Sony VAIO TZ Notebook                

(First Look) - Sony, although shaky in its quality sometimes, is possibly the only company that offers cutting-edge ultra portable notebooks to its users. It’s usually the only company to have the latest technologies packed in some of the world’s thinnest designs ready to go. This time again Sony’s VAIO series expects to add a latest ultra portable notebook, the VAIO TZ, to its product line with Intel’s Core 2 Duo microprocessor, Windows Vista and a plethora of other options that should satisfy the road warrior in you.

One of the first things that any ultra portable user is after is the actual weight and battery life of the notebook they are about to purchase at steep price points. Sony doesn’t disappoint there, and delivers a notebook at 2.62lbs. Unfortunately, battery information is not available currently, but we hope that Sony has worked on that. Some of its notebooks, based on the Intel Centrino platform, were pitiful at 3x hours. Since then, the technologies have gotten more efficient and companies are able to squeeze out more battery life. We expect Sony to deliver on that as much as the age old argument, "You are sacrificing battery life when you go ultra portable." isn’t as true today as it was 18 months or so ago.

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As mentioned earlier, Sony VAIO TZ is equipped with an Intel Core 2 Duo microprocessor at 1.06GHz, Windows Vista Professional, 1GB of DDR2 memory (Max 2GB), 80GB Ultra ATA HDD (4,200RPM), DVD+-RW/+-R DL/RAM optical drive, 11.1-inch display with LCD backlight and 1,366x768 resolution, Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950 (integrated), Ethernet/Modem connectivity, Instant On technology, Wireless integration (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, EDR), and shock protection for the hard drive. Of course, standard ports are available as well.

What Sony needs to do is focus on making the notebook as solid and durable as it possibly can. A number of its notebook models have been flimsy to date, and Sony needs to improve upon that. Hopefully, there are no heat dissipation issues with the VAIO TZ, and obviously, it’s for the ultimate road warrior who only needs to focus on his work and maybe watching a DVD here and there. Leave everything else to your desktop PC.

Pricing information was unavailable at the time of publishing. However, it’s expected to ship on May 26 in Japan, so North American buyers should be ready for it soon thereafter.

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