please help - CTO vs non-CTO TZ pricing confusion

riddle me this:

i just priced out a CTO TZ with these specs:

u7700 proc
2gb ram
64 gb ssd
internal dvd-r/rw
premium black carbon
vista business with sp1
crapware removal
standard capacity battery

total price: $3037.48

now, as far as i can tell, these are the same specs as the pre-configured TZ295 (minus the leather case) which goes for $3500.

both have the same standard stuff included (sprint WAN, bluetooth, fingerprint, etc.)

this is actually really sweet if these are the same machines. i get a 20% discount on TZ's through work. so the CTO TZ would only cost me ~$2500 + tax (or ~$1700+tax for non-SSD version for CTO version of TZ270).

am i missing something??

 

Nope you are not missing anything! It looks like one can get a better deal when going the CTO way! So go for it.

 

thanks.

now the only question is whether the SSD is worth the extra $800.

i'd mainly be doing things like: internet, mail, some word/excel and movies/music.

also, does anyone know if the CTO models come with the XP downgrade disc? there was a thread that said the pre-config'd models come with it.

edit: talked to sony and as long as you get vista business, you also get the xp downgrade disc

 

For those uses, the SSD may not be worth it, especially if you downgrade to XP Pro. If they dont come with the disks, then you can order them from portableone.com for $29. You then just have to call MS and they give you free XP Pro key (they did for my TZ at least).

 

got it.

so the question becomes, does sony's xp disc come with crapware?

 

damn...now the price (with discount) is down to $1350! soooooooo tempted...

is it worth it to wait for the montevina chipsets?? i keep seeing conflicting reports on whether the performance will be enough of a boost to make it worth the wait.