Sony Vaio SZ Series

Ooh, carbon fibre! Like what race cars are made out of! This will therefore be worth spending £1500 on, even though Sony laptops break at a rate of one component a week*.



*Estimate based on our first-generation Sony DVD player which lasted two years before the random error messages flashed up.

THE BORING THINGS ABOUT ITS SPECS:
The VAIO SZ-Series: The Premium Carbon Fibre Notebook For Professionals
A winning hand of new technology and materials ensures that the SZ-Series is super-light, powerful and styled to perfection.
Feb 1, 2006

Brussels, 1st February 2006 - The VAIO SZ-Series offers everything the professional needs. Carbon fibre construction means strength without a weight penalty, while distinctive styling and finish make sure it gets noticed. The new-generation X-black enhanced screen is lighter and thinner than ever before, while still delivering a vivid widescreen picture. Innovative 'Stamina mode' switchable graphics gives users real 3D power when needed, and lengthy battery life the rest of the time. Dual-core processor generates serious performance, while fingerprint recognition and TPM provide robust security to your data. At the top of the range1, the chassis is worked from carbon fibre for unparalleled strength and lightness. This is a vital factor in reducing the carrying weight of these models to just 1.69kg. The finish is fine-textured, eye-catching and obviously out of the ordinary. A meticulously brushed aluminium palm rest provides the final touch.

The screen is equally carefully crafted. The ultra-thin LED backlight and light guide give selected models2 the slimmest and lightest 13.3-inch WideXGA notebook displays in existence. Sony X-black LCD(tm) enhancement ensures that it's one of the best looking too, with true black, vivid colour and exceptional brightness and contrast. The 'Stamina Mode' switch lets users select between the default Intel integrated graphics for everyday use, and an NVIDIA(r) GeForce(tm) Go 7400 for maximum 3D or HD video performance. This means you can save battery power by not using the NVIDIA GPU except when needed, boosting battery life up to six hours. Future-proof power comes from the Intel(r) Core(tm) Duo processors used throughout the range. Dual-core technology effectively gives you two processors in one - with the performance benefits you'd expect. The high-end Intel(r) Core(tm) Duo T2500 processor will be featured on the SZ1VP limited edition available from Sony Style (www.sonystyle-europe.com) in selected countries and from selected Sony Centres in The United Kingdom. The SZ1VP also features a 120 GB Hard disk drive.

The SZ-Series is ready to meet the world. An integrated camera3 and microphone allow convenient video communications across a company network or the internet, while Bluetooth4 and high-speed wireless networking provide cable-free convenience in and out of the office. When you would rather keep things to yourself, the SZ offers ironclad data protection. First, there's biometric gatekeeper security in the form of fingerprint recognition. Then, Trusted(tm) Platform Module (TPM) hardware prevents hackers from accessing passwords and encryption keys. Finally, the hard disk itself can sense if the notebook is dropped, and parks the HDD head to prevent damage to data.

"With the SZ-Series we have again raised the bar," says Jun Koyama, Director of IT for VAIO Of Europe (VOE). "Its uncompromising fusion of new technology and exacting design is what we believe discerning professionals - and consumers - now expect from a serious product. At this level, the days of plastic mouldings and chunky 'styling' are long gone."