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As a leader in the computer technology industry, Sony has made a reputation for offering versatile, functional computer systems at highly competitive prices. One laptop series popular today is the Sony VAIO SZ series. While not the lightest or sleekest of laptops, the Sony SZ series offers a portable solution for the business user without sacrificing the usability of the laptop. In addition, while other types of popular laptops may be less expensive, the features and capabilities of this laptop makes the Sony VAIO SZ series an impressive system when the user favours performance and reliability over cost. The true benefits of the Sony VAIO SZ series is best seen when the system within the series are investigated more thoroughly. While there are over 30 actual laptops falling within the SZ series, there are two main categories – SZ premium notebook and SZ notebook. For this comparison, we will be investigating the Sony VGN SZ360P /C edition, the Sony VGN SZ160P /C edition, and the Sony VGN SZ250P /C edition notebooks. These three notebooks fall under the SZ premium series. Taking a closer look at the closely related Dell Inspiron 6400 offers an additional comparison. Which do you think is best?First, the dimensions of the Sony models are 12.5” wide by 1” high by 9.3” deep with a weight of 3.72-lbs. All three models come in the traditional black carbon colour made popular by Sony. All three systems offer an Intel Core Duo T2400 processor or an Intel Duo T7200 processor with speeds between 1.83 GHz and 2GHz and a front side bus speed of 667MHz; they have a max capacity of 2GB of DDR2 ram of pc2-4200 compatibility. The high-end ram makes for excellent quality, but does tend to cost significantly more than other ram types – when you’re a business user, though the extra performance is well worth this additional outlay. The hard drives are comparable with other systems offering between 80GB to 120GB of storage capabilities depending on the version number of the premium series. The screens offer a healthy 13.3” of viewing pleasure with a max resolution of 1280 by 800 and utilises XBRITE LCD technology. The premium SZ series offers support for Memory Stick DUO, ExpressCard 5-in-1 memory card, XD and MMC memory, and a PCMIA slot for reading almost any portable or non-portable memory device. NVIDIA GeForce GO 7400 with 128MB offers excellent graphical media support. The standard battery allows for up to 6 hours of non-interrupted use and the large capacity battery offers up to 8 and a half hours. Naturally all systems offer wireless LAN and Bluetooth technology. As a comparison, let’s take a look at the Dell Inspiron 6400. This system also comes with a core duo T2400 Intel processor, offers a basic 1.83GHz CPU, and comes with 512MB ram installed. While the Dell Inspiron 6400 may by all appearances look like the Sony SZ series of notebooks, the truth is quite to the contrary. The viewing screen is increased, however, at 15.4-inches and can be configured XGA or even SXGA+. The larger screen does make for a much heavier and larger notebook. While, on the face of it, the larger size of the Dell’s screen may appeal, this comes at a hefty price (as well as weight) premium: with a cost of nearly £800 separating the Dell series and Sony SZ series of notebooks, the truth is you get more than expected with the Sony, and if you’re looking at value for money, it cannot be said that the Dell compares. NVIDIA GeForce offers a better graphical interface, and the name Sony is simply more appealing to many people. When you are looking for a good notebook offering better features and a more cost effective solution to your notebook needs, the Sony SZ series offers a comparable solution. However, Sony should not be thought of as a “cheap” solution for your notebook needs, but, on comparison with similar laptops from competing manufacturers, it does still offer fantastic value for money. Sometimes, excellence simply costs a little more.
Staff editor, Electronics Section, March 2007 |
