I would have to change is the hard drive.

 

I have found a seller on ebay selling the TZ. There are 3 links and they do customise it, but i dunno if they install an English OS.

http://cgi.ebay.com/SONY-VAIO-T-TZ-...yZ140084QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/SONY-VAIO-T-TZ-...yZ140084QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/SONY-VAIO-T-TZ-...yZ140084QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItem

 

It would be pretty cool to have a Japanese keyboard with an English OS. Anyway this is possible?

When does TZ series come out in US?

Also does it have a fingerprint sensor

 

Yes, you can order the Japanese version from Dynamism in this config if you really wanted.

No one has a clue; speculation is July.

Looks like all non-CTOs have it. It's optional on a CTO.

 

I don't know where I got the info these only came with PCMCIA slots, but since these show Expresscard slots I am extremely the more interested. Thanks for the link.

 

buddy, glad you brought that up. There seems to be confusion as whether it's a PC Card slot or an Express Card slot. Anyone have the real deets translated from Japanese site? It looks really cool in the unboxing thread.

 

It definately has an Expresscard Slot, though its only mentioned that its a 34 slot, not 54.

 

I ran the Japanese site through a translator, it says 34-pin ExpressCard.

Seems like money will be a concern after all, I'm thinking of just going with the cheapest version (the one with no DVD drive and the 160 GB 5400 RPM 2.5" hard drive in the DVD bay), and maybe buying an SSD to put in the 1.8" bay when SSD prices fall to something more sane.

How much of an impact on usability do you think the disabling of the A/V communications buttons will have on the functionality of the notebook? As far as I'm concerned, having a fast 160 GB hard drive more than makes up for pressing buttons because you're so lazy.

 

The buttons will still work in the OS, its just that you can't use AV Mode when the notebook is off or in hibernate. I still keep wishing there can be a way to switch the optical drive and 2.5" hard drive when you wish. And I'm wondering how hard it would be to open the 2.5" hard drive and replace it with a bigger, faster drive later on.

 

Unless you use those features, not at all. And 5400rpm really isn't fast. Faster than 4200rpm, but not 7200rpm ...

 

Probably no more or less difficult than other Sony notebooks. Plenty of 7200rpm options out there.

 

What kind of features does Vista have to make high pixel/inch screens more usable? 11.1" 1366x768 is extreme. Kind of a shame that question has to be asked because with an OS that handles graphics properly more pixels should always be a good thing

 

Well, in Vista most of the icons are way bigger than in XP, so that helps. I remember using Vista on the TX (with Aero and Flip3D) and aside from being dead slow, it was pretty nice and definitely more usable than XP was. For Text, I guess the only thing to do is to increase font size, or Zoom in farther.

 

Vista does a much better job of UI scalling than XP. 1366 x 768 is really not that bad. It's about the same DPI as my 14" SXGA+ screen. The nice thing about having a nice high res screen is that everything looks smoother.

 

Actually, consult a hard drive chart. 160 GB 5400 RPM drives approach 100 GB 7200 RPM speeds, because the extra platter density on the 5400 RPM drive cancels out the extra rotational speed of the 7200 RPM drive.

 

Guess you haven't seen the new Seagate Momentus 7200.7 120 and 160 GB drives, or the new E7K200 (up to 200GB capacity) which are higher density ...

 

Right, and I'm talking about the typical comparison of a 100 GB 7200 RPM drive versus a 160 GB 5400 RPM drive. Obviously a 160 GB 7200 RPM drive versus a 160 GB 5400 RPM drive will be no contest.

 

I'm reconsidering my former choice of no DVD. The 32 GB solid state and DVD may be the way to go for me if I use a 7200 RPM exterior HD, which I already have. My question is, about how much space does Vista take? How much memory will I have left on my solid state drive?

 

Vista takes up about 10 GB of hard drive space, and if you add the stuff you need like Firefox, Office, etc., you should be able to install everything without filling up the SSD completely. You can also install something things on the external, and just use the SSD for critical applications like Vista and all Vista-related applications, Office, Firefox, Entertainment Suites.

 

This is what I'm going to be doing on my new Sony G. To be honest, a lot of my disk space is VMWare images and such.

