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VAIO Type S - Page 2

post #21 of 1493
6/9/04 at 1:18am
Quote:
Originally Posted by z0ob0y
typical. you'll never get everything you want.
Anything I missed as disconcerting besides the Radeon 9200??
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post #22 of 1493
6/9/04 at 1:50am
.
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post #23 of 1493
6/9/04 at 10:33am
Mr. Wong,
Enderet is totally correct, the last thing i want to do is to buy a Sony computer, but i have yet to see an announcement from a different vendor with the same specs. With the TR series, we always had Fujitsu (I had a T90D) to compete on and various others for their standard models. However, with the S-series, i havent heard anything from any other vendors. Please advise if anyone has.
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post #24 of 1493
6/9/04 at 10:41am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Peepers
Here is Sony's press release. The spec sheet is quite disconcerting.
If you read your link carefully:

Quote:
...can also be purchased online at www.sonystyle.com in a variety of configurations.
I'm not going to repost everything from my post in the other thread, but those are clearly the base model specs. In Japan, the 9700 is only available in a SonyStyle online custom configuration.

We'll know what the initial options are when the models are up on the US SonyStyle for pre-order.
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post #25 of 1493
6/9/04 at 1:07pm


wow. that laptop is H-O-T. anyone have any estimates when preorders will be taken at sonystyle.com?
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post #26 of 1493
6/9/04 at 1:48pm
Well I went ahead and called Sony today, just to see if there was any news on the S, or if it could be pre-ordered already, and I was told no. In fact, they said to call back in another two weeks.
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post #27 of 1493
6/10/04 at 12:35pm
I also called and emailed those contact info on the press release... no new info.

Im hoping the specs are just base models and we can config higher vid cards.

Otherwise we can still order from Japanese Importers. If we go this route I just want to let you know that the SONY VAIO bundled software is nothing special. All trial offers and expires within 2 months. They have their own CD/DVD writing software but I dont think its any better than NERO and ROXIO.

There is 1 proprietary control panel called SONY LAPTOP SETUP that controls auto-brightness (which I keep switched off) and how it interacts with the port replicator which I dont use.

Also there is the Gigapocket TV tuner/recorder software which I dont think will be on the S series.

Its very easy to simply reformat and install english OS on the Japanese version so long as the keyboard is readable.
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post #28 of 1493
6/10/04 at 12:54pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by PLC
I also called and emailed those contact info on the press release... no new info.

Im hoping the specs are just base models and we can config higher vid cards.

Otherwise we can still order from Japanese Importers. If we go this route I just want to let you know that the SONY VAIO bundled software is nothing special. All trial offers and expires within 2 months. They have their own CD/DVD writing software but I dont think its any better than NERO and ROXIO.

There is 1 proprietary control panel called SONY LAPTOP SETUP that controls auto-brightness (which I keep switched off) and how it interacts with the port replicator which I dont use.

Also there is the Gigapocket TV tuner/recorder software which I dont think will be on the S series.

Its very easy to simply reformat and install english OS on the Japanese version so long as the keyboard is readable.

LOL. I thought of doing that with an NEC before ...

Sony better not screw this up this time. I'm pissed the A Series 15" only has the 9200 ATI card. I just hope they keep the same specs as the japanese site shows:

http://www.jp.sonystyle.com/Style-a/...index.html#acc

then click on the purple "TUNE" button ... it clearly has the 9700 64MB option over the 9200 32MB one. This S-Series looks VERY appealing, but I'm just waiting to be disappointed.
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post #29 of 1493
6/10/04 at 3:12pm
Yeah. I'm crossing my fingers for a 9600 or 9700 in there, but if it ends up being a 9200, I may just take a deep breath and take the plunge. There really is no comparable laptop in terms of screen, weight and power, is there?

