Vaio Z extended battery Questions.

Would the extended battery stick out on the Vaio Z like it does for many other notebooks?

Is there a big difference in Weight and Battery Life?

 

The extended battery sticks out but from the bottom rather than the back. This means it raises the back of the laptop up from the desk. This can be a benefit for typing comfort or ruin the sleek aesthetics, depending on your personal point of view. I would recommend finding profile photos of the battery fitted to the Z, at least, before ordering the extended battery.

I considered ordering one but to be honest the battery life with standard battery is very adequate for my needs - approx 6 hours with most power saving features enabled and office/web usage. If I needed a whole working day plus commute without AC, I'd get the extended battery and deal with the extra bulk/weight it brings.

 

Thanks for responding. About 4 hrs is good enough for me, i plan to carry my charger with me while at school. what bugs me is that on the "More Info" about the batteries, Sony.com states 2.5-6.5 hrs vs. the standard battery's 2.0-6.0 hrs.

 

double post

 

I think they're just saying that it depends what you do with it, so to speak. I use Stamina mode (Intel integrated graphics) for low-intensity tasks most of the time, so I get battery life at the top end of those estimates. If you did a lot of heavy computing or gaming and worked outside with the screen brightness maxed out, you'd get much less battery life. The optical drive tends to eat power, too. Your mileage may vary, of course.

 

Any idea where to find photos of a Z series laptop with the 9-cell battery in it? Searching the Sony forum here and Google hasn't turned anything up for me yet.

I'd definitely like to see some pictures of this before jumping in, heh.

EDIT: Oh man, just found one:



Man, that's a pretty serious bummer -- I wish they'd done it like Lenovo does theirs on T61/T400/etc. so that it doesn't screw with the way the laptop sits. That's probably a dealbreaker for me and VAIO Z series.

 

Actually I like the way how the extended battery is integrated. it lifts the back of the Vaio a bit, that actually makes typing a bit easier. Also if you use the Vaio on a soft underground, it helps to circulate the air better.

To me , the extended battery is nicely designed, much better than with an IBM, where it sticks out of the back, extending the notebook a bit.

Just my 2 cents

Rambler

 

+1, this design (Z/TZ) is also much better when you have limited desktop space (ie in train or plane).

 

I agree with the 2 people above. I got a M1330 which has the same design on its 9-cell battery.

Much better than having it sticking out.

Plus I actually prefer using the laptop with the 9-cell battery connected, easier to use. Only problem is the extra weight, its quite noticeable.

 

I agree with the weight. The battery alone feels heavier than my laptop by itself. But, not having to charge it all day and not needing to carry the adapter around make up for that.

I also like the design of the extended battery. The angle is nice and when you close the laptop, you don't have something jutting out of its top.

Here's the extended on my laptop.

 

I like things to look pretty and least weight. Now the question is.. I already use the standard battery on the Z. If I was to carry my charger then that would be it however if I was going to get a second battery and leave the charger at home would it be better to get an additional standard battery or additional extended battery.
So hard to decide. Additional standard battery is lighter and looks clean on the Z however if you were going to carry an additional battery without a charger then maybe its wiser to ensure the additional battery is the extended one?!?! LOL im too picky sorry

 

I'm just going by the SR's AC adapter, but wouldn't they be just about the same weight? Only the adapter has more tangly wires, I guess. Unless you're not going to be near an outlet, carrying around the adapter would be a better choice, IMO.

Why don't you time how much battery life you can get out of your Z on a standard battery on the settings you like and performing your usual tasks? Then you can decide whether you'd like to double that or increase it even more.