 

Currently have a 20GB partition with Vista Dual Booting on my W3J. Installed Vista Ultimate to muck around with, and just the OS installed takes up 10GB, with default installation options.

 

It's funny how we're all reaching the same conclusion simultaneously. SSD/DVD for me too. External hard disk will be new 6-oz. 160GB Seagate AgentPro Go. That way all files plus backup are always with me too.

 

ubercool wrote: "It's funny how we're all reaching the same conclusion simultaneously. SSD/DVD for me too."

I too am inclined to make such a choice. But I am at the moment hesitating a bit, thinking that there may be worth a relatively SHORT wait for the SSD to reach 64 GB, provided that it will appear in the TZ during the fall this year!

 

I'm curious if anyone here is planning on ordering from Geekstuff4u.com which has a pretty good reputation.

I priced out a TZ90 from their web site with 32GB SSD + optical, 1GB RAM, Linux OS, Standard battery and with shipping comes out to $2966.36 with 3 yr warranty compared with Dynamism's $3156 same spec with shipping but it includes vista home prem which is the only difference. And Dynamism comes out a month earlier. The differences in pricing is about $190 which is pretty steep considering its the exact same product. I'll order 2GB RAM and ultimate on my own and install from scratch.

 

Me too i decided for this combination, SSD/DVD. Since i live in Europe i would like to have an international warranty and possibly an accidental one too. Does anyone know if the WWAN works also in Europe or is esclusively for the US?

 

If I ordered one today I wonder how long it would take Dynamism or Geekstuff to deliver? Are they in stock or will they have to be shipped overseas to the U.S. first?

 

geekstuff4u.com says that the TZ will be in stock on 21 June:
http://www.geekstuff4u.com/product_info.php?manufacturers_id=&products_id=533

 

exetlaios asked: "Does anyone know if the WWAN works also in Europe or is esclusively for the US?"

Just exactly one year ago I asked the following question in the TR World Forum (Siliconpopculture):

Perhaps I will get the opportunity of buying a TX in the US. I think I prefer the US keyboard compared to the European keyboard. What about the antenna of the US model? Can it be used in Europe? And if not: Can it be removed in a proper way? And is there something that can be put into the hole where the antenna was placed?
_________________
MA

And I got this answer from "gilberto":

"What about the antenna of the US model?
Standard EDGE/GRPS.

>Can it be used in Europe?
Yes. I've used it in Munich last month.

>Can it be removed in a proper way?
Kind of. You need a cap for the TX. Search the forum for the part #

Please note that I have a T350P, which is pretty much the same laptop, except the screen."

This info may still have relevance.

 

I was told by Dynamism that they will receive their shipment from Japan by month end and will start shipping to customers after shipments arrive.

As mentioned, Geekstuff will have theirs by June 21st, so I'm sure they will ship by the end of June.

 

When it's in stock, overnight. My G shipped out today

 

Looks like its official, well for Europe anyways.

http://www.electronista.com/articles/07/05/29/sony.vaio.tz.in.europe/

I'm surprised annoucement came for Europe before U.S.

 

When you want SSD and DVD integrated, you don't have to carry a relatively big and heavy DVD drive externally. It's lighter and smaller to carry more HDD capacity externally than a DVD drive: For instance: WD Passport WDXMS1600 - harddisk - 160 GB - Hi-Speed USB 2.5" (8 cm x 13 cm x 1.5 cm) - 105 g.

 

The GeekStuff4U site says "External Resolution: 1600x1200". So can anyone confirm that this couldn't drive a 1920x1080 or 1920x1200 monitor?

 

Considering no one here has a TZ yet ... you're going to have to wait.

 

The TZ runs off the GMA 950 graphics card. You really don't want to power a WUXGA screen with that.

 

Has anyone tried it with a TX? Probably would have similar results

Are there any expresscard solutions that would make it possible?

 

Why do you need that resolution? I would never run a desktop with that.

Also, most monitors I've encountered can "downstep" and adjust to some "lower" resolutions. So your 1920x1200 monitor should be able ot handle 1600x1200

 

hey guys,

for all who have bought vaios from japan, about the Felica logo on the palmrest. is it a sticker or something that cannot be removed?