PLC: is the S series out in Japan? How much is it to import one?
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post #30 of 1493
6/10/04 at 4:15pm
search for this site for japanese importer

there was a thread that had 5 listed

some charge a lot

some charge a flat % which might be better in this case... since you could just order the US version and copy its driver and system recovery software and use it on the Japanese version... then return the US version

I wouldnt consider this shady... not any more shady than the US Sony's decision not to import the S series with the 9700 vid card to force US consumers to buy their A series... marketing can be pure evil
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post #31 of 1493
6/11/04 at 12:07pm
So, I browsed around to find more images of the S-Series and I found this on the Swedish site:

http://shop.sonystyle-europe.com/cat...002BC29B8F.swf

It also read "Pre-order (shipped begin Jul)" underneath it. And, no customize feature or mention of what the gpu is.
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post #32 of 1493
6/11/04 at 2:50pm
Alright, I emailed Sony Europe (since the one in the US will give me no info) in regards to hard drive speeds, gpu and color of the S-Series ... here is the response:

Dear Sir or Madam

Thank you for your e-mail.

The good news is that the VGN-S1VP notebook comes with the ATI MOBILITY RADEON(TM) 9700 graphics
card with 64MB dedicated graphics memory as standard.

The speed of the hard drive is 4200rpm, although it is not possible to customise the machine with a different
hard drive.

The colour of the chassis is a dark metallic graphite colour, but is not black..
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post #33 of 1493
6/11/04 at 3:44pm
hmm i wonder if that means we cant take the HD out to swap with a 7k60
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post #34 of 1493
6/11/04 at 6:22pm
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post #35 of 1493
6/11/04 at 6:26pm
Sony VAIO VGN-S90PS

Microsoft Windows XP Professional
13.3" WXGA Xbrite
Intel Pentium M 745 1.80 GHz
1GB (512MB DDR333 x 2)
60GB HDD
MOBILITY RADEON 9700[VRAM64MB]
$3,328.21 (377,790 Yen) including 3 year warranty


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post #36 of 1493
6/11/04 at 8:11pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Aikeo
Sony VAIO VGN-S90PS

Microsoft Windows XP Professional
13.3" WXGA Xbrite
Intel Pentium M 745 1.80 GHz
1GB (512MB DDR333 x 2)
60GB HDD
MOBILITY RADEON 9700[VRAM64MB]
$3,328.21 (377,790 Yen) including 3 year warranty


That's lifted straight from my post in the big Vaio thread last month. I also posted it on their forums and Andrew used it in his article a few days later.

That price has subsequently been debunked. That Japanese price includes some overpriced bundled software. I've been able to price a Japanese model with a Banias 1.5GHz and a 9700 for under $2,000. For a decently speced model it won't be cheap, but it will be pretty reasonable considering the size of the machine and the screen. Of course, you'll also pay a bit of a premium for the Sony name brand.

We'll see how the US options price out on SonyStyle, but as usual, it may be best to order it with the cheapest options (except for the 9700), then upgrade yourself.
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post #37 of 1493
6/11/04 at 11:53pm
Thread Starter 
I stumbled upon some photos from a Japanese reseller's site. It includes some comparison photos with a TR series and some photos of the docking wedge.




edit:
Type A photos can be found too!
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post #38 of 1493
6/12/04 at 7:31am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Peepers
I stumbled upon some photos from a Japanese reseller's site. It includes some comparison photos with a TR series and some photos of the docking wedge.
Nice find. It also has a nice grid of prices from the custom options on SonyStyle. It's interesting to note that they also offer a non-Xbrite screen, and they recommend it for "business" users.

I didn't realize the S is actually thinner than the TR series when it's closed.

translated link (Excite.jp)
translated link (Babel Fish)

a more detailed comparison of S series vs. TR
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post #39 of 1493
6/12/04 at 10:39am
wow. looks pretty nice. since it only comes with a 64mb 9700, how would that card compare to a 128mb 9700?
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post #40 of 1493
6/12/04 at 10:44am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Okle
wow. looks pretty nice. since it only comes with a 64mb 9700, how would that card compare to a 128mb 9700?

When looking at 3dmark03, it depends on how high the 9700 is clocked. But in regards to games, having 64mb only would force one to make compromises and maybe have the settings in medium when playing the new games.
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