Sony VAIO SZ7, TZ2 Series Leak onto the Web

With the known release of Intel's Penryn processor coming at the beginning of January we know all too well there will be laptops to come with that announcement. Sony has helped out by leaking a new VAIO TZ2 to their own website and Amazon.com has leaked the VAIO SZ7.

The VAIO SZ791 will apparently be the update to the current VAIO SZ6. The VAIO S791 popped up on Amazon.com for a while and the specs can still be seen through some price comparison sites. Shopping.com has the specs listed for the VAIO S791 listed as the following:

• Intel Core 2 Duo T9300 with 6MB L2 Cache
• Genuine Microsoft Windows Vista Business
• 13.3" widescreen display with XBRITE LCD technology
• 4GB RAM

(view large image)

A Sony VAIO SZ770NC, slightly lesser spec than the SZ791, can be seen right now on J&R.com too. The specs on the SZ770 include:

• Intel Core 2 Duo T9300 2.50GHz Processor
• 4GB RAM
• 250GB (5400RPM) G-Sensor Shock Protection Hard Drive
• 13.3" WXGA (1280 x 800) razor thin LCD XBRITE™ Display with White LED back lighting
• Built-in Webcamera and Microphone
• NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS
• DVD±R/RW Drive
• Intel PRO/Wireless 4965 802.11A/B/G/N
• Sprint Mobile Broadband Service WWAN
• Bluetooth
• Fingerprint Reader
• 10/100/1000Base-T Ethernet
• Built-in Memory Stick Duo with MagicGate Card Reader
• 5-in-1 Memory Card Adaptor (MS, MS Pro, SD, XD, MMC)
• ExpressCard 34 Slot
• PCMCIA Slot
• 2 USB 2.0, Headphone out; Microphone-in, VGA, IEEE 1394, RJ-11 (Modem), RJ-45
• Approximate Unit Dimensions: 12.5" (W) x 9.3" (D) x 1.5"(H)

In addition to the Sony VAIO SZ7, the VAIO TZ2 has popped on Sony's own website. The Sony VAIO TZ298 popped up on the Sony website, the cached page can be seen via Google.

The specs on the VAIO TZ298 include the following:

• 11.1”WXGA XBRITE-HiColor display
• White LED backlight
• U7700 (1.33GHz) Intel Core 2 Duo CPU
• 2GB RAM DDR 2 533Mhz
• 314GB HDD
• 64GB SSD + 250GB HDD (5400RPM)
• External DVD+-RW/+-R DL optical drive
• Premium carbon fiber casing on LCD lid
• Fingerprint sensor + TPM
• EV-DO Wireless broadband connection
• Windows Vista Business
• Weight: 2.65 lbs

 

tz looks the same except for a cpu upgrade and bigger HD

 

J&R lists the 770 with 3GB while you have 4GB listed.

Hope the screen issues in the 600 series are resolved.

 

jesus, i cant believe they're having a sz7

they should of just redesigned the S series

i mean come on... 7 versions, thats a little much

 

I think they're making 4GB the baseline amount now to drive up chip prices.

 

I don't understand why Sony can't use 7200 rpm HDD by default.

Sigh

 

why dont they implement a SSD option for the SZ like the TZ?

 

An Sz redesign will be coming with Montevina or Nehalem

 

I hate those little sticking out antenna. Look soo ugly.

I still think the XPS 1330 look better than this.

 

The XPS is a very nice looking notebook, probably the best looking Dell has made. However, I don't think it compares to Sony's SZ. Not all SZ's come equipped with the WWAN antenna, and who knows Sony might make it internal in this upcoming 700 series I don't think any of these specs are for sure yet.

 

Yes, the Vaio TZ is all about evolution rather than revolution.

To each his own. From an aesthetics point of view, I think the Vaio SZ is much more stylish and sophisticated.

 

I like the looks of Sony's laptops, but you'd think someone over there would tell the designers "hey guys, our keyboards suck."

Seriously, they'll put any keyboard except a normal one on their notebooks. They've got either the weird one on the SZ, or the MacBook wannabe that shows up on the TZ.

The keyboard is actually the singular reason I'm rocking an HP right now instead of a Sony.

