Sony's new Vaio T2
Sony continues to set a high bar — at least when it comes to style — with its Vaio laptops. Their new T2 series runs on a Pentium-M Ultra Low Voltage (ULV) 1.2 GHz processor, Bluetooth, WiFi and a DVD burner. But what may be more important to Vaio fans is the fact that it weighs in at about 3 pounds and has a 10.6-inch widescreen display with Sony's X-Black technology and an anti-reflective layer to cut glare (one of the biggest complaints about those X-Black displays). No pricing yet, but we assume it'll set you back at least a good $2K.
Filed under: Laptops
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
rob @ Dec 19th 2005 1:38AM
and? how is this different than my T series I've owned for 8 months ?
Electric Monk @ Dec 19th 2005 1:38AM
Damnit Apple license X-Black or Xbrite or whatever you want to call it (especially with anti-glare) and roll it out pronto on your laptops.
Jason H @ Dec 19th 2005 1:38AM
Should probably note this is just the UK release of what has already been out for a while in the US and Japan as the T250 line.
PC @ Dec 19th 2005 1:38AM
This makes my TR look like crap.
Apple's displays are really nice, but I agree, the Xbrite ones are out of this world.
illwafer @ Dec 19th 2005 1:38AM
other than those screens, sony laptops are pos.
rob @ Dec 19th 2005 1:38AM
Wrong. Sony's laptops have been the best I have owned and I have owned four of them. This screen is unbelievable and nothing out there comes close. I've seen you guys whip out your huge apple laptops on the plane to watch movies,then stare in awe when I flip my screen open and it comes to life. Sure apple makes some nice products, but their laptop screens do not compare, and if they did, apple would do what they always do - jack the price up.
Tyler Puckett @ Dec 19th 2005 1:38AM
Apple jack the price up? Yes, you're definitely right there. But Sony is also guilty of this evil as well. Sony's computers cost more than a comperable Compaq or Gateway. Look at the Clie's too...they were fairly overpriced up until the last 2 years or so...
Matt @ Dec 19th 2005 1:38AM
My xbright on my dell 700m is one of the most gorgeous screens i've ever seen, and people just cant believe how nice it is.
Rich Rafkin @ Dec 19th 2005 1:38AM
I got this one (Vaio T250). It's unbelievable machine. Apple? Hehe...
Cullen @ Dec 19th 2005 1:38AM
jack prices up? coming from someone who owns a sony? please. you buy an apple you get service, a damn fine piece of hardware and the ability to run the nicest os in the world. you buy a sony and you get..a nice screen? ability to use..over priced memory sticks? umm..a thick ass bezel? sonys world-renowned bullshit customer service? why do people still think that because its sony its the best? this is not the case any more..id buy a panasonic/toshiba over sony any day.
slobodan @ Dec 19th 2005 1:38AM
Yes, I have a Dell as well and xbrite is the way to go. i agree, apple jacks the price on anything and everything they can. i wont even start to vent about the dead battery in my (never will buy again) ipod, the "too-bad-so-sad" lousy customer service, and the price manipulations apple is guilty of ($100 price drop, but let's leave out a $40 carrying case and $30 remote)
but back to sony, what makes this so different from the old T series I thought of buying last christmas
Drew Jones @ Dec 19th 2005 1:38AM
I used to want a Sony laptop. Then a friend of mine got one and had major problems. Upgrading from XP home to pro crashed it and required a cert tech at the retailer to get it installed. Then when SP2 came out, it crashed so bad it had to be sent in. 2 weeks later they sent it back with Home on it and told him that SP2 was not supported. I hope that they have improved sionce that happened last year.
jem @ Dec 19th 2005 1:38AM
well to be honest i have a sony vaoi and its lasted me for like 4 years and recently i bought the powerbook 17" and i love the powerbook but xbright isnt that big....
010111 @ Dec 19th 2005 1:38AM
i've had a ton of Powerbooks. and a year or so ago i got a Vaio TR2AP notebook with this exact same 10.6" widescreen. beautiful. i wish Apple would put a similar screen in the next Powerbooks. not only the antiglare-ness... but the dense pixel count. going from a 1280x768 at 10.6" to a 1024x768 at 12"... made the 12" look like a Fisher Price monitor. i loved the lower weight and general size of the TR too. i hope the next iBook or Powerbook does a similar size. 3-4lb-ish would be great.
Jostiband @ Dec 19th 2005 1:38AM
Happy to got my box yesterday pricing is about
2100 euros www.sonystyle.com.
Great laptop but not very much better than my TR1MP.
Hint: uninstall all (+/-500MB) of time limited software Adobe/Symantec Inet Sec/Etc etc.
