And they say the MBA is overpriced?

[Abazigal]

Sure, a top end MBA can easily cost me around $2.5k (including applecare) in where I live, but today, I saw this being sold at my local Courts store.

http://newgadgetstop.com/802/sony-vaio-z-series-vpcz217gg-expensive-but-powerful/

Pardon my ignorance, but how exactly does its specs justify its $4k pricetag? Its specs seem comparable to the MBA, what am I overlooking?

 

[KylePowers]

I had a 2009 Vaio Z. It wasn't top of the line, but it was worth ~$2400. It was awesome and blew other ultraportables out of the water. It was sexy too.

The new Z, however, just isn't as attractive in my opinion. In the US, it starts at $1949, so don't be fooled. It's a hell of a beast in terms of hardware, but hardware will only get you so far without appropriate software (see Windows vs OSX).

Here's the product page: http://store.sony.com/webapp/wcs/st...0151&langId=-1&categoryId=8198552921644570897

The specs and included accessories would give even the truest of Apple fans nerdgasms... maybe

I particularly like the standard 1600x900 resolution (optional 1920x1080), the carbon fiber, HD camera, optional mobile broadband, fingerprint reader (I used it a lot actually!), the power dock with built-in Radeon 6650 1GB graphics (which can support 3 additional external monitors!) and optional blu-ray, its included noise canceling headphones, and slew of ports (including USB 3.0 and Gigabit ethernet on the dock). It also weighs less than a 13in MBA by almost half a pound.

Oh, and you can also go 512GB SSD (2x256GB in RAID 0) and 6GB or 8GB of RAM, two things you can't do on today's MBA.

EDIT- The $4k price probably includes everything I just mentioned, as well as the additional sheet battery, which adds ~6-8 hours of battery life.

If I was more of a Windows fan than an OSX Lion fan... and had deep pockets (which I don't)... and the need for some extreme hardware (which I also don't), I'd definitely go with a Vaio Z.

 

[KnightWRX]

If I was more of a Windows fan than an OSX Lion fan... and had deep pockets (which I don't)... and the need for some extreme hardware (which I also don't), I'd definitely go with a Vaio Z.

For me it's just the "deep pockets" aspect. Windows fan ? There are plenty of other x86-64 based operating systems out there that meet my needs just fine (no, not OS X).

The fun part of being a Unix systems administrator is that I need a Unix or Unix-like operating system. OS X fits the bill on Apple stuff, but on other vendor's computers, I pretty much have a "open bar".

Too bad the Z is so expensive (though it does offer quite a few gems for the price!) Nothing overpriced about it or the MacBook Air really. I really hate that word, "overpriced", it's so "overused".

 

[johnhurley]

Pardon my ignorance, but how exactly does its specs justify its $4k pricetag? Its specs seem comparable to the MBA, what am I overlooking?

The url you supplied looks like a ( now fairly old ) review from August 2011.

Having 8 gb of RAM instead of just the current mba limit of 4 gb would be worth a whole lot to many people.

It also has a setup that allows you to use RAID 1 mirroring of dual ssd's. That could also be worth a lot to many people.

It has a resolution of 1920 x 1080 versus the mba 1440 x 900 ... that's a whole bunch more pixels.

Personally I am hoping that apple might use that machine or at least some of the specs of that machine as a measuring stick for a long rumored mba 15 release in 2012.

 

[vitzr]

For me it's just the "deep pockets" aspect. Windows fan ? There are plenty of other x86-64 based operating systems out there that meet my needs just fine (no, not OS X).

The fun part of being a Unix systems administrator is that I need a Unix or Unix-like operating system. OS X fits the bill on Apple stuff, but on other vendor's computers, I pretty much have a "open bar".

Too bad the Z is so expensive (though it does offer quite a few gems for the price!) Nothing overpriced about it or the MacBook Air really. I really hate that word, "overpriced", it's so "overused".

Kudos for a great post

I'm a huge enthusiast / engineer / user / of all platforms, and have been for years. They all have their strengths & I enjoy each of them.

 

[Padraig]

Sure, a top end MBA can easily cost me around $2.5k (including applecare) in where I live, but today, I saw this being sold at my local Courts store.

http://newgadgetstop.com/802/sony-vaio-z-series-vpcz217gg-expensive-but-powerful/

Pardon my ignorance, but how exactly does its specs justify its $4k pricetag? Its specs seem comparable to the MBA, what am I overlooking?

The specs apparently. Try looking at them again.

 

[jeremyshaw]

The specs apparently. Try looking at them again.

Bingo. Remember, this is a machine that is slimmer than the hump on a MBA13 (so ultimately, slimmer, though the body "lifts up" at the rear when the hinge is opened - a deliberate design, for obvious reasons), lighter, has a higher resolution display, also has a backlit KB, has a full speed dual core (no ULV), manages about the same real world battery life, has an included (in EUR, it's optional) dock with a HD6650m GPU, 1600x900 or 1920x1080 panel (both considered among the best quality TN panels to exist on a laptop... bar none). It also can use a slice battery option, which still makes this laptop very thin, but at least double the battery life.

Oh, and it packs, somehow, 2 SSD drives in there, stock (admittedly, of custom design), each with it's own link to the Intel controller (so can go RAID or just have two SSD drives, lol).


Yes, it's pricier than a MBA, but it blows it away in almost every HW aspect, and then some.

Perhaps, its only flaw is the lack of a DisplayPort output. People willing to plunk down 2000usd, min, for a laptop, are rather likely to have good displays... which excede the HDMI real world spec of 1920x1200@60Hz output. It's the one, and only, consideration for why I want a MBA13 (though I'm waiting on the rumored April Ivy Bridge release).

 

[gentlefury]

Sure, a top end MBA can easily cost me around $2.5k (including applecare) in where I live, but today, I saw this being sold at my local Courts store.

http://newgadgetstop.com/802/sony-vaio-z-series-vpcz217gg-expensive-but-powerful/

Pardon my ignorance, but how exactly does its specs justify its $4k pricetag? Its specs seem comparable to the MBA, what am I overlooking?

Sony is by far the most overpriced laptops on the market! Considering there are other "ultra books" with identical specs as the MBA and they are more expensive.

 

[warfed]

Sony is by far the most overpriced laptops on the market! Considering there are other "ultra books" with identical specs as the MBA and they are more expensive.

Really, name one laptop that has identical specs and cost more than the MBA?

I can only think of the Asus having identical specs and that's $200 less. When the Samsung 9 series first came out it was more expensive, but not anymore, and at the time the Air had a C2D.

Also, I think the most overpriced laptop in the market goes to the MacBook Pro. Besides, no other manufacturer makes anything like the Vaio Z (1080p 13", full volt processor RAID SSD and weighs less than 3lbs)