 

Just FYI Pulp, the keyboard on the TZ is not a so-called "MacBook wannabe". It is rather the other way around. Sony first introduced the keyboard style on the X505 - which Apple then was clearly "inspired" by.

 

What a dissapointment the new TZ2!

The only upgrades are the 1.33 cpu (wow what a difference from 1.2) and the very minor feature of the 1.3 mp in the camera.
Maybe Sony things that paying a premium for having a 2 years old chipset is normal.

 

What else is there for Sony to do?Santa Rosa sucks too much power and Penryn low voltage processors do not come out till later in the year.

 

I totally agree,

Santa Rosa was a failure. In addition, if you put it in an ultraportable it will destroy the battery life, which is the main issue for this kind of laptops. I don't know much about Penryn though, will they increase battery life in the TZ?

 

That's actually not quite true; the X505 is one of the more recent notebooks to use this keyboard style, which had been abandoned for quite a while, but Sony didn't really introduce it. It was actually a more common keyboard style on many earlier PC's and laptops (commonly referred to as a "chiclet"-style keyboard):







In some ways the true "inspiration" for this computer keyboard style is probably the earlier calculators/etc. that proceeded them (and of course still commonly use them today).

Sony really only has themselves to blame that most people still think of the MacBook now when they think of that keyboard, rather than a Sony.

For some reason, Sony for a long time seemed to insist on using it only on a fairly niche laptop that was incredibly expensive (i.e. not one of their mainstream models), so most people never even encountered it.

In the meantime, Apple at least used this keyboard style on a mainstream notebook like the MacBook, so it could actually get exposed to many more people.

Frankly, Sony still baffles me on this front.

I mean, the fact that it did take them until the TZ to even start using this keyboard style again boggles my mind - as I understand it, part of the purpose of the TZ was to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the X505 (at least that's what Dynamism says on their page about it), so I guess maybe that's what it took for Sony to remember they had a good keyboard design laying around.

And beyond that, I still don't understand why Sony has only partially adopted this keyboard. The TZ gets it, and the CR gets it, but they insist on continuing to use the old keyboard design on even the latest SZ's, FZ's, etc.

I just don't get it - the SZ, I think, is close to one of the best notebooks out there in terms of its combination of power, style and portability, but they keep sticking on the same old keyboard (which I feel was a downgrade from the S series).

Yet the TZ-style keyboard I think would be a nice improvement (although, as noted by the comment from Pulp you replied to, I guess not everyone likes it)... but Sony doesn't want to use it.

Why limit it to the TZ and CR series?

At least the CR is a more mainstream notebook (although one suspects that part of the reason they decided to use it there was because they want it to be as successful for them as the MacBook has been for Apple).

But yeah, in the end, I have a hard time feeling sorry for people not associating this keyboard type with Sony. I don't think it's necessarily accurate that people call it a MacBook-style keyboard either, but the thing is, most people probably don't remember all those earlier chiclet-style PC and laptop keyboards, and the MacBook is the more mainstream system in recent memory that most people have gotten a chance to use.

I mean, now that I think about it, it really is kind of funny. Sony has this great keyboard design, but it's like they only use it when they seem to be "forced" to by some outside reason. In the case of the TZ, using it because the TZ is partly designed as an homage to the original X505, and in the case of the CR, it seems like it's at least partially because they want to ironically make it more "MacBook-like".

This is the only reason I can think of that they have still limited this keyboard design to the TZ and CR, and not adopted it for the SZ, FZ, AR, N series, etc.

-Zadillo

 

Sure Zadillo, you are right. If you want to drag the comparison to that extent the X505 is not the grandfather anymore. However, none of the examples you posted resemble the keyboard of the X505, TZ or Macbook in the same way.

 

Well, they are just some random examples. I wouldn't say they're identical to the X505, TZ or MacBook, but they are the same general type. The main difference in the examples I gave were that they were smaller keyboards, closer to calculator keyboards than fuller-sized keyboards - I couldn't find any good pictures of some of the larger examples of this keyboard type. They are all still essentially the same keyboard type - the distinctive characteristic of these keyboard types generally is the individual and flat separated keys, as opposed to the normal types of desktop and laptop keyboards we see.

