Why No More Sony AW Series

I was looking at this series all the way back in October when Windows 7 was going to launch. What happens?

They keep Vista on it and the gradually phase it out. The few OS 7 models they had they phased out.

Why did Sony discontinue this Series? I've seen no rumors or anything on an update. Was it not selling well? Techical problems? Why just drop the line for so long?

 

I just asked sony uk about that as Im thinking of buying one after my asus fried due to the nvidia defect.

Sony seemed to suggest an upgrade to the AW series would be comming soon, whatever soon means

 

First there will be E serie, 17.3, this march, but there are rumors for some new "beast", called M I believe

 

pray this machine comes back in full force with an RGB-LED display and redesigned parts to remedy all the little irritating problems it had.

the display was just sin.

 

the E series is 15.5 inches and you can order it now

 

Perhaps because they don't sell that well? Very few people are willing to carry a monstrous and heavy 18.4" notebook like AW.

 

Current E version is EB version, still to come are EC and EA version.

 

I believe the AW series was one of the first with a 1920x1080 premium display. But last year they started putting 1920x1080 screens into the 16.4" models, and most people I know prefer small over big if the specs are the same.

I recently moved from the AW to the F series and I love the formfactor. The size difference between the AW and the F is pretty huge. I don't travel a lot, a couple of times a month maybe, so I don't need a portable laptop. But the F feels much more portable when I do.

The only big difference in my opinion are the two HDD bays in the AW series. But there's a hefty premium on the one with 2 bays and the other one doesn't have the connectors for the second drive.

The built quality of the F is better as well. Coming from the SZ series, the AW series felt like a semi-VAIO. The multimedia buttons strip was pasted on the laptop like a sticker, for example. With the F series the buttons are built into the body, like they should be. It has the quality the SZ series had. It's not even that much bigger than the SZ.

16.4" and a 1920x1080 display is definitely a sweet spot for me.. No need for an external monitor. And still portable enough to carry around a couple of times a month.

 

Any rumors on an AW replacement next week at CEBIT?
When does Sony usually announce products?

 

They do use the usual ones, CES and CEBIT, but a year or so ago I remember them saying these conventions became less important.

They have to refresh their lineup much more frequently than before - sometimes multiple times a year. So you'll see them announce things like the E series without any sort of press event. I think they just want a constant flow of refreshed products. And they'll use CEBIT if anything is ready.

Keep in mind an AW refresh all depends on the old AW series sales. Maybe the market isn't big enough. I went from the AW to the F series, because I get more in a smaller package. There's a rumor about a 17.4" series, so maybe 17.4" is the new 18.4"..

 

idunno. HP's 18.4" sales are chugging along steadily.

if Sony's 18.4" sales were slow, it was because of the sky-high price; not the market for the size and model. when I picked up the VAIO in my sig, it was a cool $2,600 + tax. obviously, the market can't bare that kind of price tag now or then. but if the product had been priced at $1,800-$2,200, I'm sure they would have sold very well.

when they were reducing their supply, they were selling slightly less equipped AW's for $1,300-$1,600 on Newegg...and they all sold out relatively quickly.

all that being said, I just think the issue isn't the market for the AW; it was the market for the AW at such high prices. Sony has dropped their prices across the board. a re-released with a price tag $500-$700 lower than before (on the highest model) and proper pricing for lower-spec'd models would be a good seller.

 

I bought mine for 1500 euro over a year ago and it wasn't the low-end model (that one was 1099 I think). For $2600 I hope you got the super-premium-extreme model...

 

I bought mine in Dec 2008 for $1400.00 from newegg.com ( AW190JAH ) and it has the 1920 x 1080 screen, Blu ray, 4GB RAM, and the NVIDIA 9600 graphics card. It is a " sort of premium " model. That was a killer price. I love it. For $2600.00 you get that RGB screen, more hard drive space, the fastest processor at that time, and a spiffy leather palm rest. Alright, I didn't like the leather palm rest but an otherwise an excellent machine. It was just out of my price range though.

 

I think the reason the sales were slow was because of the lame video card that came with it. For a notebook of that size, it should have came with upper class 2 or lower class 1 video card. Instead, it came with GeForce 9600 which was lame for a notebook of AW size.

AW should be able to accommodate a faster video card without jeopardizing the heat and cooling requirement.

 

an ati 5850 would be nice

 

17.3" not 17.4"