For business travellers who want a slim and light laptop with desktop-grade power and features, Sony's Vaio Z could be the dream machine.
With a chassis manufactured from carbon fibre rather than plastic or metal, this sleek 13.3" notebook weighs in at only 1.2kg. It's only 16.7mm thin -- less than the height of two iPhone 4s stacked on top of each other -- yet it runs on a full-speed Intel Core i7 processor.
Here are the six reasons we think this notebook will be a 'category killer' when it's released in Australia. (And before you ask: Sony Australia hasn't announced the local availability date or price, but we know they've already been demonstrating the laptop to many companies in Australia so it can't be far off.)
1. Thunderbolt media dock
The Vaio Z includes the new Thunderbolt port which provides a high-speed link between the laptop and external devices. The difference between Thunderbolt and the common USB 2.0 ports is like comparing an autobahn to a suburban street.
Sony will offer an optional Vaio Z "Power Media Dock 2" which uses Thunderbolt to turn the laptop into a powerful desktop-grade PC.
The dock includes a high-speed AMD Radeon HD graphics card which takes over from the notebook's integrated Intel graphics for heavy-duty work such as CAD and multimedia applications (as well as some serious gaming during your downtime). There's also your choice of a DVD burner or a Blu-Ray drive plus extra HDMI and USB ports.
2. Optional second battery for 14 hours battery life
On top of the Vaio's claimed seven hour battery life, you can buy an optional slim 'sheet' battery which Sony says will double the Vaio's battery life to 14 hours on a single charge – long enough to work non-stop on a flight from Australia to the US.
Given how much notebook companies typically inflate battery-life claims we'd suggest the inbuilt and second battery are more likely to deliver around five hours each (especially if you're using wi-fi) so this will be the first thing Australian Business Traveller tests when we get our hands on a Vaio Z.
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Another boon for travellers is that the sheet battery sits under the laptop rather than being a bolt-on lump at the back. It can also be charged separately from the notebook, and fitted without having to remove the internal battery or turn the machine off.
3. Intel Core i7 processor
Forget about low-voltage processors which trade high performance for longer battery life. Sony's rationale was that with battery life already at seven hours there was no reason not to go for a full-speed Intel Core i7 processor.
This means performance of the machine will be extremely snappy -- as good as a full-size 15" notebook.
It's a testament to Sony's engineering prowess, too, because these chips usually produce too much heat for a slimnotebook to vent effectively. Sony says it is using two fans to keep the system cool.
4. SSD storage
Sony has ditched slow mechanical hard drives, which are a serious performance bottleneck, for lightning-fast solid state disks (SSDs).
These use a supercharged type of flash memory -- a cousin of what's in digital camera memory cards and on USB memory sticks.
In fact, the Vaio Z packs two SSD modules which are used simultaneously to ensure even faster speed than a single drive can provide. The Vaio Z can be ordered with up to 256GB of SSD storage.
CloudTags: Sony Vaio Z Laptop, ultimate, travel notebook, Touch Screen LCD Monitor, LCD Monitors
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