can someone explain to me why there are various sony laptops going by the name "vaio z"?

i'm looking for the one that engadget reviewed
Sony VAIO Z Series (VPCZ114GX/S) review -- Engadget

but all i keep finding is:
Z Series : VAIO & computing : Sony

how do people distinguish between the two when talking about them? and what's the story with the one i'm looking for?

much appreciated

 

You are confusing the old model with the really old model. Is this XK

Jaguar XK120 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

the same as this XK?

Jaguar XK - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

Sony Z is a line of product (ie. BMW3)

Sony Z can be

- VGN-Z (2009)
- VPC-Z1 (2010)
- VPC-Z2 (2011)

 

There have been 4 laptops carrying the name VAIO Z. Sony has reserved the letter Z for their premium notebook line and the various models throughout the years are proof of that commitment.

First VAIO Z - Z1 (2004)



VAIO Z reboot (2008-2009)




VAIO Z1 (2010-2011)



VAIO Z2 (2011)

 

There was a Z505 before the Z1...

 

I think that was the PCG-R505. not Z505.... since I had one (SuperSlim Pro Whopping 1.8MB video RAM! 64mb RAM!! Pentium II CPU!)

 

Bear in mind that with each product iteration (VGN-Z, VPC-Z1, VPC-Z2) had, or will likely have several revisions. The VPC-Z1 for example had 2 revisions, hence there are the VPC-Z11, VPC-Z12 and VPC-Z13 classifications.

Also, the name of the product differs from region. Asia Pacific models usually end with GG, and some products also have specifications to warrant an extra naming tag (for example, XQ means carbon fiber lid). So, if I have an Asian VPC-Z138GG model with the carbon fiber lid, the proper designation would be VPCZ138GG/XQ. The improper designation would be "VAIO Z", but every single computer whether if it's the VPCZ117GG, VPCZ127GG, VPCZ1390X, etc can be named that way.

Outside of this forum and other review websites you'll probably only see it referred to as "VAIO Z", or maybe "VAIO Z 10" and "VAIO Z 11" to signify its year of introduction. Other computers also get named this way, such as the Macbook Pro. You'll usually see it referred to as "MBP 11" or "MBP 10" and anything else along the lines of those.

You gotta be good at memorizing these right?

 

To go back to the original question of finding one similar to the one Engadget reviewed, you should be searching for a Z11, Z12, Z13, and Z14* and more specifically the VPC-Z11,VPC-Z12, etc.

If you're looking for the *exact* same model as Engadget's, then obviously search for the model they reviewed (in the title).

*Japan market model

 

I am almost sure that there was a Z505...I had one back then. It came with an external drive.

The R505 IIRC come with a docking that sits flush under the laptop.

 

ah, Maybe a later revision R505 had the docking connector. Mine only had an external CD drive powered via it's PCMCIA connection, and a massive port replicator.

Also had a 6.4GB HDD, lol. good for the time (marked upgrade from my IBM Type 260's 1.5GB )

 

It was V505, had one myself

 

^
Yes the V505 came a bit later.
Here is proof that there was a Z505 from Sony themselves.
Sony eSupport - PCG-Z505HE - Model Home

 

Ah, that one came after my model. The later ones were fatter, and able to fit the RJ-45 jack directly on the unit, instead of using an adaptor that extended out of a port that looked like an Apple Universal adaptor

 

I still have a Z505 in my closet.

The 505 timeline is like this: 505 -> N505 -> Z505 -> R505 -> V505 -> X505. There is also a special commemorative TZ505 that is TZ with te original 505 lavender color.

R505 has "sheet" (a very thick one in today's standard) dock with optical in the dock, and V505 (and TZ505) is all-in-one, the rest has no internal optical.

 

Every VAIO ever made

 

thanks for all replies. suppose i should be considering the z2 then!

 

where are people buying the Z1 from these days, now that sony is no longer selling them?

 

ebay, Sony outlet for refurb. and MicroCenter still have them.