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Sony VAIO Z

The Sony VAIO Z series are 13.1" LED backlit widescreen notebooks that are made with the mobile professional in mind. Weighing only 3.4 pounds, the VAIO Z is made of durable carbon fiber material and also has the option of adding a completely silent SSD Solid State hard drive for maximum protection of files in case it is dropped. The spacious keyboard which belies it's compact external appearance is made of aluminum while the standard battery is rated for 6 hours and the extended battery for 9 hours. A Blue Ray optical disc drive is optional in the Z series as are an array of software bundles. Like the TZ series, the Z also comes with an Intel Core 2 Duo processor starting at 2.26GHz.

Where to Buy

Sony VAIO Z 1
MSRP $2,000.00
Release date July, 2008
Brand Sony
love it
want it
have it
tag it
Pros & Cons14
Reviews7
Details
Buy It4
Competitors3
Comments
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Pros & Cons

ProSCORE
6 reviews
75
negative
mixed
positive
3 positive
1 mixed
2 negative

[i] How is the ProSCORE calculated?

show me!

Pros:
Do you agree?
•
amazing battery life
+4agreedisagree

•
the latest chipset - including 802.11N, improved Intel graphics
+4agreedisagree

•
13.3" is a sweet spot - small and light but functional
+3agreedisagree

•
LED backlit screen
+3agreedisagree

•
the option to include SSD storage
+3agreedisagree

•
includes a screen with high resolution, and the ability to upgrade further (1366 x 768 or 1600 x 900)
+3agreedisagree

•
includes a discrete graphics card option
+3agreedisagree

•
fast, bright, rugged, loaded
+1agreedisagree

•
Run it all day long and it barely gets warm.
0agreedisagree

Cons:
Do you agree?
•
fairly expensive - like any luxury super thin and light notebook
+1agreedisagree

•
Only 2 usb connectors. Card readers inconveniently located at the middle-front.
+1agreedisagree

•
can not enable Intel Core 2 Due Virtualization technology
+1agreedisagree

•
Sony service centers avoid honoring warranties
+1agreedisagree

•
Build quality is not that good - especially around display area
+1agreedisagree


7 people added to this review by submitting or voting on pros and cons. Add your say!
See individual votes »

Details

Features

  • Up to 128GB (64GBx2) Solid State Drive, Ultra ATA with RAID technology
  • Up to 320GB hard disk drive available
  • Up to 4GB DDR3 SDRAM
  • Wireless LAN: Intel WiFi Link 5100AGN (802.11a/b/g/n)
  • Integrated Stereo A2DP Bluetooth technology
  • Fast Ethernet (RJ-45) Protocol
  • 10Base-T/100Base-TX/1000Base-T
  • Integrated V.92/V.90 Modem (RJ-11)
  • Built-in 0.3 megapixel (640 x 480 pixels) MOTION EYE camera and microphone
  • Electro-Static touch pad
  • Biometric Fingerprint Sensor, Trusted Platform Module(TPM) TCG Ver 1.2 compliant
  • Memory Stick Duo media slot with MagicGate functionality
  • ExpressCard 3/4 slot
  • SD memory card slot
  • Internal DVD-RW drive or Blu-ray Disc RW drive
  • 13.1" Screen
  • 1366 x 768 or 1600 x 900 Resolution
  • NVIDIA GeForce 9300M GS GPU with 860-1500MB total available graphics memory
  • Mobile Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD with Intel Clear Video
  • 128 - 256MB of dedicated video RAM
  • Hybrid Graphics System
  • Mobile Intel GM45 Express Chipset
  • HDMI and VGA out with Smart Display Sensor

Pre-Configuration Models

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This report was started August 26, 2008 at 11:10 am by dutchbeats
with the last edit occurring November 10, 2009 at 7:22 am by Colin Greengrass
This page has been viewed 2994 times, with 81 edits by 11 contributors.
See the full report history »

Buy It

Sony VAIO VGN-Z790DGB | 2.66Ghz Intel P8800 | 4GB DDR RAM | 400GB HDD

• VAIO VGN-Z790DGB Notebook

UPC: 027242775435

MPN: VGNZ790DGB

Sony VAIO VGN-Z690PEB | 2.53GHz Intel P8700 | 3GB DDR3 RAM | 320GB HDD

• VAIO VGN-Z690PEB Notebook

UPC: 027242765559

MPN: VGNZ690PEB

Sony VAIO Z

• Sony VAIO VGN-Z520N/B 13.1" Laptop (2.26 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo P8400 Processor, 3 GB of RAM, 250 GB Hard Drive, Vista Business) Black

• VAIO VGN-Z520N/B Notebook

UPC: 027242745476

EAN: 027242745476

MPN: VGN-Z520N/B

Sony VAIO VGN-Z690PAB | 2.4GHz Intel P8600 | 2GB DDR3 RAM | 160GB HDD

• VAIO VGN-Z690PAB Notebook

UPC: 027242763975

MPN: VGNZ690PAB

Sony VAIO VGN-Z590UBB | 2.53Ghz Intel P9500

• Sony VAIO Z590UBB - Core 2 Duo P9500 2.53 GHz - 13.1"" TFT

MPN: VGNZ590UBB

Competitors

Sony VAIO Z is ranked 2nd among it's competitors.  See the top picks in Laptops »
Apple MacBook Air

