Thinkpads Forum

I'm curious to know if anyone with an X60 compared it to the Sony SZ series. I'm sure the X60 is better built but the SZ has a 13.3" display and built in optical drive. Has anyone used both?

rocketman wrote:I'm curious to know if anyone with an X60 compared it to the Sony SZ series. I'm sure the X60 is better built but the SZ has a 13.3" display and built in optical drive. Has anyone used both?

I have a friend with a new VAIO SZ. It's a typical Sony VAIO (I've had a few).

Nice design, well balanced. Very poor keyboard, a known weakness with most VAIO's in the lineup. Worse on the models that are thinner. I was quite surprised just how bad this keyboard was. A lot of flex with a very shallow stroke of 1.7mm which leaves little feedback. For example the stroke on ThinkPads including the X series is 2.5mm. The display is nice if you like the shiny reflective surface. While under certain lighting conditions it does have good color depth, most of the time it just reflects everything. Using it on a daily basis, would be terribly distracting to continously see yourself or other images reflected back in your eyes. It's loaded with a lot of bloatware taking up valuable disk space. Battery life just average at best. Build quality seems ok, still it is a bit plasticky. The touch pad is nor where near as accurate or easy to use as the ThinkPad touchpad.

The bigest liability with this computer is very poor tech support, difficult to get drivers etc. I speak from personal experience over the last 4 years having VAIO's myself. I have a few friends with Sony laptops and they too have had some really serious issues that have rendered the computer useless for a couple of weeks while in for service. Another person I know had a hardware failure (system board) on a T43. IBM sent a box to ship it back in, repaired it and returned it to the customer in 72 hours! Now that's service.

We did compare the two, as I have an X60s. The X is much faster, especially considering that I only have 1.5GB ram and he has 2.0GB and a faster processor @ 2.0 GHz. Both have 5400 rpm hard drives. Another interesting aspect, especially considering the complaints on this forum is the noise issue. My X60s is very quiet and cool. The SZ was actually quite noisey (especially the hard drive). It runs much hotter (yes hot, not warm) than other VAIO's I have experienced.

Finally there is my pet peve, which is the speed at which Sony abandons models and configurations. Only the 505 (now obsolete) stayed in their lineup for any period of time, just a few years. A perfect example of this is the VAIO SRX from a few years ago. I have one and it's the best VAIO I've had (along with my 505) as it's the only one that has run reliably over a period of time. Has a good (for Sony) keyboard, and is small and light like the X series. At 2.2 lbs with a 10.2" display it fits nicely on a tray table in the airplane. 6 months after introduction they were dropped from Sonys line. And this was (at the time) there most reliable & popular models. Five of my friends bought the SRX and we are all still using them. However if there is a problem we are in trouble because they are no longer supported period. What parts?

So in the final analysis, the X60s is a serious, reliable, well designed business computer. A proven ThinkPad that will not let you down. The Sony is, well.... a Sony VAIO, styling first, function a distant second. After all that's their Brand / Slogan / Web url: SonyStyle.

Don't get me wrong I own a lot of Sony products and I'm one of their advocates, however when it comes to notebook computers (IMHO) they have a long way to go.

nice and informative post, i was considering buying a sony sz too for my parents, but likely will drop it from the candidate list. I am still considering fujitsu p7120 though.

MIB wrote:I am still considering fujitsu p7120 though.

The Fujitsu is a good choice.

I spent some time deciding which to purchase between the Sony SZ and the X60 (or X60s). On paper they were basically a tie, and then I found a Sony SZ ready-to-go in a shop I visited, while I knew that the X60s would need some 3 weeks once I ordered (I live in Europe); I bought the SZ.

I used the machine for about an hour and decided to return it. The main reason is that the machine, although pretty stylish, feels also quite fragile. Not that it will fall apart; it is well built, but I worked on a Thinkpad some time ago (I think it was a 600x), and you know you can take it with you wherever you go without worrying about it. In particular, the screen in the SZ, which is very thin and nice-looking, does not feel strong at all. Also it is very easy to bend the plastic on some of the vents in the SZ. Overall, I felt the thinkpad was a much better choice for me, so I returned the SZ and ordered the X60s.

That was about a month ago.
According to the vendor, my X60s will arrive tomorrow!!

ahrkron wrote:I spent some time deciding which to purchase between the Sony SZ and the X60 (or X60s).

I bought the SZ.

I used the machine for about an hour and decided to return it. The main reason is that the machine, although pretty stylish, feels also quite fragile.

so I returned the SZ and ordered the X60s.

That was about a month ago.
According to the vendor, my X60s will arrive tomorrow!!

