Was this a good deal? VPCZ1290X - $1489

I feel like I can probably settle with a more simple machine. I'm looking to get a tablet soon because most of the time I'm just doing basic browsing and checking emails.

Other than Photoshop, I really dont use any processor intense programs. The only thing that would be soo hard to give up is the real estate in the screen

 

It sounds like my exact same situation. 90% of the time I'll be surfing but the 10% of the time with Photoshop.

I have a hard time "settling" so I think I should just take the plunge and buy a refurbed Z. It seems improbable that the new Z will be anywhere near these price points.

 

Just pulled the trigger:

# Operating System : Genuine Windows® 7 Professional 64-bit
# AntiVirus Software : Norton Internet Security™ 2011 (30 Day Trial)
# OS Preinstalled : Genuine Windows® 7 Pre-installed
# Wireless Local Area Network : WiFi: Intel® Centrino® Advanced-N 6200 (802.11abgn)
# Processor : Intel® Core™ i7-620M processor (2.66GHz) with Turbo Boost up to 3.33GHz
# Chipset : Intel® HM57 Express Chipset
# Optical Disc Drive : CD/DVD Player/Burner
# Display : 13.1" VAIO Full HD Premium Display (1920x1080)
# Graphics Card : NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 330M GPU (1GB VRAM)
# Backlit Keyboard : LED Backlit Keyboard
# Battery : Standard Capacity Battery
# Office Software : Microsoft® Office 2010 Starter (Click More Info for details.)
# Multimedia Software : Adobe Bundle (Free - $448 value)
# iLink : No iLink
# Bluetooth : Stereo A2DP Bluetooth® technology
# Keyboards : Keyboard
# Felica : No Felica
# Security Chip : No Security Chip
# Finger Print Sensor : Biometric Fingerprint Sensor
# Wireless Mobile Broadband : No Mobile Broadband Built-In
# Camera : Built-in MOTION EYE® camera and microphone
# Country : US (USA)
# Color : Premium Carbon Fiber
# Language DestinationCode : EUS
# Common : Common
# Headphone : Noise-reduduction Ear-bud Headphones
# AC Adaptor : AC Adaptor
# Market : Modelname0
# Hard Drive : 256GB (128GBx2) Solid State Drive with RAID 0 Technology
# Memory : 6GB (4GBx1 + 2GBx1) DDR3-SDRAM-1066
# Recovery Disc : No Recovery Disc
# Software Optimization : No Fresh Start
# Consumer Apps : General Apps
# Limited Warranty Term : 90 Day Limited Warranty

$1704 delivered

 

Cool dude! Even if you don't need that much machine, that just says it will last you longer in the end.

Congrats!

 

Thanks,

That what I figure....

Can't wait to see this screen!

 

2 people reported the FHD is 1600*900

let us know how it goes

 

Yes, that's real strange. This would not be a good thing for warranty issues as Sony could say you swapped them out. I would bring it to their attention ASAP.

 

I bet sony messed up the configs

 

I think I will be selling the Vaio. I think its too much for me and I may settle for something cheaper. I'll probably post it on the NBR Marketplace later today and then ebay tomorrow. PM me if you are interested.

 

From what I read in this thread, they ordered them with 1600x900

It best be correct as they are charging considerably more at sonystyle for the hi rez screen vrs the 1600x900

 

1600 is high rez. 1080p is just higher

 

Today's the last day for 20%.

You can get a z1290 Core i5 4GB RAM 128GB SSD for under $1200, about $1300 including tax.

 

not really
both ordered the 1080p and ended up with 1600*900

 

I believe you are incorrect....re-read the entire thread.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/sony/577099-good-deal-vpcz1290x-1489-a.html


"Ordered" with 1600x900.........

If you find something to the contrary, a link would be very much appreciated.

 

I ordered mine with the FHD display and received the 1600x900, I'll be calling them tomorrow to see if they want to work something out.

 

I feel bad for all of you. I hope you get it sorted out and receive a satisfactory resolution.

 

Sony will allow you to return these units and use the 20% off coupon again. The downfall is you have to wait 10 business days after they receive the unit for your refund of the first laptop.

I called and asked on behalf of those that received the wrong screen.

 

I ordered 1920*1080, but got 1600*900
already returned, and asked whether I can use the 20% off again, and the rep just says not possible and the sale is over

 

I will call them tomorrow and see how it happens. not sure when the refund will be posted

 

Is this your first post in this thread stating that you received the wrong one???

That's BS, I would talk to the rep's boss.....

 

I posted about this a while ago. I think people are getting same problem as I do, at least 3 people for this batch of Zs

SONY CS is not good enough to match their great products

 

Wow, they cover ADP type mishaps, like drops and spills with that kind of St Farm personal articles policy?

