Photos: Hands-on with the Sony Vaio Z Series (VGN-Z11VN/B)

AnonymousWed 16 July, 2008 3:06pm

The Sony Z series looks really nice. i would say it is the best looking Centriono 2 laptop so far. i'm seriously considering getting one this holiday season. the price is kinda scary though, thank god i don't live in the UK.

Nate LanxonWed 16 July, 2008 3:08pm

They're gorgeous machines with amazing performance from what I could tell. It was difficult to illustrate how they felt to hold, but it's safe to say they feel as good as they look.

AnonymousWed 16 July, 2008 9:46pm

Hmm, US models are reported as having Blu-ray and SSD drives. And PC Pro is reporting UK prices about 300 quid lower than you provide. Can you press Sony on this?

Nate LanxonWed 16 July, 2008 10:07pm

Yes, I believe PC Pro is quoting prices excluding value added tax. The prices we are publishing are the ones you are most likely to see in a store or online.

AnonymousThu 17 July, 2008 9:31pm

What is the UK availability like? Can local dealers get them shipped here?

AnonymousFri 18 July, 2008 8:18pm

in the us the top model has a blu ray drive, does the top model in the uk have a blu ray drive?

hjdMon 21 July, 2008 11:00am

Why can the US configure to order an exact spec, whereas the UK are stuck with three models all without SSD or BluRay? I want the fastest processor with the 64 GB SSD, but can't see a way to buy this in the UK.
Anyone know what the warranty position would be if I brought one back from the States?

AnonymousTue 22 July, 2008 7:05pm

i might look around the sony name-tag for once, but why do we in europe have to pay excessive amounts of money for inferior configurations than in the united states? that's something that bothers me more and more. can't someone tell those b.a. people it is $/1.6 not the other way around.

AnonymousSun 3 August, 2008 11:24am

Why there is still poor DDR2 memory as centrino 2 should use 1066MHz=DDR3?

AnonymousSat 9 August, 2008 10:38pm

The UK site and pdf specs originally said DDR2 then it was changed to DDR3 as per the spec in other countries so presume this is now correct (and Sony Style is wrong).

AnonymousFri 15 August, 2008 11:48am

Why no blu-rau for europe ?

AnonymousSun 17 August, 2008 7:42pm

Good preview, but the next time you talk to a Sony rep, can you please ask them why we in Europe have to pay so much more for the same product?
The Sony VGN-Z550, which I assume is the American version of the Z11-WN/B, costs $2100 (€1438 assuming 1.46 exchange rate) at Amazon, and here in Spain €2500. Are we suckers or what?

AnonymousTue 19 August, 2008 9:36am

Sure it's a lovely laptop but it's also an exorbitant price and I refuse to support a company that offers better features in the US and tries to sell us short on this side of the Atlantic. Sony continue to screw up on customer awareness despite their excellent product design. The Dell XPS M1330 offers much better value for money.

AnonymousWed 20 August, 2008 10:14am

Does anybode know anything about the noise of the fan? I use a VGN-S4XP since 3 years. A good product, but the noisy fan makes me insane.

AnonymousFri 22 August, 2008 1:33pm

Great laptop, however (as is always the case with Sony) there is at least one obvious let down (two in this case). SSD Drive & Bluray, or lack thereof. I will not pay this kind of money for a such a laptop offered in late 2008 withouth these features. I'm sure I'm not the only one, but Sony you have lost my custom!

AnonymousSat 23 August, 2008 5:39am

NB: For European's considering importing an SSD/BR & cheaper model from the US - the US version has a Sprint wireless card. I don't believe a European 3G Sim card will work in this model

AnonymousMon 25 August, 2008 8:55am

Dear,
can someone tell me how to obtain this device in Europe with a blu ray? Can you eventually buy it seperatly (Bly-Ray) in the US and plug it in?
regards,
Matthiuas

AnonymousMon 25 August, 2008 11:14pm

Indeed!! The noise of fans of any SZ (including the latest SZ71) or SX series is so unsustainable that it can drive you... and any person around you completely nuts! Is that trouble finally found any remedy by SONY??

For any business use officially aimed by Sony, the quietness is as important as the quality of the screen or the battery lasting? What about the Z series?

AnonymousTue 26 August, 2008 8:08pm

I myself was just looking at the options for an import, i want one now with blu-ray! I'm actually considering a short holiday just to pick one up. Wouldnt need the HSDPA card anyway and if I did we have USB dongles.
Anyone got any smart ideas so i dont have to catch a plane? I do have friends in the US

AnonymousSat 6 September, 2008 3:49pm

Super laptop without USB3 and with external BD does not make too much sense to me.
Buy in US if you can not wait. You will get BD and still pay less 100Eur.
3G does not work in all EU anyway. So dongle will stiil be necessary when travelling.

AnonymousSat 6 September, 2008 3:52pm

I do agree with all of you. You get all in US here in Europe just preselected and oveprized models. How sad!!! I even contacted Sony Europe but never got any answer. Seems to me that Vaio in europe is not sold by sony direct but some guy with monopoly rights. That is why there is so litle interest in european customers.

You can buy from Portable One US

www.laptopsinc.com

and get it shiped. You will get BluRay and still save money but you will lose 3G and get US Sprint wireless card instead.

Or you can buy from Notebook Shop DE

www.notebook.de

and select your hdd/ssd, 32bit/64bit OS XP or Vista, keyboard layout UK,SP,IT,FR,GER...(Vista Ultimate supports all languages). Great european site like P1 in US but because they olso do have to buy from our guy who sells in europe
you will not get BlueRay and still pay a nice few hundreds Euros extra.

After all the 3G still DOES NOT WORK IN ALL EU COUNTRIES so if you travel a lot you may still need some hot spots, external plugs and so on. Rather buy from US and let your man choke.

ALSO BEAR IN MIND there is USB3 going to be released at the begining of 2009 which will be standard for many years to come and Z will not have it, BlueRay also standard like is or was dvd and SSD? OCZ already makes 250GB one for about 500 and any kid can replace it at home right on the kitchen table!

Why to take the plunge!

So please stay calm and cool and do not go for it. Not at least NOW.
If Sony's sales drop they will reconsider their policy and may start to care about us european customers as well as they do in US which is in economical crisis right now but still can customize their PCs with all the new specs which will be necessary standard from now on and wihout extra charge. Just check www.sonystyle.com and you'll know what I mean.

Do not buy Vaio go for Dell it is OK, you can configure more, it is nice and cheaper so you can udate it/ replace it more often and they do care more about us than sony EU.

WHY TO TAKE THE PLUNGE? VAIO 2300 - 3350 Euro and still no BlueRay they released some 3 or 4 years ago? It is a JOKE!

AnonymousSun 7 September, 2008 9:55am

I agree with the person above. It's incredible that many manufactures do not take de European market seriously. Not only Sony but also Nikon, Canon ....

The last labtop (vaio S1-XP) I bought was in 2004. If they don't change their price- and modelpolicy it probally the last one. I buy myself een low-end labtop. Not so much a gadget, but no frustration either.