Anyway, again, my main point more is that Sony really only has themselves to blame for the fact that they waited so long to actually use this keyboard type on a mainstream model (the CR), and I actually do strongly believe that Sony's use of it on the CR was more of a direct response to the MacBook, and the desire to make it as MacBook-like as possible (yes, ironic, I know). Outside of that, the only other time they have used it now is with the TZ, and it seems to me that the only reason they did that was because of the TZ's role as a celebration of the 10th anniversary of the X505.

I just wish Sony would recognize that they have a good thing in this keyboard style, and replace the current SZ, FZ, AR, NR, etc. keyboards with it as well. I really think they took a step backwards with the current keyboard design (even compared with the previous S series), and it seems ridiculous to me that Sony is only using the newer keyboard style on models where they seem to have some specific external reason (i.e. celebrate the X505, imitate the MacBook).

 

Need to buy a lightweight laptop for travel. Mostly surf, email and watch movies. Need MS Office as well. Looking at SOny Vaio vs Dell XS 1330. Anyone have any advice? Thank you.

 

I can't agree with you more. The SZ looked nice at first, but man, I can't believe there'd be a day when I say this, but the design is getitng old. While pretty much it was miles ahead in stylishness in the 13.3" arena compared to its competitors when it first came out, the likes of Dell and ASUS have since released better looking laptops; namely the XPS M1330 and ASUS U3S. The terrible "loose and mushy" iteration after iteration; makes me wonder they ever listen their customer's complaints.

 

Penryn introduces the use of DDR3 ram, right?

How's the performance on those rams compared to DDR2 800MHz?

 

no ones gonna talk about the tz has a 64gb ssd with a 250gb drive? - is that 2 seperate drives or are they combining it because with only a 11" screen, didn't think they could fit 2

either way, i think thats fu**en awesome! the original tz only has the 32/64 sdd or just a 100gb, etc regular drive - no combination, one or the other, u had to choose between speed or size.


and for the people who don't like the wwan antenna, its easily taken off - and im sure u knew this but that is not a wifi antenna, its the verizon antenna for cellular network internet (wide wireles area network) - i have it currently taken off on my sz660n/c

my sz660n already has a 250gb and 4gb ram in there so no real need to uprgrade but i love the design of this and having owned the m1330 also, this by far in my opinion outdoes it. i think the next time i update will be either something like the tz, or a quad core mobile.


can i ask why the hell other laptops aren't using the ssd/reg combo - i would buy that in a heart beat, and if it could easily fit in an 11" less than 3 pound laptop, it should fit in every laptop

 

Too bad I just can't stand that video card. Intel950? *sigh* can't even game on it. GRANTED I know its meant to, but for $2700 premium I want it to do more than look cool for a 11in notebook. At that price, an Apple looks pretty good. If Apple was smart, they would make the next notebook with some "pc keys" like the windows button or the del/insert keys and such. I would buy an apple.

 

Will the SZ7 be 64bits ready ?

 

no news about upgrading TX models to Core-Duo processors ??

 

Wow, a T9300 makes my new T7500 feel like squashed pie

 

Interdit, the last three SZ series were 64 bit capable however Sony finally allows 4GB in the upcoming 700 series.


Saliquincer, do you mean the TZ? Here is a whole discussion on why it will keep its low voltage processor:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=202077&page=2
Refer to the 2nd, and 3rd page

 

There's no way you'll find anything more powerful than a GMA950 in such a small machine as the TZ (and even if you could, it would be kind of pointless - I can't imagine what you would use a TZ for which would even be able to use a more powerful video card) - the best one could hope for would be a GMAX3100, I think.

-Zadillo

 

This is not true. There are small laptops as the TZ that have the 965 chipset and X3100 video card. Asus ultraportable U2, and the upcoming Fujitsu R have the newest tech. Of course ,the battery life will discrease on this machines, but if you are going to spend a premium you demand the latest technology, in my opinion. At this point the new generation TZ2xxx it is absoutely not worth bying. If you love the design of the TZ and you can spend big bucks is better to purchase an older model for more reasonable price, instead of the newest with very minor upgrades. On the other hand there the above ultraportables that offer better specs in a minor price. Just because they are not Sony!

 

Fair enough, that's why I said the best one could hope for would be the GMAX3100. Presumably at some point Sony will get the newer chipset in this line.