 

I think you are the one who is mistaken. These two members (or are there three now?) ordered Z refurbs that listed their displays as being "FHD 1920 X 1080 Premium" and received 1600 X 1900 displays. There are other posts of different orders with the lower rez displays, but now this disturbing trend of what amounts to false advertising. They should to be able to get replacements of just what they ordered at the price they paid and should not have to wait unreasonable delay periods for the refunds to process. Man, the more I learn about doing business with Sony, the less I want to do much more business with them in the future. There just isn't another product out there to compete with the Z...sigh...

 

Yup! If the laptop stops working, you can claim a power surge.

 

you are absolutely right!
I am one of 3 who got the wrong specification. and I spent 10 hours on this already finally give up. Obviously it is a refurb and none other same model in stock, they have to refund (long process) than replace.

and they actually have to verify that my panel is not 1920*1080, what adds to the complication is that the reps claim that the 1920*1080 means output resolution, but native - so they are actually stupid cheaters.

 

They must have posted this issue of a wrong display in another thread. There was no reference to a wrong display in this thread prior to my post.

Never the less, it is unfortunate. Sony should make things right, simple as that!

 

This is $883 right now. No camera but with 4GB of RAM. You can add the camera if you wish, it'll just cost a bit more.

 

got my tracking number from Sony today, delivery set for Friday

 

Maven,

+1 for you (X10 if I could!) I called my St Farm agent, and you are absolutely right: for $15- $25 per year, you can insure a laptop as you would a piece of jewelry or fine arts. The cost is not much more than 1% per year (or $15 for a $1,500 laptop) and you absolutely get full ADP coverage, drops and spills fully covered! What's more, when I asked my agent if making claims for these, by definition at the size most consider "nuisance" claims (most insurance agents discourage filing auto or homeowners' claims for less than $2,000), he said this would definitely qualify as an exception to that "rule." Of course, the more of these you file in a short period of time the more the insurance company is going to look hard at you. Also, I was told that I would be especially "safe" because I've been a State Farm client for 25 years with a very conservative claims history. He pointed out that if you have only been with a homeowners' insurance company for less than 5 years and have had several claims already, he would probably recommend against filing ADP claims on laptops until a longer, low claim track record was established.

Sorry if that was more confusing than illuminating, but I am a finance guy and it all makes sense to me, so post any questions you have about what I've said.

 

I received my VPCZ1290X refurb today with an i5 540M and 256 GB SSD. I ran a CrystalDiskMark test and I was surpised by how high the sequential reads/writes were. Thoughts? Do I have a keeper?

5x 2000MB

Seq: 313.9/297.6
512K: 252.1/218.2
4K: 13.86/10.64
4K QD32: 32.03/10.28

 

@lovelaptops
So what happens if something were to happen to your computer? Let's say you spilled something on it and it's broken. Does insurance write you a check for the value of the computer?... then what happens to the computer, insurance takes it?

 

According to my St Farm Broker, largest on East Coast, been mine for 25 yrs, the answer is a qualified YES. Just as you can insure car after car, even if you get in accidents and even total them, you can insure all of your laptops and, if you have a total loss via drop or spill, they will pay full original cost and insure the replacement. Like all insurance, it's one of those things that you can only get when you really don't need it! If you have a short track record and an "unlucky spell," they can cancel you or raise your rates sky high. You can get all you want, at low rates, as long as you rarely file claims.

Still, the truth that surprised me as much as it does you is that Maven is absolutely right: homeowners' insurance cos, at least some, will gladly underwrite your laptops in your scheduled articles policy, along with jewelry and fine arts. And at $20 or so per year for 100% coverage, it's too good to pass up, or buy the mfrs's or even Square Trades ADP insurance. Also, it covers refurbs, which ST does not.

 

I am so sorry this happened to you. In case you don't already have this, today I was given a direct line to the management team in Customer Relations, who claim they are there to resolve the kind of problem you have. It was on a much smaller scale, but I got a Z without the noise reducing earphones and, after nearly an hour on the phone with 4 dept, I got a "commitment" to get a set sent to me in 2-4 weeks! I asked for overnight or second day shipping and they said no: it is not our procedure and we are not authorized to speak to our manager about this and you may not escalate this!" Then I called the direct line for Customer Relations (239-768-7464 - claimed to be rarely given out), and within 15 more minutes on hold and re-supplying: order number, serial number, service tag number, credit card number, several other pieces of info they already had, I had a promise for a delivery tomorrow of my earphones, along with a tracking number! Very small victory, but I did get the feeling that these are the only people who will intervene.

