VAIO Z Introduced

<<...Lisa has her review up for those interested...>>

@Kumabjorn : Where did you see it? I can't seem to find it...?

 

I hear you, but in fairness there has been continuity in Vaio products' innovative engineering and class-leading performance for 10, not 20 years, and quite a few in this community have admired and owned their products. It's hard - for me at least - not to root for the company to revive that tradition. I don't presume they lack imagination, but more so capital, as a tiny notebook mfr in a sea of giants. Just saying...

 

It is

 

Well, she doesn't hate it. How many times did she mention how expensive it is?

 

She doesn't pay (I think they are loaners/review samples).

 

I got to see one of these yesterday though no tests on it . I will say that at least it definitely has a premium feel to it. As premium as the sky high price? I'm not so sure.....

 

When I had my old Acer 3820TG, the Sony Z was the state of the art in portable notebooks with a dedicated GPU. Even at that, it was a multiple of 2x, not 3x over notebooks costing less.

 

The problem with Sony is that they’re stuck in their 90’s paradigm when they thought of themselves as “the śh¡t” and they got caught up in proprietary solutions for everything they did. Now, Vaio is spun off, but the people working there brought their mindset with them. I’ve talked to some of the younger engineers that has never worked for Sony, and believe me when I describe them as frustrated,

 

Not only that, but they were objectively 2X better, if you could afford it. (I got 1 yr old refurbs for 1/2 price!)

They are hanging on by a string financially and operating in a niche of a niche of a niche with a shallow bench. I had predicted that the "new Vaio" would never even get off the ground, and was really impressed with what they pulled off in the 20-teens, but they had some financing during the spinoff and are likely living on fumes. Those, and what looks like a misguided strategy for their attempted to return to relevance this time.

Having opined all the above, @Kumabjorn, what's the market view from Japan? Are they visible, in stores, etc? If not there, then they are nowhere!

 

From my experience you'll find the occasional model in the more upscale electronic stores. Obviously you can get them on Amazon, Rakuten and their own site, but I don't believe you purchase expensive machines without a hands on experience. You go to the more plebeian chains like Yamada or Kojima they'll be hard to find. Perhaps in their flagship store?