Vaio Z new refresh ("Z600 series") coming to the US!

As the title suggested, the new refreshes are coming to the US.
2 new models are listed on the Sony Business website. They are VGN-Z620N/B ($1,899.99) & VGN-Z610Y/B ($1,999.99).

Links to the website:
http://b2b.sony.com/Solutions/product/VGN-Z620N/B
http://b2b.sony.com/Solutions/product/VGN-Z610Y/B

PDF Files of the 2 laptops:
http://www.advizia.com/v41/PDF/B2B-934899102-784.pdf
http://www.advizia.com/v41/PDF/B2B-934899102-423.pdf

 

whats the differences?

 

What... the lower resolution unit is more expensive?

 

I don't see any changes other than different baseline parts.

Basically... I guess this is nice if you have a coupon that works with non CTOs or are paranoid about CTOs.

 

weird. Not much of an upgrade hardware wise...but they charge more...
especially the 13xxby7xx. It's the same spec as the one they have now but the price is $2000!! except for the 4gb ram and 320 hdd.

 

Going through the PDF quickly, the following are the main differences that I found:

Z620N/B:
* 1600x900 LED screen
* Windows Vista Business 32-bit
* Bluetooth (2.1+EDR)

Z610Y/B:
* 1366x768 LED screen
* Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit

Both have the following main components:
* Intel P8600 2.4Ghz CPU
* 320GB 7,200rpm HDD
* 4GB RAM

 

Phooey. I thought you were going to announce something big like the rumors of it being thinner or a backlit keyboard or something. This doesn't seem like much of a change for 'second generation' models.

 

It may not be a good deal to you but for people that just bought the Z550, it may be worthwhile to return it & get the Z620. Although it is quoted at $1,899.99, I'm sure it will be available for a bit less than that. Then when you compare the specs of the Z550 & Z620, getting the Z620 is a no-brainer IMO.

On a side note, I'm glad that I returned my MBP yesterday. Now, if they come out with a new Z refresh with the Intel P9500 CPU, I'll take that. If not, this Z620 looks like a great & perfect deal for me.

 

I see the plus side in terms of a nice preconfigured for the price, but I guess when I hear second generation I tend to think more things have been updated.

 

AlaskaGrown, I understand what you're saying. The reason I put in quotes the words 2nd generation is just to differentiate the first release & this refresh, while trying to differential between this refresh (2nd) & the next (3rd) in the future, so when anyone digs up this thread in the future, it will be easier for him/her.

 

What will happen to the current Z machines, like the Z590? Will configurable options not appear anymore, and I guess prices drop for these?

 

CTO models will still be available. It will most probably just be renamed to like Z640 and Z690 or something...

 

What makes the 620 weigh .11lbs less than the 620?

 

I ordered the Z540 CTO last night for $2,100 (after a $250 discount). It's supposed to ship on Dec. 5. Should I cancel and get a Z640 CTO instead? Maybe they fixed the battery drain issue and fixed other minor issues. Perhaps I could even get the premium carbon lid with the lower-res Z640?

 

so there is a Blutooth upgrade from 2.0 to 2.1 for Z620...and has the lower pricing......that good
plan to get a Z590 on Black friday...so now I better to wait a little bit..

 

lol, my prediction is just right on track lol

 

There's a sale going on right now until Dec. 1. That could mean the Sonystyle store will be updated with the new Z6xx models next week?!? I think I have to cancel tomorrow, even if I have to pay a little more for the Z640. I wouldn't feel good if my Z540 became obsolete before I even received it. It's also possible that a back-lit keyboard may become available as an option on the CTO and who knows what else?

 

Huh? Obsolete? The Z540 & the refresh Z600 series are using the same Intel chipset and Intel CPUs...

 

Alright, wrong word, but I still wouldn't feel good. Bluetooth 2.1 may just be one of several updates, some of which may not be listed, like hardware improvements/corrections.

 

its a refresh...forget about hardware improvements/corrections lol

hardly 2nd generation but thanks for the info

 

You never know. It seems some people complain about excessive fan noise. Maybe they'll improve the thermal management to reduce this. Just a quess on my part, but then again you're guessing that they won't do anything.

 

Perhaps some of the build quality problems some here have stated have been eliminated in these new models?

 

No backlit keyboard? ugh Sony!!!!!

 

Refresh? a new sticker...

 

Didn't some guy mention slot-loading drive and back-lit keyboard?? As well as a thinner chassis?? This is not even close..

 

...I think we need less speculation and more fact.

Regardless, a refresh is a refresh, and for those buying non-CTO'ed models, this is good news for them. For those who were getting CTOs all along, it hardly makes a difference, except for maybe a small drop in price?

