GP | BUYER’S GUIDES
Buyer's Guides
Buyer's Guides Lists and roundups of the best gear. Period.Sony VAIO Z Series
The Ultimate Portable PC if Price is No Object
Touted as the most powerful ultra portable on the market today thanks to its available 2.66 GHz Intel Core i7 processor (3.33GHz with Turbo Boost), the Sony Z series represents the pinnacle of laptop design in both looks and performance. Featuring a 13.1 full HD LED backlit widescreen display with 1,600 by 900 resolution, and weighing a feathery 3 pounds, its jammed packed with top of the line specs. This laundry list includes: 8GB of ram, up to 512GB of solid state memory, a back lit keyboard, an HDMI out port, 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, web cam, GPS, Verizon broadband modem, and even a biometric fingerprint reader for ultimate user security. It also sports both integrated Intel GMA HD and a discrete Nvidia GeForce GT 330M graphics chipsets which it can switch between depending on the task to maximize video performance while maintaining battery life. Unlike other options in the class which have left out optical drives all together, this model can include a Blu-ray drive, along with integrated active noise canceling which when used with the included headphones eliminates background noise without a bulky adapter. On the cons side, fully loaded it has a price tag equivalent to used BMW.
General
- Built-in Devices GPS , Cellular antenna , Bluetooth antenna , Wireless LAN antenna
- Embedded Security Fingerprint reader
- Width 12.4 in
- Depth 8.3 in
- Height 1.3 in
- Weight 3lbs
- Color Premium carbon
Processor
- Processor Intel Core i7 I7-620M / 2.66 GHz
- Max Turbo Speed 3.33 GHz
- Multi-Core Technology Dual-Core
- 64-bit Computing Yes
- Features Intel Turbo Boost Technology
- Chipset Type Mobile Intel HM57 Express
Cache Memory
- Type L3 cache
- Cache size 4 MB
RAM
- Installed Size 4 GB / 8 GB (max)
- Technology DDR3 SDRAM - 1066 MHz
- RAM configuration features 2 x 2 GB
Storage Controller
- Storage controller type Serial ATA
Storage
- Floppy Drive None
- Hard Drive 256 GB Solid State Drive
- Storage Removable None
- Hard drive type Portable
Optical Storage
- Type DVD±RW (±R DL) / DVD-RAM - Integrated
Optical Storage (2nd)
- 2nd optical storage type None
Card Reader
- Card reader type Card reader
- Supported flash memory cards Memory Stick , SD Memory Card , Memory Stick Duo , Memory Stick Pro , Memory Stick PRO Duo
Display
- Display Type 13.1 in TFT active matrix
- Max Resolution 1600 x 900
- Widescreen Display Yes
- Features LED-backlit
Video
- Graphics Processor / Vendor NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M / Intel HD Graphics
- Video Memory 1 GB
- Total Available Graphics Memory 2650 MB
- Video System Features Sony Hybrid Graphic System
Audio
- Audio output type Sound card
- Audio output compliant standards High Definition Audio
- Audio Input Microphone
Notebook Camera
- Camera Type Integrated
- Camera Features Face-tracking technology
Input Device(s)
- Input device type Touchpad , Backlit keyboard
- Keyboard localization and layout QWERTY
Telecom
- Modem Wireless cellular modem
- Service provider Verizon Wireless
Networking
- Networking Network adapter
- Networking / Wireless LAN Supported Yes
- Wireless NIC Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6200
- Data link protocol Ethernet , IEEE 802.11a , IEEE 802.11b , IEEE 802.11g , IEEE 802.11n , Fast Ethernet , Gigabit Ethernet , Bluetooth 2.1 EDR
- Networking standards IEEE 802.11a , IEEE 802.11b , IEEE 802.11g , IEEE 802.11n , Bluetooth 2.1
Expansion / Connectivity
- Expansion Slots Total (Free) 2 ( 0 ) x Memory , 1 ( 1 ) x ExpressCard/34
- Interfaces 1 x Microphone - Input - Mini-phone 3.5 mm , 1 x Headphones - Output - Mini-phone stereo 3.5 mm , 1 x Docking / port replicator , 1 x Audio / video - HDMI output - 19 pin HDMI Type A , 3 x Hi-Speed USB - 4 pin USB Type A , 1 x Display / video - VGA - 15 pin HD D-Sub (HD-15) , 1 x Network - Ethernet 10Base-T/100Base-TX/1000Base-T - RJ-45
Miscellaneous
- Included Accessories Headphones
- Compliant Standards RoHS
Power
- Power device form factor External
Battery
- Technology Lithium ion
- Installed Qty 1
- Battery capacity 5400 mAh
Operating System / Software
- OS Provided Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64-bit Edition
- Microsoft Office Ready Includes a preinstalled image of select 2007 Microsoft Office suites. Purchase a Medialess License Kit (MLK) to activate the software.
- Software VAIO Care , VAIO Media Gallery , Microsoft Works 9 SE , VAIO Help and Support , Sony Picture Motion Browser , VAIO Media Plus Multimedia Streaming Software , Norton Internet Security 2010 (30 days subscription) , Microsoft Office 2007 Small Business Edition (60 days Trial)
Manufacturer Warranty
- Service & Support 1 year warranty
- Service & Support Details Limited warranty - 1 year , Technical support - Phone consulting - 1 year - availability: 24 hours a day / Monday-Sunday
Sustainability
- ENERGY STAR Qualified Yes
- Greenpeace policy rating (Dec 2009) 5.1
