Sony Vaio SZ 330P - Notebook Review

Sony Vaio SZ Series 330P


I recently purchased a new Sony Vaio VGN-SZ330P from USA (through my cousin).

Sony Vaio VGN-SZ330P is slim, lightweight and powerful measuring only 1" thin159 and boasting a 13.3" widescreen display5 with XBRITE™ technology, this notebook is ideal for people on the go. Work faster and play longer with Intel® Centrino® Duo mobile technology, a 5400rpm SATA hard drive, advanced DDR2 memory. Wireless freedom is yours with integrated WWAN132, 802.11a/b/g wireless LAN and integrated Bluetooth® technology.

Control efficiency and output with the innovative Hybrid Graphics System while having piece of mind that your investment and data are safe with advanced security features like biometric fingerprint sensor and G-Sensor™ shock protection. And to top it all the VAIO® SZ Notebook is a “Windows Vista™ Premium Ready” PC.


Why I decided for Sony SZ Series?

Well before deciding on this Laptop over my Toshiba was that I required in my notebook was:

a) Great Display.

b) Lightweight. I work from Office and most of the time carry my work home or to client's place and it was much desired to have a light weight notebook.

c) Extremely Powerful so that I can replace it with my desktop PC.

d) Bluetooth (So that I do not have to attach a Bluetooth dongle everytime to connect to internet through my mobile phone.)

e) WiFi to free yourself from Wired Networks and which allows me to use Internet where WiFi Hotspots is available like Hotel, Airport Lounge and all.

f) Good Battery Life atleast 3hrs-5hrs.

Well the configuration showed much promise and Sony Vaio SZ Series Laptop was probably one which fit my requirement.







Here's the Specification of the same:

Model
Sony Vaio VGN-SZ330P/B

HARDWARE

Processor Name
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T7200 (2GHz, 4MB L2 cache)1

Front Side Bus Speed
667MHz

Chipset
Intel® 945GM

Hard Drive
120GB2 5400rpm Serial ATA with G-Sensor™ Shock Protection - Hard Disk Drive Protection

Integrated Wireless LAN
Intel® PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Network Connection (802.11a/b/g3

Wireless WAN
Integrated Wireless Wide Area Network (WAN)132 accessing Cingular Wireless National EDGE Network with SmartWi™ technology , (Wireless WAN and Wireless LAN radio do not transmit simultaneously)

LCD
13.3" WXGA with XBRITE™ Technology (1280x800)4

Graphics
Hybrid Graphic System - NVIDIA® GeForce™ Go 7400 with TurboCache™ supporting 128MB and Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 950 with 128MB dynamically allocated shared (RAM/Video) memory

Graphics Interface
VGA out w/Smart Display Sensor

Memory
2GB (1GB x 2) PC2-4200 533MHz DDR2 - (Expandable up to 2GB)

Optical Drive
DVD+R Double Layer/DVD+-RW Drive6
DVD+R DL Write: 2.4 max.
DVD+R Write: 8x max.
DVD+RW Write: 4x max.
DVD-R Write: 8x max.
DVD-RW Write: 4x max.
CD-R Write: 24x max.
CD-RW Write: 16x max.
DVD±RW: Yes
CD Read: 24x max.
DVD Read: 8x max.
DVD-R DL Write: 2x max.
DVD-RAM Read: 3x max.

Modem
Integrated V.92/V.90 Modem (RJ-11)

Ethernet
10BASE-T/100BASE-TX Ethernet with RJ-45 interface

Memory Stick® Media Slot
Supports optional Memory Stick, Memory Stick PRO™ media

Expansion Slots
Supports Memory Stick DUO™ media with MagicGate™ functionality
One ExpressCard™ /34 Slot
One PCMCIA - Type II/Type I card slot with CardBus support

Audio
Sony® Sound Reality™ - Audio Enhancer

Audio Interface
Headphone Jack, Microphone Jack

Optional Port Replicator Interfaces
2 USB 2.08, Ethernet, VGA, DC in

Other Interfaces
One 4pin i.LINK® connector (IEEE 1394)9, 2 USB 2.0 ports, port replicator connector

Pointing Device
Electro-Static touch pad

Keyboard
QWERTY, 86 keys with 3mm stroke and 19.05mm pitch

Action Buttons
S1, S2 (programmable) and WLAN/BT RF On/Off

Power Requirements
105W+10%

Battery
Lithium-ion Battery (VGP-BPS2C)

Battery Life
3.5 - 5.5 hours (as mentioned in the manual)

Weight
4.1 lbs with standard battery (non-metric weights and measurements are approximate)

1.86 kgs only :)


Size (W x H x D)
12.5” (W) x 1.0” -1.5” (H) x 9.3” (D)

Supplied Accessories
Standard Lithium-ion battery (VGP-BPS2C)
AC adapter (VGP-AC19V10)
Memory Card Adapter (VGP-MCA20)
Cingular SIM Card
Power Cord



Pros:
Extremely lightweight, Powerful and fast.

Cons:


a) The model which I got gives me electric shocks if I am grounded. Surprised ?? Well then I am not alone there are 100 of more people who face the same problem. The brushed metal finish palmrest is gives a tingling sensation and surely has to do something with laptop issue. When contacted Sony about this they are asking me to send it to their San Diego Service Center. Now how do I do that sitting in India :(

b) The Battery meter is never correct. It worked for around 3:15hrs in "STAMINA" mode compared to the promised 3.5hrs - 5.5hrs

c) The Notebook comes with too many softwares preinstalled.

d) They do not provide any Installation disk and you have to burn it yourself. It take 2DVDs / 9CDs to burn the Recovery Disk.

e) Well not to mention its too Pricey compared to other companies like Toshiba, Dell and IBM.

So do not forget to check out the "Electric shock/tingling sensation" on your notebook from Sony before buying it. To test it ground yourself and then power up the notebook and test.

I will be sending it back to their Service Center in Feb when my cousin will be coming to India.

Cheers,
Vijay