 

A new sticker, update to bluetooth 2.1 and probably not much more. Actually I think I read something here that Sony may have changed the color of the ends of the cylinder (power button/ac input) from chrome to black or some other darker color, based on pictures from Sony's Japanese site.

 

I wonder how they got the price to be lower. Hope they did not take any short cuts with the build quality/assembly..

 

Simple. It's a marketing ploy. Everyone who really really wanted a Z early paid the original premium price. When Sony "refreshes" they wait until they're fairly sure all the keeners have bought their laptops at the highest price they'd want to pay. The refresh is designed to get everyone who was sitting on the fence because of the price point. Basically, these are they same parts they were using to build other Z500 series models, but now "preassembled" so there's a lower "build cost" involved.

 

And what better time to get people off the fence than 3 weeks before Christmas.

 

I don't have the actual info right now, but it may be possible that the new Z600 series pre-config (non-CTO) models will all be "Made In USA" instead of "Made In Japan."

 

Doggone it...I was all set to pull the pin on a Z 570 until this news came out...Now I sort of feel as if I'm "in limbo" again...

Oh -- what to do, what to do...

 

It's always like that, just when you're ready to buy, you get a reason to wait. In my case, I actually ordered the Z540 CTO on Wednesday, just to find out about the pending Z600 series on Thursday & ending up canceling my order on Friday.

As far as I can tell Bluetooth 2.1 is the biggest update. Unless we find out about a back-lit keyboard option next week.

 

I "configured" a Z540 on PortableOne with all the hardware upgrades of the Z610 (minus the Bluetooth 2.1, of course), and it came to wayyy more money. I guess at this point it makes sense to wait...

 

I am inclined to wait until January now -_-';

 

probabaly, there are more things have been updated, or it is not worth the money.

 

lol, yea rite there will be backlighted keyboard or anything bette coming up. The Z6... still not offical yet. They probably replace the whole entire line of the Z5... by Z6... soon and that would take all the way to the end of december.

 

I hope the Z600 series becomes official soon, I need one soon. I would order a Z6xx with a back-lit keyboard if it was available but, it wouldn't be a deal-breaker if the Z600 series doesn't come with it. Like some have suggested a USB light can be useful & more efficient in the unlikely event you can't see the keyboard. Then again, it does look cool.

 

i wonder why they didn't upgrade their gpu with the new nvidia geforce 9400m gpu.. like the ones in the macbook. any ideas why?

 

I hope one of the "refreshes" is a hardware fix of the keyboard double-typing problem that so many users have spoken about!

'

 

Well, I just got a Z570, I know I can replace it with anything else from Sony at no charge, but I do not see the new Z6xx you guys talk about. Is it close to being shipped?

 

I see that PortableOne has it on their online configuration catalog as an advance order.

Hopefully, someone else will be able to provide more intel as far as an actual release date...

 

An educated guess would be this month. All I know is as soon as the Z640 CTO becomes available, I'm ordering. I need my Bluetooth 2.1.

 

P1 have it for pre-order since last Thursday night... I guess they may have some info on when it will be available.

 

What are the differences between Bluetooth 2.1 and 2.0?

What does 2.1 do that 2.0 doesn't support? I know there was a huge leap between 1.0 --> 2.0, but this seems really... minor.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluetooth#Bluetooth_2.1

 

That's not bad... but... I'm also guessing this means all other hardware needs an upgrade to BT2.1 to even make use of those new changes... You basiaclly have to overhaul everything you own BT to take advantage of this? :S

...I'm just basing this on the fact that when I got a BT2.0 phone, my headset was still around the 1.1 generation, so... no music streaming or anything.

 

What I don't get is why the Z didn't have Bluetooth 2.1 from the beginning? When the MacBook Air was introduced in Jan., it had 2.1.

 

Really? I don't keep up with BT tech... but those battery power saving features would surely be useful.

 

My Sony VGN-Z590 (PCG-6X1L) has an Alps Broadcom BCM2046 (044E:3017) Bluetooth device.

Here is a link to information about the device *:

(http) broadcom.com/products/Bluetooth/Bluetooth-RF-Silicon-and-Software-Solutions/BCM2046​

The product brief, linked as a PDF document from that page, states:

Bluetooth 1.1, 1.2, 2.0, and 2.1 standards are fully supported, including 1-, 2-, and 3-Mbps EDR operation​

Therefore, it is unclear to me what is missing in terms of 2.1 support.

* I apologize for the incomplete link prefix; this is my second post and I am not allowed to post URL links yet.