This is precisely what I have experienced with Sony. In addition based on the prices they charge here in the U.S. they are not a good deal even if the build quality was better.

I'm happy to hear that you are getting and X60s, you will be so impressed and happy that you made the decision to get one.

Here's hoping that it arrives soon.
Archer6

I don't have a lot of experience with the SZ, but I did look at it in a store for a while before making my purchasing decision (X60s). Archer6's points basically cover the issues I found with the SZ. Flexy keyboard with little key travel. Average build quality. The machine looks great on papers, but in person its build quality and robustness don't impress. Add that to Sony's poor reputation for durability and service, and it was a no go for me.

Send a PM to Oscar !

He has a Sony SZ18GP/C and had some thinkpads....

MIB wrote:nice and informative post, i was considering buying a sony sz too for my parents, but likely will drop it from the candidate list. I am still considering fujitsu p7120 though.

At first my reaction to the Fujitsu was positive, however since then I have become aware of the following:

1) It has a 1.8" 4200 PATA hard drive (very slow compared to the 5200 rpm SATA drive in the X60s)
2) The form factor in width and depth is just barely smaller than the X60s and it's actually heavier and thicker.
3) It has a small 10.6" display compared to the 12.1" of the X60s
4) The keystroke is only 2.0 vs. 2.5 on the X60s
5) Build quality is less than X60s (I put my X side by side w/Fujitsu)
6) It's more a lot more expensive that the X60s.

Hope this helps.
Archer6

archer6 wrote:

MIB wrote:nice and informative post, i was considering buying a sony sz too for my parents, but likely will drop it from the candidate list. I am still considering fujitsu p7120 though.

At first my reaction to the Fujitsu was positive, however since then I have become aware of the following:

1) It has a 1.8" 4200 PATA hard drive (very slow compared to the 5200 rpm SATA drive in the X60s)
2) The form factor in width and depth is just barely smaller than the X60s and it's actually heavier and thicker.
3) It has a small 10.6" display compared to the 12.1" of the X60s
4) The keystroke is only 2.0 vs. 2.5 on the X60s
5) Build quality is less than X60s (I put my X side by side w/Fujitsu)
6) It's more a lot more expensive that the X60s.

Hope this helps.
Archer6

Thanks Archer, yes the P7120 is definitely not a power house. Personally I will go for X60s anytime, so I got one . The laptop is for my mom and she will just use it to check email browsing etc, so performance is not too big an issue, and...to women, sometimes the looks is more important than a lot other things. She looked at my x60s and said the TP just too dull for her

MIB wrote:Thanks Archer, yes the P7120 is definitely not a power house. Personally I will go for X60s anytime, so I got one . The laptop is for my mom and she will just use it to check email browsing etc, so performance is not too big an issue, and...to women, sometimes the looks is more important than a lot other things. She looked at my x60s and said the TP just too dull for her

Nice Work!

An interesting note is that I know someone who works for Sony in their DVD production unit and he purchased a 12" Powerbook of all things. It turns out that most of the employees there don't even use SONY notebooks but powerbooks! I find that somewhat amusing.

cheers,

cj3209 wrote:An interesting note is that I know someone who works for Sony in their DVD production unit and he purchased a 12" Powerbook of all things. It turns out that most of the employees there don't even use SONY notebooks but powerbooks! I find that somewhat amusing.

cheers,

Thanks for this info.... it does put things in a new light!

What I heard about Fujistu is that they have the best screen.

Hows the screen compared to the X60s?

Brave_turtle wrote:What I heard about Fujistu is that they have the best screen.

My personal experience is that while Fujitsu's do have a very nice display, it's not as good as a ThinkPad screen. The only way to confirm this is to compare them side by side with each other, so that they are viewed in the same ambient lighting and surroundings. Also it's important to spend some time comparing them as opposed to just viewing them in a store.

The comparsion of P7120 and X60 should say that P7120 has internal DVD drive and better display resolution. Unfortunately its keyboard layout still can't beat ThinkPad.

Puppy wrote:The comparsion of P7120 and X60 should say that P7120 has internal DVD drive and better display resolution. Unfortunately its keyboard layout still can't beat ThinkPad.

More specifically:

X60 ---- 12.1" display @ 1024x768 (large bright display)
P7120-- 10.6" display @ 1280x768 (smaller screen = better resolution?)

X60 --- Secure latches on display to provide secure closing.
P7120 --No screen latches to hold display closed.

X60 ---- 2.5" 5400 rpm hard drive (distinct speed advantage)
P7120 --1.8" 4200 rpm hard drive

X60 ---- DVD in available / removable / ultrabase
P7120 --DVD built in