Sony Vaio Pcg-z1a Notebook

When you hear the phrase, "Curves that captivate", you probably do not immediately think of a notebook PC. But that is what Sony Electronics' Web site promises for the new Z series Vaio laptops - Sony the first built around the new Intel Centrino package of a battery of thrifty chipset, Pro / Wireless 2100 WiFi (11Mbps 802.11b) adapter (sony pcga bp2v) battery wireless network, and Pentium M processor.

In fact, Svelte-design-wise, the Vaio PCG-Z1A tested here is fractionally thicker than the long-popular Vaio 505 models with older mobile Pentium 4 CPUs. But the biggest Z1A has a 14.1-rather than 12.1-inch screen with 1400 by 1050 pixel resolution SXGA +. And it has those curves - notches carved out on either side of a recess and keyboard covered when the screen is closed.



The notch in the left holds the microphone, headphones, i.LINK (Sony's name for IEEE 1394 FireWire) and two USB 2.0 ports, has the right to break the 56 Kbps modem (Ethernet, and VGA ports are in the rear) and a light power button. Along with a sleek LCD thin, the design of Sony continues the tradition of offering the closest thing to a conversation piece or status symbol you can get into this, even school kids have laptop-old. .. and charging a premium for it. With a 1.3GHz Pentium M chip, 512 MB of DDR266 memory, a 60GB hard drive and combo DVD-ROM/CD-RW drive, the elegant Z1A costs $ 2400.

If you want Windows XP Professional instead of Home Edition, add $ 100. If you want to step up to 1.5GHz Pentium M and 1GB of memory, you'll pay a high $ 3000, a model with a 1.6GHz processor and twice the capacity of battery is a painful positively $ 4000. (Note that both models use high-end modules 512MB PC2100; Z1A comes with a fixed and a plug-in module 256 MB, so its roof system is 768MB.)

But if you have a budget of $ 2400 and a busy travel schedule, the Vaio Z1A offers more than just a pretty face: It is thin and light enough to spoil a more portly portable, 9.7 to 12.4 per 1, 5 inches and 4.7 pounds (including its AC adapter is cut by 12 ounces).

Its 1.3GHz Pentium M processor is not the fastest laptops in class, but it works very well, thank you - at least as fast as 1.7GHz or 1.8GHz Pentium 4 mobile. The battery life is a little above average, too, if not running the marathon that Intel Centrino advertising blitz has (let's remember that this is a lightweight laptop with a relatively small group of lithium-ion Pcga-bp2v battery pack) . The 60GB hard drive DVD-ROM/8/4/24X Hitachi and Matsushita 8X CD-RW combo unit working quickly and quietly.



Add an attractive package - with Adobe Photoshop Elements 2.0, InterVideo WinDVD 4, McAfee.com security service, Microsoft Works, and both Microsoft Money and Quicken New User Edition, as well as Sony's high-quality, home - brand image, video and audio-file managers - and you have a capable contender. Even with some minor complaints about its keyboard and touchpad screen, we find the Z1A The combination of capacity, style and slimness, well, captivating.

Not only the new Intel Pentium M reverse the recent mania for higher clock speed as the holy grail of CPU performance, but the faster clock 1.6GHz Pentium M chip is priced so high that most sellers seem to be the solution for smaller models. Hence, were pleasantly surprised to see the 1.3GHz Vaio Bapco Sysmark 2002-publishes an application suite score of 140, a mixture of 153 on Internet Content Creation with 129 in the Office of Productivity. The latter figure, it is worth noting, is on a par with at least a 2.2GHz Pentium 4-M portable and even a pair of 2.53GHz and 2.4GHz Pentium 4 desktop we've tested over the past year.

The Slimline of FutureMark PCMark 2002 results were equally respectable 4270 (CPU), 4095 (memory) and 597 (hard drive). Sony shortchanged its video image and reputation of excellence, however, opting for a model of economy-16MB ATI Mobility Radeon graphics controller (not to be confused with the latest Mobility Radeon 7500 and 9000 chips): The Vaio Z1A Battery puttered to a lackadaisical in 1701 FutureMark 3DMark 2001 SE Pro and managed only a limp 30 frames per second when playing Quake III Arena high quality in 1024 by 768 mode.

That said, the 14.1-inch LCD is sharp - especially for the widescreen DVD viewing, despite the stereo speakers are typically small and tinny and only the top two or three of the nine brightness settings are sufficiently clear to our middle-aged eyes. Even then, sometimes found ourselves squinting tiny text and icons in the 1400-1050 pixels - we have enjoyed resolution SXGA + 15.0-inch and larger screens laptop, but frankly it would have been just as happy if Sony has stuck with confidence-old XGA (1024 by 768) for the 14.1-inch viewing area.

In fact, there is a model Vaio Z1A1 with only a screen, priced at $ 2200, but also skimps with 40GB instead of 60 GB hard drive and 256 MB instead of 512 MB of standard memory - a commitment of more, we believe that, for $ 200 from his savings through our Z1A. Of course, you can use Windows' Control Panel or ATI-tray utility tasks for the whole system screen resolution to 768 by 1024 instead of its native mode, but the results seem too pixelated for the eyes .
Buy Digital Camera Battery , While we are grumbling, the Z1A keyboard offers a reasonable floor, but am sorry to write full-size and disposition of alphanumeric, but gets a bit crowded around the edges - the right Shift key is small, and Home, End, PgUp, PgDn and doubled to reach the arrows cursor across a Fn key, as with many small laptops. The color coordinated touchpad is attractive, but believes Scratchy or slightly more prone to occasional jumps that most we've tried.

Handy switches at the top right let you turn the Wi-Fi radio on or off (the latter helps save battery life) and use two buttons that can be customized for a limited range of functions (defaults audio mute and maximum brightness of the screen). In addition to the aforementioned USB 2.0, FireWire, audio, Ethernet, VGA, modem and ports, you'll find slots for a single Type II PC Card and a Sony Memory Stick flash modules. An external USB floppy drive is an option of $ 80.

You will also find quite impressive battery life lightweight: Despite that never came close to Sony "up to 6.5 hours" claim, our test unit lasted two and a half hours in PCMark 2002 (CPU, hard disk, memory, and video playback) and test loop an average of three hours in our real world working sessions, including those oriented drain battery installation of multimedia software and play instead of idling word processing. If you do not mind adding some extra weight, a dual capacity (8800 mAh compared to 4400) lithium-ion battery pack is an option of $ 500, a spare battery is regularly $ 300, and a high-speed connectivity 802.11a wireless PC Card is $ 160.

In total, the Vaio Z1A life until Intel Centrino hype and Sony Slimline-chic heritage, is a major aspect, the good performance, slightly more expensive high-end laptop for business users. The next time showing off his coworker of his new Tablet PC, you can strike again to the old school style notebook.
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