to those who spend a lot of time on their Sony Z ...

- is there anyone out there who uses their Z as their full time pc and spends a lot of time on it without connecting to an external monitor?

- how do you find the 13.1" screen size for all day or everyday use?

 

So far so good. I'm coming from a 15.4" and I've got no complaints. I even have the 1600X900 resolution which was supposed to have un-godly small text but it seems fine to me. I love being able to set it on my lap while watching t.v. and not have it cut off my circulation or leave me w/ 3rd degree burns.

 

I rarely use my desktop now with its 24" screen as the Vaio Z screen is so great. It is my full time machine.

 

i use a smaller 12 inch screen and it i think it's definitely big enough. in fact, i prefer the 12 inch to my other 13.3 because my eyes have to move around the screen less = less strain on eye muscles

all these people always talking about how they want a 14inch or 15inch because any smaller is too small probably never experienced the 13/12 screens.. unless you're a photo/film editor, in which case you would probably go for the 16/17 inches

 

Works great even for photo editing - although after 3 hours of non-stop processing in Lightroom my neck did start to hurt a bit since I had to hunch over... otherwise the screen size is definitely not a problem.

 

I use my Z with no monitor as I have every laptop for the past 10 years. I don't see the point of a monitor; I have a desktop which is rarely used that needs the monitor.

 

use it all day and i have a 24" DELL monitor XPS system. that i keep off now

 

I use my laptop for work and home use (I purchased is through my work) - over 14 hours per day (eek!) average!

Previously I had a TX (1366px) so the screen size on this (1600px) is a slight improvement - Before the TX I had a A197X (1920px) which had a 17inch screen.

The Z is just the perfect allrounder for everyday use.

 

The font size is good - sometimes when I am reading I pop the browser up to 125% and site back in the chair to read.

What I find so great is the quality of the picture...it is amazing - the best Ive ever used and the tone of the colours is fantastic - even just looking at windows on. The feeling is one of growing appreciation. The dimensions only enhance it. Yes its 13.1,but yet a good size, very pleasing to the eye indeed.

Blue ray movies look incredible on it too.

 

This is one of my worries too. I have been using a 15.4 inch Macbook Pro for 1.5 years now and thinking of selling it and getting either a Z540 or Z590 probably down the border because it's too expensive here in Canada. As for the 540 and 590 resolutions...which do you recommend for a university student on the computer most of the day in lectures and at home doing assignments. I will be on Microsoft office all day writing papers and assignments. Also I will be browsing and watching movies from time to time on it. I won't be buying any blu-ray movies or burning them.

I have configured one on usa site thats 2.4 ghz 4 gigs ram 250gig hdd for $1790. Is that a good price?

Also as for 250 gig hdd... do you recommend 5400 or 7200 rpm? Is there an enough difference in speed for the 7200 to sacrifice the extra $50? Which one would run quieter and cooler?

 

i'd suggest a Z570 from the States, lower resolution = larger font, MUCH better for work - reading, writing etc

 

What's the difference between z570 and the 540, 590?? Isn't the 590 the only really low resolution? I thought the 540 and 570 had a same one.

 

hi vaio boi, the difference is the resolution but the 590 also has 256mb of video ram instead of 540's 128mb, this is for handling the higher resolution

the vertical component of my laptop's resolution is 800, i realized that when working with PDFs, the 800 is just short of what i require, that is why i would recommend getting the 590 for the 900 resolution. if you find that the fonts are too small, you can always zoom into the document. however, there is a large price difference, so if this does not matter to you, then don't bother with the 590

i find that 7200 makes quite a big difference generally, such as when opening files/folders. however, i'd say that 5400 is fine, i lived with 5400 for a long time with no problems

 

Thank you for a good comparison. As for going from a 15.4 inch MBP, 1440x900, how will the 590 feel? Will everything be just too small?? Is this bad for the eye?? The 540 will be more comparable to the MBP?

 

the 540 would be closer to the MBP in terms of the size of everything, however the 590 is also large enough

the screen on my current laptop has the same vertical height as the Z, however, the resolution is 800, this means that everything on the Z590 is 0.875 times the size that i currently see on my laptop. if i imagine this size difference, i'd have to say that it's definitely fine. however, if you are over 50 with bad eyesight, you should probably not get this resolution. (there is always the option to lower the resolution on the 590, and also change the font dpi though). although everything is smaller, you also get more room on the screen for stuff.

i'd say, go find a 540 and 590 and try to compare them side by side, if you cannot justify the price difference, then don't go for the 590, remember that just because the number is bigger does not mean it's better =]

 

I totally agree with that. Screen resolution is subjective. IMO, only you as the user can tell which resolution is the best for you. Good luck.

 

In terms of life cycle, how new are the Z5xx series?? I would hate for the Z6xx to come out shortly after. I am more worried about this with the Sony Vaios because they seem to bring out new models much more frequently than other competitors.

 

the Z6xx series will be out within this week i'm guessing, they are already available in places such as mexico and australia (and canada has a page for it set up already)

 

I use my z as my main desktop computer. I have it hooked up to a Dell LCD 24" monitor for most of the day.

 

What's going to be different about the Z6xx?

 

from what we know currently, the Z6xx has faster bluetooth and they upgraded the processor/hdd/ssd/etc, price change.. and for canada, the premium carbon is now an option

there is also speculation that they fixed some bugs, but that's still to be determined

note: because of the US dollar being so high at the moment, everything seems to be more expensive up here in canada for the 6xx, for example, extended battery went from 100$ to 130$

other than these minor things, i really don't think there's much difference, i don't even care about the faster bluetooth.. and i think a lot of us holding out for the refresh don't care either.. it's just that we waited so long already... just a little longer!!

 

As for the first post, the 13inches is plenty especially with the higher resolution. As for the new Zs having faster bluetooth. For existing Zs you can upgrade the bluetooth firmware to the same as the new ones through broadcom, i think its 10$ US

 

Has anyone seen the Dell Adamo? It has been recently announced at CES.
How does it compare to the Sony VAIO Z series?

 

it is competing /w the macbook air, not Z