Z11 Mouse button worn in less than 11 months.

It happened last week. I thought it was just a coffee smudge or something. It wouldn't come off though. Today I noticed that the center is white. Like that white plastic underneath the silver paint. Sure enough, the silver paint has rubbed off my left mouse button in less than a 11 months. It's the only time any laptop I've owned in 15 years has done that. So much for any pretense of good Sony build quality. I love Sony design and engineering. Manufacturing though... it's very Apple like. If you want well built, buy a Lenovo.

 

Hey travfar, this is the FIRST time I've heard of a silver Z experience any fading... at least it's been 11 months compared to the carbon fiber Z experiencing fading a month into. Do you mind sharing a picture of the wear?

Thanks

 

I've had this problem on my Sony C which is dark gray/black. But the problem only started maybe 4 years after I got the notebook. The paint started to blister in the most touched area and then it was really easy to flake off.

 

Here's a pict. At first it looked just like a smudge. Now it's clear the paint is cracking off. The "gashiness" makes it look like a scratch. It isn't. I tend to use my right hand thumb for that mouse button. The angle of the gash, matches the angle of my thumb perfectly. It's not the best pict, the silver paint is not easy to take a picture that's not blown out.

 

If you want, you could try car touch up paint. Or [my primary hobby is diecast car collecting] try some Tamiya bottle paint in flat aluminum and dab a little on there to lessen the obviousness of that. Another method you can try to cover it is a silver film wrap that is the new trend on the car customization front- a vinyl wrap of some sort. All mentioned methods should be cheaper than replacing the button, if you do care about fixing it.

 

Not helping but I still wonder why so many people use the left button

I never ever use it... I think I should start clicking it every now and then so that is doesn't forget what function it was supposed to have...

 

Simple. It works way way way better than tapping the touchpad. I find the touchpad works so badly, that I turn off tapping. Also, if you hold down the left mouse button when it's over a scrollbar, you can scroll with the touchpad like you are using a Mac. Yes, I know that the touchpad can be setup to have a scroll region on the right. I find it works horribly and turned it off as well.

I hate Macbooks, but they got the touchpad right on those.

 

I find clicking way slower and it is in fact once you get used to tapping Scrolling? Either the right part (no need to hold anything) or 2-fingers anywhere you want - again much faster and convenient than holding a button pressed down... (and also what macbooks have nowadays and what up-to-date users use...). Not to mention that that constant clicking noise of the button 20 times a minute (of any button not specifically the Vaio) is just disturbing. Way more silent using the touchpad.

I only use the left button as you do on laptops that have a small touchpad (like the Lenovo T400 I use) - there is no way you can use its touchpad conveniently for scrolling and tapping.

But on the Vaio...? I think I have clicked it like not more than 10 times...

 

I remember I warned about this here back when the silver model first came out, based on my experience from other Sony models where the silver paint wears through and exposes the plastic underneath.
Sony hasn't been a brand for quality since the 90s. If you want style and features, sure, go for Sony, but never for quality.

 

I think Sony is very high quality but this paint issue seems like a big fiasco.

I hardly use the touch pad at all, favoring a bluetooth mouse instead.
something like this would fix the wrist rest fade problem but not the button problem, although you could make button covers out of thin leather or vinyl also.

 

Maybe you should trim your nails

 

In short, I dislike accidental clicks, and there's simply no way to 100% avoid them if you use the keypad for tapping. With the way you work, that may not be a big issue (and you might not even know), but the way I work, with the active window usually being in the background, and lots of mouse movement between different windows, it becomes a big problem. So this is the first thing I turn off on any laptop.

Also, clicking both buttons simultaneously is the standard way of emulating the middle button. Which you presumably never use either.

And let's not even mention games where you have to aim and shoot at the same time, or otherwise can't let go of the mouse cursor to tap.

In short, don't judge how others use their computer based on how you use it. Your post came across as very condescending, yet ignorant, which is why mine probably comes across as crass too.

 

Well I give you credit for that one - I can't judge anything about anybody playing aim and shoot games with a TOUCHPAD You must be really good at it, I can only imagine

Anyway, you are taking my post way to aggressively - I was just wondering why I don't know anyone (even among the 200 people in my office) using the left button (apart from when the touchpad is way too small). That's all. Feel free to click it for fun only too - it's your civil right I was just wondering.

Mmmm I wouldn't call it a "Sony" problem - rather just another Z-specific one...