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Hardware 2.0

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

Sony unveils new 13.1-inch ultra-mobile VAIO Z

By | June 28, 2011, 8:40am PDT

Sony has unveiled the new 13.1-inch VAIO Z Series ultra-mobile notebook which weighs in at less than 1.2Kg.

Highlights:

  • Intel Core i7 processor
  • AMD Radeon HD 6650M graphics card with 1GB of RAM built into the ‘Power Media Dock’
  • High-resolution 13.1-inch 1600×900 anti-reflective VAIO Display Premium
  • Weighs less than 1.2Kg/2.6lbs and 16.65mm/0.655-inch thick (so it’s thinner and lighter than Apple’s MacBook Air)
  • Crafted from tough carbon fibre
  • Backlit keyboard
  • Quick boot
  • Optional ’sheet battery’ offers up to 14hr battery life and a quick charge feature
  • ‘Light Peak’ (Thunderbolt) high-speed data IO support

Tech specs (will vary depending on model):

One feature that I like the look of on the VAIO Z is the ’sheet battery’ feature, which we first saw on the VAIO S earlier this year. While the internal battery offers 7-hours of use, with the addition of the flat ’sheet battery’ which clips to the underside of the notebook and boosts the battery life by an extra 7-hours. The ’sheet battery’ can be charged separately to the notebook and can be easily fitted without switching the notebook off.

Another interesting feature is the ‘Power Media Dock’ which can be used to drive up to four displays via the HDMI and/or VGA output ports. When docked, you get access to additional USB ports along with VGA and HDMI outputs. The Power Media Dock also features an optical drive bay that can be kitted out with a Blu-ray or SuperMulti combo drive. Finally there’s Dolby audio output for the audiophiles.

The Sony VAIO Z available to preorder in the UK, where it’s available for $1,835. The optional dock adds another $510 to the price tag.

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Adrian Kingsley-Hughes is an internationally published technology author who has devoted over a decade to helping users get the most from technology.

Disclosure

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

All opinions expressed on Hardware 2.0 are those of Adrian Kingsley-Hughes. Every effort is made to ensure that the information posted is accurate. If you have any comments, queries or corrections, please contact Adrian via the email link here. Any possible conflicts of interest will be posted below. [Updated: February 23, 2010] - Adrian Kingsley-Hughes has no business relationships, affiliations, investments, or other actual/potential conflicts of interest relating to the content posted so far on this blog.

Biography

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes is an internationally published technology author who has devoted over a decade to helping users get the most from technology -- whether that be by learning to program, building a PC from a pile of parts, or helping them get the most from their new MP3 player or digital camera.

Adrian has authored/co-authored technical books on a variety of topics, ranging from programming to building and maintaining PCs. His most recent books include "Build the Ultimate Custom PC", "Beginning Programming" and "The PC Doctor's Fix It Yourself Guide". He has also written training manuals that have been used by a number of Fortune 500 companies.

Adrian also runs a popular blog under the name The PC Doctor, where he covers a range of computer-related topics -- from security to repairing and upgrading.

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RE: Sony unveils new 13.1-inch ultra-mobile VAIO Z
aminy23 28th Jun
So is a GPU integrated into the dock? The specs say the doc has a AMD 6650M, and the laptop has crappy Intel integrated graphics. If this is the case, one would need to use this with the dock to get decent graphics performance, and the dock will ruin portability.
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That actually looks quite sexy. The price tag however....
So is a GPU integrated into the dock? The specs say the doc has a AMD 6650M, and the laptop has crappy Intel integrated graphics. If this is the case, one would need to use this with the dock to get decent graphics performance, and the dock will ruin portability.

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