The TZ is the spiritual successor to the much-loved TX series. It's marginally bigger than its predecessor, but it is lighter and so promises to be more portable.
More importantly, it's Sony's first laptop to ship with an ultra-low voltage Core 2 Duo processor -- it therefore promises plenty of substance to go with its style. The TZ series, more specifically known as the TZ11XN, is available in several guises, but we've reviewed the £1,799 version, which revels in the product code VGNTZ11XN/B.CEK.
Design
The TZ is utterly gorgeous -- almost eliciting feelings of lust. But whereas the TX5 was sexy in a Christina Aguilera sort of way, the TZ is sleek, and much more sophisticated. If it wasn't for the fact it's Japanese-built, we'd think of it as the Kylie Minogue of laptops.
It's arguably as tiny as the diminutive antipodean, too, occupying the same approximate footprint as a tabloid newspaper folded in half. It's 4.6mm longer and 3.3mm deeper than the TX5, but weighs 1.19kg to the TX5's 1.25kg, so it's slightly more portable.
Sony has bucked the trend of caking laptops in a glossy, piano-black coating. The TZ is mostly finished in matte black, which makes it easier to keep clean than the smudge magnet that is the Asus U1. The only trace of glossy plastic is around the keyboard section, although the 11-inch screen is far worse for collecting smears.
Kudos to Sony for the clever placement of the power button. This sits at the right side of the laptop's hinge -- towards the rear. The button is translucent and glows green when powered up, or amber when the laptop is idle, which is a nice touch. The AC adaptor plug connects to the opposite side of the hinge, but we think the exposed AC port looks rather naff without its plug connected.
The keyboard on the TZ is different to those on the TX series. It looks like a miniature version of those found on an Apple MacBook Pro. Each key is flat and perfectly rectangular, not tapered, as is traditional. They're also slightly smaller than those found on most laptops. Despite this, we achieved a typing speed close to what we'd manage on a full-size keyboard.
The mouse trackpad is as responsive as it should be, although it could do with being slightly larger. The mouse selector buttons are within easy reach below it. Both are easy to press with your thumb, and the area between them isn't wasted -- Sony has installed a fingerprint reader for secure logins.
Around the left edge of the laptop there are modem and Ethernet ports (hidden behind a flap, so they don't collect dust or spoil the laptop's lines) plus two USB ports. At the front edge there's a Memory Stick reader and an SD card slot, alongside mic and headphone ports. At the right side there's a D-Sub port and, miraculously, a DVD rewriter drive. How Sony managed to fit all this in is beyond us.
Features
Once you've gotten over the TZ's style, you'll be
impressed by its substance. One of its best assets is the awesome
11.1-inch LED display, which has a native resolution of 1,366x768
pixels. It looks superb in everyday use, and provided you don't venture
into direct sunlight, its gloss-coated X-Black screen is great for
everything from spreadsheets to DVD playback. Don't expect it to play
games though -- its graphics card is powered by the ageing Intel 945GM
chipset, which is, for want of a better word, rubbish.
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User reviews5
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ScottF 15 October 2008
Good: Weight, battery life, SD card slot, screen, optical drive
Bad: keyboard, USB ports, thin lid, mouse pad, price
Comment: This is my second vaio lightweight, the 1st was the TR1MP. Improvements over the generations include processor power, memory, HD size. The increase to an 11" screen is useful and amazingly it's lighter. In terms of performance I have had no problems (although I have changed the OS to XP).
Problems?
1. Yes, it's really thin but I can't see why anyone would get excited about that. The lid is especially thin and somewhat flexible. I do worry about it getting too much pressure on the lid when in a day sack. I have nowhere near the confidence in that aspect of the machine as I had in my previous one. I would rather sacrifice a few more grammes for a thicker lid to protect the screen.
2. The keyboard, as already mentioned has poor contrast esp in lower light, which makes it hard to see the keys. The previous one was black letters on white(ish) keys. This is the other way round - not helpful. Also the keys need a more determined press, agan not as good as my last.
3. There are only 2 USB ports which is poor in this day and age. They are too close together so a mobile internet dongle obstructs the free port.
4. Finally, the mouse pad drives me nuts, sometimes being unresponsive whilst on other occasions it is overresponsive.
I was looking at the Toshiba Portege range but was put off by reviewer comments on screen bleed and keyboard.
All in all, I think this is a slightly overpriced machine with adequate performance (for an ultraportable). It is worth buying if you want a very light machine with a built in optical drive, a good battery life and a good screen. If you don't mind sneeking up to an outrageous 1.5kgs there is a good range of cheaper alternatives, although not all have an optical drive.
captvontrapp 8 December 2007
Good: size, weight, speed in switching on
Bad: cannot be repaired if broken, VERY fragile screen.
Comment: In July 2007 I ordered this PC direct from Japan in order to get the solid state hard drive and all day battery not offered on the UK market. At first everything seemed okay, however, in August the screen cracked when I pushed it closed from the side (advice here for the future: ALWAYS close the screen holding BOTH sides). I sent it to SONY for repairs. Eventually at the end of November it was returned with the statement "it is not possible to replace or repair the screen on the TZ model Vaio" !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I have used a large quantity of notebook computers over the years (indeed I am credited in introducing notebooks into my industry back in the days of 086 processors) and although I have had a number of damaged products in that time I have NEVER had a company come back with that one! I should add, however, that this is both the first notebook I have bought with private money and also the first SONY.
iyoob ilyas 4 September 2007
Good: The shape, the incredible light weight, the clarity, compactness
Bad: Obviously the cost
Comment: Its a nice machine - worth every penny. You might think its expensive - but I can vouch it worth it.
The screen is very nice - crystal clear. It does take ur finger prints - needs a little bit of cleaning. The keyboard though small - does work quiet well - if you are someone who knows typing well, you could manage it like a 15 inch laptop.
The battery life is less than 4 hours only - and this is now - meaning with in a week of my purchase - so its no where near 7 hours - as they claim it to be.
The processor is 1.06 GHz - a little slow - but I think thats what they could afford with a machine which is just over one kg in weight - so this way its a little far from being perfect but a nice one over all.
An incredible experince over all.
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