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***Sony Vaio Z*** Stone-cold killer! It's going to be Apple Vs Sony for Arrandale imo

entatlrg said:
Spec's aside ... Price aside .... how is each computer to use day to day, I've owned both and can provide some input.

The Sony screen is incredible, viewing movies, photo's it's hard to beat *but* that's what TV's and external monitors are for ... I work on my computer an with resolutions like that on a 13'1" screen you get eye strain from reading fonts so small. Whether you eyes are good or bad, to read fonts that small from that distance for long periods of time is not good for anyone's eyes. There's a lot of info on the topic, (google).

Past the resolution you have the squatty 13'1" screen, again good for movies horrible for scrolling through documents, yes it's a noticeable difference to a 13'3" screen.

For a typing experience Sony's chiclet keys to Apple .... Mac's are much better to type on the keys are more round and indented with just the right amount of travel. Sony's keys seem to have sharp edges, corners, you'll notice they seem sharp after typing long periods.

The heat on the Sony is a problem, I'm not saying it isn't with Mac's either but these super high spec's create heat, the MBA's lower spec's save heat .... for a notebook that size full power isn't important to me, it's not often why they're sold, convenience and usability are the primary reasons and super hot noisy ultra-portables are no fun to use.

Use a Sony Z for a month and a MacBook Air for a month, I'd bet 9 out of 10 would choose the Air.
Click to expand...

You have not owned this version of the z as its only up for pre-order, so quit bsing. The MBA is a piece of trash when compared to the Z, the thing can barely run 1080p video and even with its limited cpu power it gets crappy battery life.
 
if the sony z is shipping before the macbook pro's are updated.. that's what I'm getting. not the 4500 dollar configured model but the $2000 base model with i5 cpu and 1600x900 display.
 
Some facts about the new Vaio Z:
- the engineers decided not to add USB3.0 because of the extra space and weight required for additional chip.
- the Vaio Z does not have nVidia Optimus, its been confirmed in multiple Japanese reviews.
- the i7 620M model can get hot under full load, but the i5 540M model is just fine, slightly warm.
- the screen has 96% Adobe coverage if you choose 1080P, all models are a mix of glossy and matte with anti-glare properties.
- You would get 6 hours battery in Stamina mode (IGP) and around 2 hours battery in Speed mode (GT330M).
- the new Vaio Z ships March 6th in Japan.

Oh and 1080P in a 13.1" is not going to hurt your eyes if you turn up the DPI scaling to around 125%.

If only Sony offered Vaio Z with OSX instead of Windows huh.
 
Fasailmac said:
You have not owned this version of the z as its only up for pre-order, so quit bsing. The MBA is a piece of trash when compared to the Z, the thing can barely run 1080p video and even with its limited cpu power it gets crappy battery life.
Click to expand...

have you owned a mba ?

they battery life is about 5 hours for me...i think thats pretty good.

mine runs 1080p video perfectly. you should stop bsing.
 
entatlrg said:
Spec's aside ... Price aside .... how is each computer to use day to day, I've owned both and can provide some input.

The Sony screen is incredible, viewing movies, photo's it's hard to beat *but* that's what TV's and external monitors are for ... I work on my computer an with resolutions like that on a 13'1" screen you get eye strain from reading fonts so small. Whether you eyes are good or bad, to read fonts that small from that distance for long periods of time is not good for anyone's eyes. There's a lot of info on the topic, (google).

Past the resolution you have the squatty 13'1" screen, again good for movies horrible for scrolling through documents, yes it's a noticeable difference to a 13'3" screen.

For a typing experience Sony's chiclet keys to Apple .... Mac's are much better to type on the keys are more round and indented with just the right amount of travel. Sony's keys seem to have sharp edges, corners, you'll notice they seem sharp after typing long periods.

The heat on the Sony is a problem, I'm not saying it isn't with Mac's either but these super high spec's create heat, the MBA's lower spec's save heat .... for a notebook that size full power isn't important to me, it's not often why they're sold, convenience and usability are the primary reasons and super hot noisy ultra-portables are no fun to use.

Use a Sony Z for a month and a MacBook Air for a month, I'd bet 9 out of 10 would choose the Air.
Click to expand...

You have an old sony vaio z. The 2010's haven't come out yet. :hammer:
 
i actually have owned a refurb mba 1.86 with the ssd, and i couldnt squeeze more then 4 hours out of it. Considering its specifications, its battery life is terrible. Heck its not even the thinnest laptop in the world. The MBA is equivelent to the power mac G4 Cube. Its a peice of junk.
 
Jobsian said:
2) OS. Enhancing their current OS with updates (with Win 7, there's barely much distinction in quality anymore, both have positives over the other
Click to expand...

Puuuuuuuure opinion. I dual boot Snow Leopard and Win7. Win7 only has one purpose: to play computer games that are either better than or don't have an Xbox port. For lots of casual users, they may feel different. For me, I would never work on a non-UNIX system.
 
