Sony Z-Series Hands-On

Approximately one month ago, Sony, like the majority of the world's leading vendors of personal computer systems, announced the introduction of a new series of laptops, refreshing its Vaio family of portable PCs with the addition of several new models.

Among them, the outfit also introduced a refreshed version of the famous Z-series, one that has been equipped with the latest hardware components and is designed to deliver a boost of performance and a better computing experience. On that note, we recently had the opportunity for a hands-on experience with the new Vaio Z-series, having stumbled upon it at a Sony event.

As mentioned before, the Z-series has been designed with high-performance and portability in mind, which is why it packs some of the latest solutions in the hardware industry, such as the Core i5 520M processor from Intel, clocked at 2.4GHz and paired with no less than 4GB of DDR3 SDRAM. To boost performance, the unit has also been equipped with support for up to 4 high-performance Solid State Drives and NVIDIA's GeForce GT 330M graphics, with Dynamic Hybrid Graphics System and a 13.1-inch display with support for 1,600 x 900 pixel resolution.

Unlike the previous generation, this Vaio Z-series feels a bit bulkier but, on the bright side, you have a better system, featuring a new processor and a switchable graphics solution that pairs Intel's integrated HD graphics with the aforementioned NVIDIA GeForce solution. Unlike the Optimus technology that was recently unveiled, this comes with a manual switch, which needs to be handled when having to choose between better graphics or better battery life.



Aside from that, the laptop feels quite nice for a 13.1-inch ultraportable. Applications appear to run smoothly on it and it can be used with great ease. We will soon have a review of the new Z-series, so stay tuned for an update to the article.