VPCZ23 Now Available - Colors too!

Carbon Fiber Black
Carbon Fiber Gold [add $0.00]
Premium Carbon Fiber Black [add $0.00]
Carbon Fiber Silver - Sony Store exclusive [add $0.00]

Free upgrade LTE too at the moment.

Its about time!!!!

 

Looks like Computer Cowboy can finally order his dream Z2.

 

Where...#SONY site

 

US Sony.com store.

 

See they + Verizon but isnt LTE but 3G..

Edit...OK LTE I have looked at the wrong one

 

I'd really like to know if the LTE capability can be put into my Z21.

 

Ohhh.... a silver model


Gonna be hard to resist this tasty morsel

 

A STErricson Thor M700 LTE module should work. Brand new and hard to get tho. What WWAN module is in your Z2?

 

It looks like the same ntoebook as the Z22 except for the 4G option.

 

I have a Z1 with the original WWAN option. I think it's the Huawei Gobi 3000???

 

Z1x = Gobi 2000
Z21,Z22 = Gobi 3000
Z23 = Gobi 4000 or Thor M700 (no reports yet)

Retrofit of each WWAN module possible in each machine. That's what I was able to figure out in the datasheets (all modules use USB2.0 @ mpcie slot and 2x2 MIMO antennae, that is available on all Z's preconfigured with WWAN)

Datasheets for the Gobi 4000 series:
- MDM9200 powered Novatel Expedite E371 http://www.novatelwireless.com/inde...ini-card&catid=11:expedite-modules&Itemid=15#
- MDM9600 powered Novatel Expedite E362 http://www.novatelwireless.com/inde...ini-card&catid=11:expedite-modules&Itemid=15#

 

What's the difference between the two chips/cards?

 

The E371 has LTE AWS and the E362 has LTE with CDMA fallback.

 

Hello!
So what is the real difference between those two models?
I checked - specs are the same, HD, processor, GPU, etc... But the price difference is smth like 400-500 - for maxed out Z.
Is it time to buy VPCZ2290X?
Please advise

 

Where can you buy them? I couldn't find a supplier. Thanks.

 

There's a driver listed for the VPC-Z2390X for a Sierra Wireless MC7750. What's that?

 

That's a Gobi 4000 from Qualcomm.

 

Oh boy, I can't wait to see Silver Z2 in person. If anyone has seen it, please comment!

 

Anandtech has one image of it, but that's all I have been able to find. Now I'm debating the merits of getting a Silver Z23, lol... But I already told myself to wait on Ivy Bridge before buying yet another laptop within the Sandy Bridge family :/

 

I saw it at the show. If you love sliver, it's for you. It's a single color inside and out. Personally, I think the gold exterior looks better with the silver VAIO logo on it. Of course I bought the "blurple" so what do I know.

I also thought the new shiny black exterior (not yet for sale I see) was to shiny. Even with their attempts to keep it clean it was covered in finger prints. One of the staffers commented that he takes better care of it when he's assigned to that station.

Looks like I was too busy taking pictures of the prototype under glass to get a shot of the Z3.

 

Since SPRINT is deploying their 4LTE first Q12 on the next refresh of the Z we may have the option of 4G LTE(SPRINT)...

 

Which glossy black is this one? Currently there's only four choices for CTO, matte CF, matte black, matte gold, and matte silver. Is the glossy black going to be something else, perhaps a signature ed? (And is it glossy black or glossy black CF?)

 

Sony had two new Z2 models on display at CES: silver and "glossy black." They didn't say exactly when either would go on sale. I was surprised to see the sliver so quickly after the show.

 

yeah, considering previous colors were available in EU since day one.

 

I bet all of these lighter external colours are going to look secondhand pretty fast - though I have to say, so far it looks like my Z's are wearing better than the Thinkpad matt black, maybe a slight improvement on the previous Z/SZ/TT/etc...? (or it's maybe because I don't throw them about in airports quite as often as I used to...)

 

My trip to Vegas cost me two obvious scratches to the lid exterior. I was very surprised. I can only think the scratches occurred when I had the laptop on my lap, just under the First Class tray, when I was eating.

 

Unfortunately there's only so much you can do with 'plastic'. Apples - while building laptop frames from aluminium may be a comparatively inferior idea - do have an advantage in that respect with their hard-anodised bodies. Once again, it's 'the face' that's important for Apple. Sony hasn't done anything about this to date. The 'limited edition carbon' coated lids looked bad enough after some wear & tear, I can see any matte coat / paint looking really used after a while, especially a glittery one.

I wonder if Sony will take up vapour deposition or if it's economically / temperature-compatible with the specific process Sony uses in producing the lids/bodies? In which case the gold Z could have a functional aspect (i.e. you could conceivably deposit titanium nitride). Probably not as the outer layer is thermoplastic which will likely melt before the layers can be properly deposited. But if they made the transition to "full 'real' carbon"...