 

glad you get what you desired within 2 hours. I spent 10 hours and returned it finally, still waiting on the refund to buy the upcoming new Z or a Dell M4600.
If it is IBM, probably need about 10-20 minutes, and the missing part is there delivered tomorrow morning. Never had any problem with IBM so far, but all the trouble with SONY. they really need to shape up on customer service

 

You are fickle.
If you say their customer service is so bad then why are you possibly buying the new z?

 

The insurance policy I have is called an in-land marine policy. Its $45 per year and covers everything. (Including lost/stolen) up to $2500.

Now, there is a deductible of $85, but you can take it anywhere for service. Also, if you have to file a claim, it will not boost your home owners insurance policy, car insurance or any other policy's you may have as it is its own policy.

Check back in with SF. This is the exact way i cover my lappy. IMO, best way to cover it as well.

 

Mine is just a plain old homeowners' insurance policy with schedule articles rider, in which you insure separate items that would not be covered - for certain type of losses - for certain types of articles, laptops being one. You have to "schedule" which ever items you wish to, and you pay approximately 1% of the replacement cost of the item ($1,500 laptop = $15/year!). I'd been paying an extra $100-$250 to add ADP coverage to extended warranties (which you have to first buy for around $200 just for the "privilege" of adding ADP coverage), when by far the most likely risk for my laptop is my dropping it (I'm clumsy!) or someone spilling a drink on it (my family is clumsy!), and to get that covered for $15 per computer per year is just about the best deal on ANYTHING I've seen in a long time. By the way, you can get a scheduled articles policy attached to a home renter's policy as well as a homeowner's policy. Not sure if other companies have the same options as State Farm; I happen to have found them an outstanding insurance company for over 25 years. (Only learned about this computer ADP coverage because Maven mentioned it and it led to my calling. Hope you get my message of +1 for you!

 

for the product, not for the service

I usually repair computer myself unless the hardware is bad

 

Got my z delivered on Friday....

It's perfect, 1080p screen "as ordered"

 

I use a PAP, Personal Articles Policy. $1 per $100 of coverage. No deductible. Independent of any other policy. The only downside is that they recently stopped covering cell phones.

http://www.statefarm.com/insurance/other/personal.asp

 

Lucky you!

I am returning mine since Sony won't do anything for me.

I guess the search continues for my next laptop.

 

So the technician is coming over today afternoon to replace the ridiculously loud fan. If he makes any scratches on the machine or the noise still doesnt go away, I am going to return the laptop to Sony. It still falls within the 30day return period.

 

Cool. Hopefully, everything turns out well for you.

Good luck.

 

So the technician made it worse. I felt bad, the guy spent so much time. However, by the time he was done, the fan made just as much noise and on top of that the wireless stopped working.

So i called Sony and requested a refund.

Turns out, the Vaio SA came out just today!!!! So they are refunding my original laptop and also giving me a 5% discount on top of my EPP discount as well. So i ordered the Vaio SA with the 1600x900 screen!

 

Having a computer guy making house calls? That's a waste of company resources. I don't understand the logic of these companies, seriously. Why not spend a tiny bit of money building a support forum with knowledgeable people. Or spend an extra few minutes to link to accurate technical specs for your hardware. Seriously.

 

Congrats on ordering the SA. I got my VPC-Z13 a few months ago from the Microsoft Store sale and have no regrets about not having waited for the newer SA or Z models. Based on the leaked pics, I think the new 2011 Z will essentially be a thinner version of the SA (similar design but no ODD), in which case I prefer my current Z to either of the two in terms of design. This is only my personal preference. Thank god or else I would be depleting my bank account again this summer!!!

 

So after a ridiculous amount of calling and sorting things out with Sony about the refurb Z i bought, I was able to get a sweet deal on the new SA model.

I got the SA with the specs below for $1211.99 pre tax. (Corporate EPP Discount 5% + Another 5% Discount for Shipping bad Refurb Model + Another 5% Discount for accidentally canceling my order because of Credit Card decline)

$1211.99 + NJ Tax (7%) and im paying about $1300.

Id still prefer the VPCZ series, but I cannot stand that ridiculous fan noise. It wasnt present in my VGN-Z. I could have gone another few years with my VGN-Z but the stupid wireless and audio died.

I really hope i like the form factor of the SA. It def larger than my VGN Z, and the amount of bezel surrounding the screen is ridiculous.

 

Congrats on your purchase. For about $1,300 for the above config, that is an excellent deal.

 

Just cancelled my order on the SA. After hearing the reviews about the screen quality, I decided its not worth spending even $1300 on a laptop I won't be satisfied with.

I took a chance and ordered another refurb Z for $899 + Tax. Hopefully there won't be any fan noise or cosmetic defects on this one, otherwise that is getting returned as well.