But again, honestly, what difference does it make? With a machine this small and with a screen that small, what kind of stuff are most people using it for? I think the most common tasks for these devices (spreadsheets, word processing, e-mail, web browsing, etc.) wouldn't benefit from GMAX3100 at all, really.

I don't see the obsession with "demanding the latest technology" if all you get out of it is decreased battery life and improvements that you could never really take advantage of?

-Zadillo

 

sure...

unless you work for sony then you're just guessing.

 

TZ celebrates the 10th anniversary of 505, not X505. X505, or 505 Extreme, was released in 2003. TZ does incorporate/refine a lot of X505 features (LED power light, keyboard, carbon fiber, etc) and bears much less resemblance to the original 505 (except the limited production violet purple TZ).

As for why Sony limited the keyboard style to the limited edition X505 or niche laptops (for US really, anything larger than ultra-portable is really a DTR in Japan)? So the ones who paid the premium and purchased the Sony Style will enjoy the unique style that no one else has. It's like Ferrari limits their production number -- probably not the best business model if you want to capture market share

The CR (and N/NR) actually is part of Sony's strategy to actually try to be like a mainstream laptop manufacturer, so I am sure the keyboard design is probably affected by people's reaction to the less-niche MacBook. However, I highly doubt you will see the X505/TZ/MacBook keyboard showing up in the replacement of SZ or TZ. That would just be lame for a company that prides itself with its unique style on its flagship products.

Regardless of the style, however, I think Sony laptops' keyboards are just getting worse and worse for typing, unless you only type with your two thumbs.

 

Ahh, gotcha.... duh. I misread the Dynamism product page; you're right, they do say it's a celebration of the 10th anniversary of the 505, not X505.

I'm still not totally sure I understand your logic though; if they can use this keyboard on the TZ and the CR, I don't see why they can't on the SZ at least as well (the SZ seems as much of a flagship laptop for Sony than anything else they have).

Frankly though, the fact they'll use it on the CR as well makes me think they should just go ahead and adopt it elsewhere at least.

I have to admit, I don't see how it would be lame of them to use it with the SZ and FZ as well, or how that would interfere with a company that prides itself on the unique style of its products.

The idea that a good keyboard should be a "premium" feature I think is a bit hard to swallow.

Frankly, I don't think the TZ/CR keyboards are that bad at all; when I've tried them out in the store, I've found them to be major improvements over the keyboards they replaced (the TX and C series keyboards), and I think they would be major improvements over the SZ keyboard, which I feel was a real step back from the previous S-series keyboard, which I found to be a lot more comfortable to type on.

-Zadillo

 

wow, looks AMAZING, especially w/ the SSD

 

No, a good keyboard is a good keyboard to type and it certainly should not be a premium feature. However, the styling of the keyboard has to mold with the overall design if you are trying to sell the overall style as your premium feature. Sony can certainly use this keyboard design in any of the laptops they make, but if they really want to break the mold and create a style that will lead the pack for the next couple of years, I just don't think this keyboard style really helps the overall design to stand out, especially if this keyboard style becomes mainstream and there are lots of laptops adopting it.

For typing, I feel TZ's keyboard is worse than SZ, SZ is worse than the S I am typing on, and S is worse than the Z505 I used to type on, so to me it's going downhill. Obviously there is personal typing preference involved.

 

Gotcha, fair enough. I agree with you about the SZ being worse than the S (I owned an S360, and was so disappointed by the SZ keyboard that I ended up selling my SZ); but personally I think the TZ keyboard (or at least that keyboard style; it's more comfortable with the larger CR keyboard) is better than the SZ style (although maybe not as good as the S keyboard). I certainly think the TZ keyboard was an improvement over the TX keyboard.

But yeah, as you said, to some degree it does come down to just what is comfortable for different people.

 

whats odd, is yes, i hated the sz keyboard at first....but 3 days later is was my favorite keybaord of all time

no idea why, but i absolutely love it....

 

I wish sony had used 8400 gt instead of gs. If it ain't strong enough for games, then I much rather get the dell.

 

I don't keep up to date with computer advancements.

I know the new upgrade TZ has just been announced, but when can we expect a real performance boost the TZ. i.e. 'Penryn'? What else is the next progress after 'Penryn' and when might that be announced?

When can we expect the next TZ? Just looking at a time frame: 3/6/9/12 months?