Perchance to dream, eh?

 

Now that I would pay a premium for.

 

It has been so long now I am not sure if I care anymore. My Z1 is just fine and I'll probably just keep upgrading that until I can get an ultralight VAIO with 16GB of ram. The Z2 is just not that special.

FWIW I probably don't care that much because I have a new truck and I am more interested in tweaking that out and upgrading it, so my fun budget is all going to that right now.

 

This forum will never be the same without you, CC. Funny, I'd made the same decision - minus the truck - and re-upped into a new Z13, which I'm very pleased with, after curing "teethng" issues. It performs like a champ and it's nice to have the odometer back at 0. And yet...

...having owned a gold Z2 for a week or so, I can honestly say it was so stunning, so much classier and more elegant looking than any notebook I've ever seen, that I am toying with getting one again, soley for its aesthetics! I actually looked forward to having something to do on it, no - shirt; the performance bonus is an afterthought. My black Z13 looks just dowdy in comparison. Never thought I'd be buying a computer for the way it looks, but I guess that's what age will do to you

If you are considering it at all, go for the gold.

 

How've you been?! I haven't seen you online in over a month that I thought you'd miss out on this thread.

Do you know if our Z1s can handle 16GB of RAM?

 

The Z2 isn't for everybody, particularly people who want their laptop to be compatible with their 8-track tapes.

 

10 cha...

 

True, but what post inspired this comment?

 

Perhaps it's from someone who's talking about non-existent gold ones, eh.

 

Or who clings to the historic Z1.

 

Hello!
So what is the real difference between those two models - VPCZ2290X and VPCZ2390X?
I checked - specs are the same, HD, processor, GPU, etc... But the price difference is smth like 400-500 - for maxed out Z.
Is it time to buy VPCZ2290X?
Please advise

 

Only difference is option for LTE on Z23 and more color options on the CTO (at least in the US). That's it from what I can gather.

 

There may also be some software upgrades that are only for the Z23 although I'm not sure of any purported benefits.

 

Didn't ask you.

et tu, Louch-e?

 

any new driver for us Z21?

and how can i get LTE on my Z21

 

I thought questions on NBR were directed to everybody.

 

One option would be to use an LTE-compatible USB modem. For example,
Pantech® 4G LTE USB Modem UML290 | Verizon Wireless

Here are links to a couple of reviews of 4G/LTE USB modems:
http://www.laptopmag.com/review/wifi/pantech-uml290-4g-usb-modem-verizon-wireless.aspx
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2383397,00.asp

There has also been some discussion that it may be possible to replace the Gobi 3000 module with the one used in Z23. As far as I know, there are not yet any available for general purchase.

 

^ You kidding? Destroy the sleek Z2 with such a crappy USB dongle?

You don't know because you're flaming Z1 owners too much.

Novatel Expedite E362 wireless wwan GPS Card DP/N 0WRYPD for Dell | eBay

 

thanks pyro,

how hard to install this?

 

Easy, open notebook, unclip 2 small antenna jacks from WWAN card (use fingernails or small flat head screwdriver), unscrew old WWAN card, put in new WWAN card, screw in card, push antenna jacks back into the new card, reassemble laptop.

On a Z1 it would take (me) less than half an hour.

 

A super valid point

Gently jibing is, perhaps, a more accurate statement. I'm not sure that referencing the Z1's compatibility with eight-tracks counts as a flame. Nonetheless, the information is welcome (although the vendor states that the module is for Dell although it may be a universal wwan connector.) In truth, my comment on the questionable availability was based on the comments, which perhaps I misinterpreted, of a technical expert I greatly respect.

 

thanks will do after the (chinese) new year.

 

Strange that these should be used, already. I could not find a source for new ones in the U.S., but I did find one who expects to have them in stock by later in the month. I lost track of the name of the distributor, so I'll post it later.

You da man, pyr0. Others: please grow up and have some respect; I'm old enough to be your grandfather!

 

I'm still around, I'v been fine. I am still open to the idea of getting a Z2 but I don't know right now. With what I spent on performance parts for my new truck I could have easily gotten a Z2.

I'm not really clinging to anything, but the upgrade options aren't that compelling.

Like I said more RAM would change a new sub-notebook purchase from "I want that" to "I could really use that"

Having four VAIOs already it is hard for me to justify another one that doesn't do anything that my current VAIOs don't do.

IDK, the real point is when I had the money they didn't have Gold in the config I wanted. Now they do but I spent all my fun money on something else... Now it is so late in the life cycle I don't know if it is even worth buying. The Z3 will be out in another year, maybe less, and I'll have 16GB of RAM no doubt.

There are even still some more upgrades that I can do my Z1 for way less than the price of a new Z2. For example I could add a 600GB SSD for $1K, that would be 920GB of total SSD in my system.