Apple MacBook Air

MSRP  $1,799.00    Released  January, 2008
Pros
  • Extremely thin
  • LED backlit display
  • Large touchpad with advanced gesture support
Cons
  • Fairly expensive premium for being thin
  • Only 1 USB port
  • No ethernet port
ProSCORE
28 reviews
52
Vote! (5 votes)
vote Sony VAIO Z 40% vs. vote Apple MacBook Air 60%
Samsung X360

Samsung X360

MSRP  $2,399.00    Released  September, 2008
Pros
  • lighter than the MacBook Air - only 2.84 pounds
  • LED backlit display
  • amazing keyboard
Cons
  • boring old 1,280 x 800 resolution
  • slower than average 1.2GHz processor
  • might not be such a good deal for the price - one can afford a much stronger laptop/netbook combination for less money
ProSCORE
1 review
75
Vote! (2 votes)
vote Sony VAIO Z 50% vs. vote Samsung X360 50%
Apple Macbook Pro

Apple Macbook Pro

MSRP  $1,999.00    Released  October, 2008
Pros
  • Multi-touch glass trackpad
  • Thinner than previous gen @ 0.95"
  • LED Backlit screen.
Cons
  • Slightly heavier than predecessor
  • Major selling points for NVidia dual GPUs are disabled currently: no Hybrid SLI or on-the-fly switching of the two GPUs
  • Expensive
ProSCORE
15 reviews
82
Vote! (0 votes)
vote Sony VAIO Z   vs. vote Apple Macbook Pro  

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Comments

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Reviews

Sort by: Most helpful  •  Newest  •  Most positive

DR95497

avatar
July 26, 2009
approved
reviewer
ProSCORE
100
negative
mixed
positive
8 pros
0 cons
love itlove it
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Pros

  • amazing battery life
  • the latest chipset - including 802.11N, improved Intel graphics
  • 13.3" is a sweet spot - small and light but functional
  • LED backlit screen
  • the option to include SSD storage
  • includes a screen with high resolution, and the ability to upgrade further (1366 x 768 or 1600 x 900)
  • includes a discrete graphics card option
  • fast, bright, rugged, loaded

Cons

Did not agree with any cons

Did you find this review helpful?
Yes
 / 
No

Yale

avatar
October 22, 2008
approved
reviewer
ProSCORE
88
negative
mixed
positive
7 pros
1 con
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Pros

  • amazing battery life
  • the latest chipset - including 802.11N, improved Intel graphics
  • 13.3" is a sweet spot - small and light but functional
  • LED backlit screen
  • the option to include SSD storage
  • includes a screen with high resolution, and the ability to upgrade further (1366 x 768 or 1600 x 900)
  • includes a discrete graphics card option

Cons

  • fairly expensive - like any luxury super thin and light notebook

Competitors

Yale prefers Apple MacBook Air, Samsung X360 over Sony VAIO Z
Did you find this review helpful?
Yes
 / 
No

alisabzevari

avatar
September 15, 2009
approved
reviewer
ProSCORE
67
negative
mixed
positive
2 pros
1 con
have ithave it

Pros

  • amazing battery life
  • the latest chipset - including 802.11N, improved Intel graphics

Cons

  • can not enable Intel Core 2 Due Virtualization technology

Did you find this review helpful?
Yes
 / 
No

Colin Greengrass

avatar
November 10, 2009
approved
reviewer
ProSCORE
0
negative
mixed
positive
0 pros
2 cons
0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Pros

Did not agree with any pros

Cons

  • Sony service centers avoid honoring warranties
  • Build quality is not that good - especially around display area

Did you find this review helpful?
Yes
 / 
No

Miguel Madrigal

avatar
August 17, 2009
approved
reviewer
ProSCORE
50
negative
mixed
positive
1 pro
1 con

Pros

  • Run it all day long and it barely gets warm.

Cons

  • Only 2 usb connectors. Card readers inconveniently located at the middle-front.

Did you find this review helpful?
Yes
 / 
No

stikoz

avatar
August 2, 2009
approved
reviewer
ProSCORE
0
negative
mixed
positive
0 pros
1 con
0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Pros

Did not agree with any pros

Cons

  • fairly expensive - like any luxury super thin and light notebook

Did you find this review helpful?
Yes
 / 
No

mba28

avatar
November 30, 2008
ProSCORE
100
negative
mixed
positive
7 pros
0 cons
love itlove it
want itwant it

Pros

  • amazing battery life
  • the latest chipset - including 802.11N, improved Intel graphics
  • 13.3" is a sweet spot - small and light but functional
  • LED backlit screen
  • the option to include SSD storage
  • includes a screen with high resolution, and the ability to upgrade further (1366 x 768 or 1600 x 900)
  • includes a discrete graphics card option

Cons

Did not agree with any cons

Competitors

mba28 prefers Sony VAIO Z over Samsung X360, Apple MacBook Air
Did you find this review helpful?
Yes
 / 
No

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