User Name
Password
AppleNova Forums » Third-Party Products »

At last... real 17" notebook competition from Sony


Register Members List Calendar Search FAQ Posting Guidelines
At last... real 17" notebook competition from Sony
Thread Tools
SonOfSylvanus
Fro Productions(tm)
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: London Town
 
2004-06-03, 15:44

Sony's new A Series is pretty nice.

It equals the DaddyMac in many respects:
  • Same 80GB HD space
  • Same 2GB memory max
  • Same standard ATI 64MB Mobility Radeon 9700 graphics card
  • Same DVD read (8x) and DVD-R write (4x) speeds
  • Same gigabit ethernet
  • Same PCMCIA slot
  • Same REAL-USE battery time (I imagine) at 1.5-3.5 hours
  • Same option for 5400rpm 80GB HD.

It even 'beats' the PowerBook G4 17" in a few ways:
  • The WUXGA screen resolution at 1920x1200 gives a work area much bigger than the PowerBook's
  • The XBRITE LCD is really very bright. I've seen it in person and I was stoked
  • The optional Dock (hate them) includes a TV Tuner (love them, though)
  • The 1.8GHz Pentium M 735 with 2MB L2 Cache and 400MHz FSB could probably kick the PowerBook's G4, 512KB L2, 167MHz
  • The one-year telephone support beats standard AppleCare

However, rest assured, the DaddyMac is still king:
  • It's got MacOS X (heh heh)
  • It's got superior design and finish*
  • It's got the back-lit keyboard
  • It's got a V.92 modem
  • It's got DVI out
  • It's got an option for an ATI 128MB Mobility Radeon 9700 graphics card
  • It weighs 6.9lbs (a stunning 1.7lbs lighter than the Sony!)
  • It's almost half the thickness at 1" rather than 1.7-1.8"
  • It hasn't got sucky proprietary storage technology like Memory Stick

So, yeah. Sony makes an impressive challenge with TIVOesque potential, enormous real-estate and an ultra-fast chipset/architecture. Eh... But, the PowerBook has superior ergonomics, is more aesthetically pleasing and is more pleasurable to use (heh)... so what the heck...



*I was really disappointed with the build quality of the Sony VGN-A190 17" (I played around with three models today). It is all plasticky, flexy and hollow sounding. The lid hinges are really stiff requiring both hands to open the 'book. The mouse buttons dug into my thumbs. Plus, the bezel at the top two corners of the display is fugly, designed so that it curves away from the screen. I hate this, much preferring the uniform bezels of the Apple notebook line.

Comments? Opinions? Have you found a PC notebook to challenge your PowerBook/iBook?

bouncy bouncy

Last edited by SonOfSylvanus : 2004-06-04 at 13:54. Reason: OCD... heh
  quote
Wickers
is not a kind of basket
 
Join Date: May 2004
 
2004-06-03, 16:18

Neat find.

I have always liked Sony's computers. They are very well designed.

But it's what Sony puts under the hood that makes me dislike them. Cheap parts, cheap parts and more cheap parts.

Take a look at their TV-computer-in-one... it's like three grand Canadian to start with but under the hood is a SiS chipset using integrated video. For three freaking grand I would expect much more then SiS... So what if it doubles as a TV and has a butt load of extras, as someone with a fair amount of PC knowledge, I would find it really hard to invest so much money for a SiS based computer.

Anyway. . .
  quote
low-fi
Member
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Edinburgh
Send a message via ICQ to low-fi Send a message via AIM to low-fi  
2004-06-06, 20:29

I must be a total Apple zealot, but I just love the clean lines of the Powerbooks. Whilst there are some designs that rival the PBs, they just lack a je ne se quoi. I think this testified by Apple's recent success in the D&AD award
  quote
SonOfSylvanus
Fro Productions(tm)
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: London Town
 
2004-06-07, 03:14

Quote:
Originally Posted by low-fi
I must be a total Apple zealot, but I just love the clean lines of the Powerbooks. Whilst there are some designs that rival the PBs, they just lack a je ne se quoi. I think this testified by Apple's recent success in the D&AD award
Je conviens!
  quote
DMBand0026
Veteran Member
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Chicago
 
2004-06-07, 11:49

Quote:
Originally Posted by low-fi
I must be a total Apple zealot, but I just love the clean lines of the Powerbooks. Whilst there are some designs that rival the PBs, they just lack a je ne se quoi. I think this testified by Apple's recent success in the D&AD award
No, I totally agree. I couldn't ever see myself owning another notebook that wasn't an Apple. I take one look at my dad's fujitsu notebook and want to cry...it looks like it's been repeatedly beaten with the ugly stick. And my PB is still faster!

Come waste your time with me
  quote
thedustin
Member
 
Join Date: May 2004
 
2004-06-13, 21:00

How about this one?

_thedustin

(as seen on .com)
  quote
alcimedes
I shot the sherrif.
 
Join Date: May 2004
Send a message via ICQ to alcimedes  
2004-06-13, 21:16

what gets me the most about some of these nice viao's, is you'll have a beautiful machine, then there's 7 ugly ass stickers plastered all over it declaring what's inside, what it runs, how great it is etc.

like neon lights and info stickers on a piece of artwork. just stupid.
  quote
Posting Rules Navigation
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Post Reply

Forum Jump
Thread Tools

« Previous Thread | Next Thread »

All times are GMT -5. The time now is 07:19.


Powered by vBulletin®
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©2004 - 2024, AppleNova