Sony VAIO Z Comes To Europe In March

[Andy Dixon]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/19/sony-vaio-z-brings-quad-ssd-drive-and-dynamic-graphics-switching/' target='_blank'>http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/19/...hics-switching/</a><br /><br /></div><p><em>"Announced at CES with a "late Spring" availability, we just got word that the Core i7-620M pumpin' VAIO Z series from Sony will be hitting Europe in late March. The Z's biggest claim to fame is its ultra-fast Quad SSD, a rather unique Sony innovation that writes data in parallel to four SSDs (up to 256GB total capacity in RAID 0) at speeds up to 6.2x faster than typical 5400 rpm laptop hard disks."</em></p><p><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/resizer/thumbs/size/600/wpt/auto/1263907636.usr11334.jpg" style="border: #d2d2bb 1px solid;" /></p><p>As well as the unique Quad SSD drive, the new VAIO Z series laptop&nbsp;will have a hybrid graphics solution allowing you to switch between an Nvidia GeForce GT 300M, and a Intel HD graphics chip depending whether you need power for&nbsp; graphic intensive gaming&nbsp;and photoshop work, or just plain web surfing type of usage.&nbsp; It apparently can do this automatically on the fly which will be interesting to see, especially if it helps prolong battery life.&nbsp; However, as with all Sony laptop products, this will probably come at a premium price to match.&nbsp; I look forward to the first reviews of this when it is released in March.</p>

[Hooch Tan]

This poses quite a problem. I'm looking to buy a laptop in the coming months, and it looks like the choices are getting harder. While I recently had my heart set on an Alienware M11x, this looks comparable, though the price (knowing Sony) will probably make my decision for me!

[Andy Dixon]

That's always been the problem, in my opinion, with Sony. They produce some fantastic kit, but the price just forces me to go with another brand. It makes me wonder how long it will be before Acer or someone produce a similar spec laptop with the same features. I bet we can expect some kind of announcement by the summer.

This is always the conundrum when buying new toys. Do you wait for the next best thing? You can guarantee that as soon as you buy something, a week later it's obsolete. :rolleyes: