Sony launches new CR and TZ notebooks
Sony Vaio CR series The Vaio CR series is an update of the colorful Sony Vaio VGN-C22 series. The key difference from its predecessor is a larger 14.1-inch screen (the Vaio VGN-C22 had a 13.3-inch display) while maintaining almost the same dimensions. Sony's press release claims its CR series has the footprint of most 13.3-inch notebooks. Though it is certainly more handy than the 14.1-inch Acer Aspire 4920G, it weighs a hefty 2.5kg, while 13.3-inch models like the Apple MacBook, Asus W7S and the recently launched Dell XPS M1330 are most certainly lighter and smaller. As a matter of fact, the powerful 14.1-inch BenQ JoyBook S41 even manages to keep similar dimensions while having a heft of just over 2kg. Nevertheless, the Vaio CR series' trump card lies in its sleek design which is available in five shades--black, white, red, pink and blue--which should suit almost any wardrobe. Based on the Santa Rosa platform, for S$1,999 (US$1,471.77), the Vaio VGN-CR11GH sports a 1.8GHz Core 2 Duo processor with 1GB memory and 80GB harddisk. It's 14.1-inch widescreen is driven by Intel's integrated graphics chipset. A higher-end model, the VGN-CR13G, offers a discrete ATI mobility Radeon X2300 graphics card. Though this is not DirectX 10-compatible, it should still show a significant multimedia performance improvement over the integrated Intel solution. It is available in Hong Kong, with other Asia-Pacific countries expected to follow suit in mid-August. Battery life is an acceptable 3 hours, but we like that there is a high-capacity cell available to increase uptime to 5 hours. Sony Vaio TZ series The new 11.1-inch Vaio TZ series is Sony's premium ultraportable equipped with an optical drive under its petite body. Weighing just over 1kg and coupled with an impressive uptime of over 11 hours (18 hours using the optional high-capacity cell), frequent travelers will have no issue making the compromise between its smaller keyboard and sheer mobility factor. If techies were to nitpick, they would point out that the costly Vaio TZ series went with the last-generation Intel 945 chipset instead of the latest Santa Rosa Intel 965 platform. The key difference is that the integrated graphics solution of the latter is more powerful, with potential for DirectX 10 compatibility once the drivers are available. Even the earlier announced Fujitsu LifeBook P7230 has already hoped onto the Santa Rosa bandwagon and offers similar features and mobility as its Sony counterpart. Unlike the Vaio CR series, the TZ line is a little less flashy, coming in a black or platinum pearl chassis (for the Vaio VGN-TZ17GN only). Updated from the Vaio TX series, the entry-level S$2,999 (US$2,208.02) Vaio-TZ16GN sports a 1.06GHz Core 2 Duo processor, 1GB memory and 80GB harddisk, while the higher-end S$3,699 (US$2,723.40) Vaio-TZ17GN boasts a faster 1.2GHz chip with a larger 100GB storage capacity. The top-of-the-line Vaio-TZ18GN is similar to the Vaio-TZ17GN except that it uses a solid state drive (SSD) which improves data access speed while using less power. It also has a different color scheme called premium carbon, in which you can actually see the carbon-fiber threads on its black body. As SSD has no moving parts, it is able to withstand shock better than conventional magnetic storage. However, in order to enjoy this advantage you will have to part with S$4,499 (US$3,312.40) for this model.
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