World's first photos of VAIO SA from CES

World's first photos of VAIO SA from CES, leaked by Japanese website. More photos on page 8

 

... the pattern and chrome buttons are hideous.

... huge bezel = ugly beyond belief.

... with all that extra space they couldn't put dedicated page up-page down buttons?

... glossy exterior? Really? On a premium laptop? Really?

I think I'm going to wait and cross my fingers there is a true Sony Z successor.

I love the specs, hate the design.

 

Interesting...it's really not what I expected...
Follows the style/design of the new F with 3D screen.

 

I like it, it looks a bit like the X series. I'm sure Sony will offer different finshes/with or without patterns.

 

At least the ridiculous plastic palmrest is gone!
The hinge looks weird though...

 

its UGLY ,,, and all those glossy materials will wear after 3 months of use
lets hope that the finish is made from good materials not like TZ or Z series

 

Not only is the screen bigger, but the bevel/bezel is bigger and thicker too, making this machine noticably wider and deeper than the Z, and the lid much thicker. It really looks more like an S than a Z.

Also, I question the wisdom of having the power button inside the lid. That makes external monitor use awkward.
And the speaker grilles are now even smaller? So much for the hope of better sound, I guess.

Glossy? Obviously to attract the MacBook crowd.

All in all, a consumer grade machine. Do not want.

 

I don't know what you people are moaning about. I think it's great Sony have produced a range of VAIO's for chavs. Now where's the range of machines for I.T. professionals?

 

I don't like the finish at all, its hideous.

 

I quite like that, provided that it has a dock with a power button. It means the laptop can sit closed when docked. My old Dell did this and it's much neater than the current Z when docked.

The rest of the design? Not impressed.

S

 

Do you think they will have a finish that isn't glossy on the outside?

Looking at it again, without so many emotions, it's okay. It doesn't look like a 13" laptop... It looks like a 15". But it looks alright. It has a clean look. But the bezel is just dumb. And there is absolutely no reason why they couldn't put more dedicated buttons like page up page down buttons on it.

 

Oh well, looks like Sony has hit another low with this year's CES, lol, slowly going down hill with little or no innovation.

glossy = massive fingerprint magnet, especially near the touch pad. also do not care for the new design of the lid and body, too squarish and harsh, no smoothness and beauty, maybe once this goes on sale, the older Zs will drop in price enough for me to pick one up.

 

And they've halved the size of the 'return' key! Only one row high. Hmmmm.

 

That's the US keyboard layout...

 

Us Americans like our trucks big and our enter keys small.

 

The first photo shows one which is black not glossy, and no patterns, but the bezel is gigantic, the screen seems to be matt, also the stamina botton seems to have removed the auto configuration

 

Like others have mentioned, this cannot be 13.3" unless that dude is tiny and SONY thinks we all have tiny hands.

 

awww this laptop was soo hyped up; im disappointed. I guess it was too good to me true.

I hope they at least refresh the Z with the same specs in the near future. *crosses fingers for usb 3,0 + a better gpu & sandy bridge"

 

After seeing these photos i am really happy with my z13

 

I think a future Z series will need to have a much more powerful cooling system, perhaps push the air out through the back? If people want a more powerful GPU & new i7 then that heat can't really be pushed out a small vent in the top left hand corner anymore...

 

*hugs his Z*

 

Did Sony sack their designers?
From great classy design to cheap glossy junk, it's disappointing.

 

13.3 is the screen size, not the notebook size. It appears to be a 13.3" that's as big as many 14.1 inchers.

 

Phew.

Thanks!

S

 

mm... looks like a ASUS W1 series I had in 2005

 

This one looks, especially the bezel, like my old TZ21

 

Despite the rumored specs of this one, it really looks like crap in the first place.

Sony got away from these nice barrel hinges to a centered hinge which actually looks somewhat fragile and wobbly. I heard many Z owners here complaining about loose hinges and screen crackles, but I don't wanna think about all those guys having screen wobbles with the SA in the future.

In addition to that, this nice green power button barrel was dismissed here as well and was replaced by a super cheap looking power jack on the right side. There is nothing left from the Z's 'special design'.

I would estimate the width of the laptop to be at least 0.5 inch wider than the current Z (keyboard size + borders). The screen and its bezels looks much thicker as well.

Summing up all these points let me come to the conclusion that you can't call this cheap plastic thing a precious enthusiast/premium laptop if you compare its look with the VGN/VPC Z's. It is more a S with Z specs (probably if you max out the laptop - you can also do that with an F). This is a big step back IMO.