Jeeg said:
Some facts about the new Vaio Z:
- the engineers decided not to add USB3.0 because of the extra space and weight required for additional chip.
- the Vaio Z does not have nVidia Optimus, its been confirmed in multiple Japanese reviews.
- the i7 620M model can get hot under full load, but the i5 540M model is just fine, slightly warm.
- the screen has 96% Adobe coverage if you choose 1080P, all models are a mix of glossy and matte with anti-glare properties.
- You would get 6 hours battery in Stamina mode (IGP) and around 2 hours battery in Speed mode (GT330M).
- the new Vaio Z ships March 6th in Japan.

Oh and 1080P in a 13.1" is not going to hurt your eyes if you turn up the DPI scaling to around 125%.

If only Sony offered Vaio Z with OSX instead of Windows huh.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the details Jeeg, much appreciated.

I can't wait to see more english-language reviews for this
 
DarthSnuggles said:
Puuuuuuuure opinion. I dual boot Snow Leopard and Win7. Win7 only has one purpose: to play computer games that are either better than or don't have an Xbox port. For lots of casual users, they may feel different. For me, I would never work on a non-UNIX system.
Click to expand...

Why? What does a "UNIX system" allow you to do that Windows does not, unless you're a terminal addict?

Seriously, what can you not do?

It's not programming.

It's not content creation, like music, video etc (video is now better on Windows actually)

It's not actually watching videos or listening to music, as generally that stuff is way better on Windows, unless you like iTunes, which I grudgingly use at this point, and only for my phone. Terrible software.

So what are you doing on "UNIX systems" that is special to that platform for home use?

I dual boot as well, and Windows 7 64 is faster on my machine than OSX. It's actually kind of embarrassing.
 
DarthSnuggles said:
Puuuuuuuure opinion. I dual boot Snow Leopard and Win7. Win7 only has one purpose: to play computer games that are either better than or don't have an Xbox port. For lots of casual users, they may feel different. For me, I would never work on a non-UNIX system.
Click to expand...
True it is only my opinion, I'm with you that I still prefer Mac OS Vs MS though there isn't the chasm there was previously with Vista (again imo, take that as implied :) )
 
Fasailmac said:
the z does have optimus graphics switching, confirmed by cnets review
http://reviews.cnet.com/laptops/sony-vaio-vpcz116gx-s/4505-3121_7-33976156.html?tag=txt;page
Click to expand...

Watch the video again guy. Listen to his comments at then end about the laptop not having Optimus and how he believes the next refresh should. The Z does not use Optimus. There is a physical switch that changes graphics on the fly. Optimus is a software that automatically switches according to the program you are using.
 
I won't disagree that the Sony Z is a nice little laptop. It also isn't coming out until the middle of March. IMO - Apple has until 3/9 to release their updates. If they are not out by then, I have a tough choice to make. I don't like the idea of a Windows machine but I also don't want to buy old tech from Apple.

Someone should make a video like that idiot did about the Pre. "Apple - Release the new MBP's NOW or else!!!"
 
phrint said:
Watch the video again guy. Listen to his comments at then end about the laptop not having Optimus and how he believes the next refresh should. The Z does not use Optimus. There is a physical switch that changes graphics on the fly. Optimus is a software that automatically switches according to the program you are using.
Click to expand...

To be fair though, the Z switch is pretty great, and an improvement of the current software switching the uMBP's have as they need a restart. The Z doesn't seem to need that, just flip the switch. Pretty hot admittedly.
 
Only thing hampering me from ordering Z is that it does not run OSX. Z is absolutely a stunning quality product. However Mac just works because OS and main hardware are designed by the same company. So there is only one company to blame when anything goes wrong under warranty... Damn Apple! I wish I had Sony... And my user ID would have been "ZaioV". :rolleyes:
 
TennisandMusic said:
Why? What does a "UNIX system" allow you to do that Windows does not, unless you're a terminal addict?
Click to expand...

All Unix lovers are terminal addicts. Hence if you see "Unix" cited, you're talking to one.

And aside from Xenix, a Unix system allows you to run an OS that wasn't made and isn't sold by a company that has a bad habit of abusing it's monopoly position in order to stiffle innovation and lock-in users.

Not choosing Microsoft doesn't have to be about purely technical merit.
 
KnightWRX said:
All Unix lovers are terminal addicts. Hence if you see "Unix" cited, you're talking to one.

And aside from Xenix, a Unix system allows you to run an OS that wasn't made and isn't sold by a company that has a bad habit of abusing it's monopoly position in order to stiffle innovation and lock-in users.

Not choosing Microsoft doesn't have to be about purely technical merit.
Click to expand...

Dude, this comment is hilarious. You've got to be kidding. You realize the massive irony of your statement right?

And anyone who thinks any of these tech companies are benevolent entities are fooling themselves. It's war out there.
 
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