And your system performance,will improve from almost alive to mildly responsive.
Dont forget to install all the necessary updates from the sony vaio update site just about 189MB for the first time.
IMHO they should hire back the person who designed the TR series.
Nic Seow @ Dec 19th 2005 1:38AM
there was a sony exhibition at a mall i went to on saturday, and they had this one... VAIO T27GP. i must say WOW. not to mention the screen is high-res too, at 1280x768. i inquired, and they told me battery life is 8h!!! oh, but the price: S$4k. damn.
Gard @ Dec 19th 2005 1:38AM
Got my VGN-T2XP yesterday, incredible computer, lightweight, powerpacked rel to size, lots of I/Os, LONG battery life.... BUT, MOST IMPORTANTLY: the 1280x768 X-Black screen is unfortunately NOT very good!!
With all respect, the X-Black gives the best brightness!! BUT: The layers in the LCD/glass plate are not fully transparent, giving an 'impure' look and very annoying for your eyes, especially when you have black text on white background. Visible at all brightness settings. Best seen if you open e.g. a notepad window, type some text in it, and drag the window around on the screen. As the white background in the window is moved around, you can easily see the impurity in the layers. Makes you wanna wipe clean the screen, but the screen is already so clean that you can get a perfect mirror of yourself with the right light-conditions (which is a bad thing about the X-Black technology, reflection seems to be a real issue... but thats another problem, and solvable by moving your body a bit!!!). The impurity is more serious, sitting down and working with that screen for a couple of hours will make your eyes go crazy... (and I'm used to look at screens with approx the same very small character size about 10-14 hours a day in some heavy work periods...without eye problems!)
Does any others have the same problem, or am I just unlucky with this LCD batch from Sony? What is the chance of getting a LCD replacement? Anyone knows who manufactures these LCD's?
Had similar problems with my Dell Latitude C840 with 15" 1600x1200 Ultra Bright LCD monitor (dont remember the exact name, it was the best LCD option at that time, 3 years ago). We were 3 people buying simultaneously and all 3 got an absolutely crap batch of LCD monitors, the LCD/glass layers were truly NOT transparent and gave a crystallized look&feel!! After some arguing with Dell we all got our LCD's replaced. Replacement LCDs was from another manufacturer, and the difference was incredible, white background was once again white!!
Gard @ Dec 19th 2005 1:38AM
Got my VGN-T2XP yesterday, incredible computer, lightweight, powerpacked rel to size, lots of I/Os, LONG battery life.... BUT, MOST IMPORTANTLY: the 1280x768 X-Black screen is unfortunately NOT very good!!
With all respect, the X-Black gives the best brightness!! BUT: The layers in the LCD/glass plate are not fully transparent, giving an 'impure' look and very annoying for your eyes, especially when you have black text on white background. Visible at all brightness settings. Best seen if you open e.g. a notepad window, type some text in it, and drag the window around on the screen. As the white background in the window is moved around, you can easily see the impurity in the layers. Makes you wanna wipe clean the screen, but the screen is already so clean that you can get a perfect mirror of yourself with the right light-conditions (which is a bad thing about the X-Black technology, reflection seems to be a real issue... but thats another problem, and solvable by moving your body a bit!!!). The impurity is more serious, sitting down and working with that screen for a couple of hours will make your eyes go crazy... (and I'm used to look at screens with approx the same very small character size about 10-14 hours a day in some heavy work periods...without eye problems!)
Does any others have the same problem, or am I just unlucky with this LCD batch from Sony? What is the chance of getting a LCD replacement? Anyone knows who manufactures these LCD's?
Had similar problems with my Dell Latitude C840 with 15" 1600x1200 Ultra Bright LCD monitor (dont remember the exact name, it was the best LCD option at that time, 3 years ago). We were 3 people buying simultaneously and all 3 got an absolutely crap batch of LCD monitors, the LCD/glass layers were truly NOT transparent and gave a crystallized look&feel!! After some arguing with Dell we all got our LCD's replaced. Replacement LCDs was from another manufacturer, and the difference was incredible, white background was once again white!!
Nick @ Dec 19th 2005 1:38AM
I received my T2XP a couple of weeks ago. Yes, a little late to the party maybe, but it's an amazing machine. I get in excess of 7 hours battery life and my display is perfect. I've comfortably watched many hours of DVD's on it (widescreen is perfect!) and am in disbelief of how so much can fit into something so small. It's just a shame the battery sticks out so much.
I recommend the T series slip cover, it's fantastic and gives the T2XP just enough protection to throw into a bag.
There's supposed to be a revamped version arriving soon... but tbh for a small, light, unbelievably portable PC with integrated bluetooth you can't go wrong here.
Dabs prices are ok!