DailyTech - Sony Launches 11.1" VAIO TZ Sub-notebook in U.S.

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Gadgets Sony Launches 11.1" VAIO TZ Sub-notebook in U.S.
Brandon Hill (Blog) - July 18, 2007 8:43 AM

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14 comment(s) - last by JeffDM.. on Jul 20 at 12:15 PM

Sony's latest VAIO weighs just 2.65 pounds

Information on Sony's new VAIO TZ Series notebook first leaked out in early May from Sony's European website. From the specs that gathered, the VAIO TZ looked to be a real winner for mobile professionals.

Today, Sony officially announced the VAIO TZ for the U.S. market and it doesn't disappoint. The notebook features an 11.1" LED-backlit display (1366x768), weighs just 2.65 pounds and is less than an inch thick. Battery life is listed at up to 7.5 hours.

"Sony is known for miniaturization and being an innovator in design, but this time we have really out done ourselves," said Mike Abary, Sony Electronics senior VP of VAIO product marketing. "This new notebook is an engineering marvel that I believe is one of the best looking PCs on the market."

The VAIO TZ notebooks incorporate ULV Core 2 Duo processors, dual-layer DVD burner, 802.11n WiFi, Bluetooth 2.0+EDR, EV-DO Rev. A (Sprint Mobile Broadband) and a fingerprint sensor for increased security.

All VAIO TZ notebooks come pre-loaded with Windows Vista Business.

Sony says that base models will start around $2,200 while a fully-loaded model with a solid-state disk will come in at close to $3,000. The VAIO TZ will become available on the SonyStyle website in August.

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Comments

By Anh Huynh on 7/18/2007 1:23:32 PM , Rating: 2

Post all comments, in reply to this one, or others below it. We're trying to figure out what's wrong.

RE: Comments

By bobcpg on 7/18/2007 1:32:31 PM , Rating: 2

Here is a test reply for ya.

Also i have seen the older version laptop at Bestbuy on clearance for about $1600. I really like how small it is.

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RE: Comments

By therealnickdanger on 7/18/2007 1:40:41 PM , Rating: 1

This is such a great laptop. Like the poster above, last year's models can be had on the cheap (if you can still find them). The Best Buy near me was clearencing them for $700! It was a steal!

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RE: Comments

By Johnmcl7 on 7/18/2007 1:45:49 PM , Rating: 2

I'm generally not a fan of Sony but when considering an ultralight I ended up with the TX as it was tiny, light with solid batterylife and onboard DVD drive. With the extended battery (13,000Mah!) it lasts for a very long time.

My main complaint is the 4200rpm hard drive which is slow although I have to say the new dual core machine here is very tempting.

John

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RE: Comments

By Acanthus on 7/18/2007 2:57:24 PM , Rating: 1

Im not getting how they claim 8+ hours of battery life when current generation notebooks with batteries that weigh more than double the weight of this notebook get a shorter life...

Either:
1. The cliamed weight is with no battery installed.
Or:
2. The claimed life is in hibernate, with 256MB of ram.

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RE: Comments

By TomZ on 7/18/2007 3:18:17 PM , Rating: 3

I would guess the relatively long battery life is due to the combination of the LED backlight, ULV processor, and the SSD.

Plus of course the marketing optimism way of measuring/spec'ing things ("up to 8 hours...")!

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RE: Comments

By Zoomer on 7/19/2007 2:51:09 AM , Rating: 2

I actually got the 6 hours advertised, but I had to turn down the backlight and keep it in Ultimate power save mode. They seem to have a power profile that turns off unused stuff like the optical drive, modem, audio, etc.

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RE: Comments

By JeffDM on 7/18/2007 11:03:41 PM , Rating: 2

Ultraportables aren't very well known outside of Asia. It's mostly the ULV processor. Where "standard" notebook CPUs use as much as 35W, a ULV processor maxes out at around 10W for dual core.

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RE: Comments

By tayhimself on 7/18/2007 3:48:33 PM , Rating: 2

*DROOL* This means I dont have to buy the hideous Portege 500 or Asus notebooks to replace my Toshiba Portege 2000 (p3 powa!!)

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RE: Comments

By RyanM on 7/18/2007 10:47:49 PM , Rating: 3

The specs on that laptop have me saddened that I'll never be able to justify buying one.

11.1" with 1366x768? Daddy like!

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RE: Comments

By feelingshorter on 7/18/2007 11:56:27 PM , Rating: 2

I was hoping that the laptop didn't a DVD drive. Just goes to show how different the US and Japanese markets are. Many of the high end Japanese laptops that are ultra light weight (less than 2lbs) just don't make it to US markets. I would rather have an external usb powered DVD drive that i could use when necessary instead. There are already laptops already thinner than these, they just aren't in the US markets i believe.

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RE: Comments

By kevdogia on 7/19/2007 2:19:37 AM , Rating: 2

The Sony X505 was available in both the US and Japan without a DVD drive, but I doubt that it sold well judging by how long it was on the market for.

http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=X505&gbv=2

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Hmmm

By DeepBlue1975 on 7/18/2007 3:47:20 PM , Rating: 2

I'd like more initiatives in the likes of the Asus EEE, though a bit more powerful maybe but not enough to sky rocket its price to the levels of these sub notebooks.

There's obviously a market for machines like this one, but I certainly can't find any use for a dual core processor and 1gb of ram when I'm looking for something of this size just to use on the go to watch movies, light gaming and taking on some office documents.

I wouldn't precisely use one of those to do 3d rendering or heavy multitasking, you can't do so many things without the battery running out and I'd rather save the power and the money buy getting something more modestly powered but with that size or less.

I'd really like to have "very portable" alternatives for a reasonable price. Most ultra portables are just way too uncomfortable for me, yet incredibly expensive.

RE: Hmmm

By JeffDM on 7/20/2007 12:15:21 PM , Rating: 2

"I'd really like to have "very portable" alternatives for a reasonable price. Most ultra portables are just way too uncomfortable for me, yet incredibly expensive."

Take a look at Lenovo's X series. They use the L series CPU rather than the U series, so it's about mid-way between an ultraportable and a standard notebook in terms of size, weight and performance, and it starts at a much more comfortable price, US$1100 on the site right now.

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"If you look at the last five years, if you look at what major innovations have occurred in computing technology, every single one of them came from AMD. Not a single innovation came from Intel." -- AMD CEO Hector Ruiz in 2007