 

Totally "Hugs my Z"

 

I actually like the design I disliked the old since it was implemented in the F series.

It could really be less angular for sure.

I might buy one

 

Unlike most of you, I kinda like the "classic" look of the screen bezels, although I also wish that the bezel is thinner than what it is.

I feel that it is also nice for them to get rid of those "green colored" power buttons. IMHO, this will eliminate any sort of "embarrassments" in a dimly-lit meeting room that is holding a presentation when the notebook is powered on & in use.

 

OMG, first Asus with their cheap netbooks, then Toshiba with their r6** and r7** series, and now Sony with their SA line all have those annoying glossy mousebuttons.

I know its just a detail but those glossy mousebuttons are a major downside for me (otherwize I would have bought a toshiba r630 already).

edit: just to say something positive, I do like the trend towards more straight industrial looking laptops, I didnt like the curves in the current S series at all.

 

I shall be the 3rd to hug my Z .

In any case, the keyboard seems to be sunken in, which eliminates the need for a raised palmrest... which means the screen now fits flush with the bottom bezel, reminds me of the HP Envy, the new HP's and the MacBooks. I want to see pics of this thing closed compared with the Z. Not a fan of the gloss or the large bezel either...

 

I am still waiting for the announcement these pictures are from the CES 1998

 

I think the exterior cover is glossy carbon fiber, just like that of the current Z.

I need to get a sense of how big the laptop really is. And it'll really be too bad if it doesn't come in FHD...

 

Are Sony designers color-blind?
The only colors they display are those heinous red/orange/gold carbon fiber finish. On another thread, I saw two notebooks that are glossy green and orange.
Seriously, who is going to spend >1K money on those cheap-looking laptops?

 

This thing is hugeee.. I dont think this is a Z replacement either but if there wont be a update to current Z series then there will be a 8-12months of old Z series with discounted price then there will be a update.(The maximum time I can wait.) This thing is is really huge. Those bezel and Lid? Sony & japanese high tech is all about getting thinner and lighter with more power. I dont think sony will throw their technological experiences on small powerhouse laptops. they got a years of knowledge and R&D on that. my final thougts:

Goodd why thiss iss happenninngg too meeee!!

Old Z + usb 3.0 express card FTW. (for 6-18months at least)

 

Hey guys, in the first picture, what's that Vaio to the right of the SA? Is that just a laptop stand?

 

The palm rest is one of my favorites, they call it "Interaction Table". Overall I still prefer my VPC-Z design clues but still VAIO SA looks good also with plain non-patterned appearance .

Count me the 4th if not 1st

 

The right of SA ? U think its the newly released F series "3d screen"

and if you meant under SA ,, I think its the new battery that u can attach under SA to boost laptop battery life

 

One of the most respected tech websites in Japan, Impress Watch, is reporting that these photos are of a "concept notebook" and not even referring to it as the SA. This would explain why no press has reported on the SA or referred to it as the SA outside of PC Mag. I suspect the final production SA will look somewhat different in several respects. This would also explain why there is no mention of a release date.

 

Assume it's a dock or the special 'boost' battery that can be added on to double the running time.

S

 

A Japanese blog is calling this supposed vaio z replacement a "VAIO Design Concept PC". hopefully it is just a concept and the final product will be better.

 

The plain one looks much better than the patterned Arabisc edition. Thanks for sharing guys.

 

IMHO its too large to be the Z replacement.

 

Like i mentioned before this reminds me a little bit of the X series. When pictures of that surfaced a lot of people couldn't believe it was a 11.1 laptop because of the design.

I can believe that this is a 13.3 laptop which is meant to be replacing the 13.1 form factor.

As a concept design it's got a lot going for it and i do think we'll see matte versions surfacing, especially in the EU anyway.

What i would suggest is to improve the look of the trackpad buttons and possibly make the lower bezel a little bit smaller. Also, if possible add a dedicated end key.

 

Is that screen anti-coted glossy like the Z ant TT, or is it just glossy? I personally have found all the 13.3in machines I have played with to be a bit on the larger side, while the 13.1in Z was almost perfect sized.

 

the size is a clear indication that this is obviously the successor to the vaio Y series, which apparently will replace the S series, hence the "SA"

i'm expecting the "ZA" to be announced soon

 

As I can tell, the VAIO S doesn't have and won't have manual graphics switch as it's available here in VAIO SA.

 

But, the Z had a triangularish looking switch, where you could set it on stamina, speed, or auto.

 

The VGN-Z just had 2-way switch with no AUTO. I think they are doing the same here while using AMD graphics.