Since the other S series thread is more about discussion of the machine’s specs and whatnot before the release, here’s some impressions of the S vs. the TR after a week’s worth of use along with a lot of comparison pics. gr00vy, if you think this should be merged with the other thread or want me to post it there, that’s cool.
Anyway, I’m not regretting breaking my laptop purchase cycle to pick the S up. In usage, it’s a lot snappier than the TR, probably because all of the specs are better. There’s a 7200 RPM hard drive in there, which helps out immensely compared to the 4200 RPM one that was in there before. The increased keyboard pitch and key travel are most welcome coming from the TR, and the increased footprint isn’t as bad as I had initially thought.
The LCD portion of the machine is noticeably thinner, probably because they didn’t have to stick speakers and a camera in there. It surprisingly runs a lot cooler than my TR2A, I watched DVDs for an hour on the bed and the bottom was only a little warm on the right side, whereas my TR gets hot in the left front. The little feet on the bottom raise the S off of the surface it’s sitting on quite a bit, allowing for better air circulation.
I like the chromed mouse buttons, they have a more satisfying click and look like they’ll hold up a little better than my TR’s buttons. The trackpad has a granier texture than other pads I’ve used, but it seems to improve accuracy.
The battery is the same size as that of the TR, but manages to pack another 500mAh in. It’s good for about 3 1/2 hours of usage with the WLAN on. I like the new status LED panel, there’s a new addition for optical drive access since there’s no light on the drive itself. I haven’t had time to get the Bluetooth set up yet, but did turn it on a few times to see the cool blue light.
The larger XBRITE screen is a wonder, it’s probably because my TR is older, but at max brightness the S series’ screen is noticeably brighter with better contrast. The latchless cam locking mechanism is also very stiff, I don’t remember the TR being similar even when new.
I’ll be using this as more of a game, productivity, and media machine, leaving presentations, web surfing, email, and DVDs on the go to the TR. Pictures follow…
i assume u changed the HD from 4200 rpm to 7200 rpm, correct? if so, what HD do u use and how much is it?
at last i see that S170 is made in usa. i never really trust made in usa electronics cause they tend to break compare to made in japan stuff. sony made in usa has lots of problems (see their bigger desktop replacement notebook, for example) compare to sony made in japan stuff (TR, picturebook, etc). another example is their horrible customer support and service. if sony america can’t service their product, i don’t trust them building one as well. i dont trust american products (car, electronics, just to name a few). i guess if this is the case, i m going to import the S from japan and just buy the US keyboard to replace the jdm keyboard and buy the DVD recovery disc here to restore it completely.
Yeah, the graphics (I got the Radeon 9700) are much faster. Haven’t found the time to pop some games on yet, but screen redraws are quick and the DVD functions of the Radeon chip make for a better experience.
The 7200RPM drive is the Hitachi/IBM 7K60 model, it was about $200 IIRC. I haven’t noticed a decrease in battery life, and it’s just as quiet as the slower drives.
Thanks for your review with the pics. I wish I had the cash flow to try out both. lol
It looks like you’ll still be using your TR still, which serves its purpose of a 2nd laptop. For, me its still my first. Its so funny when I first bought my TR I thought I would use it for business, maybe even as a primary computer.
Not the fact. I use it more for surfing the web. Sending e-mails, shopping.
When I first bought it I was amazed with the DVD player with movies in widescreen. But now I use my lcd widescreen in my bedroom with HDTV for that.
I love I mean love my TR. I think everything has its purpose. ANd as you shown us here that the type ‘S’ I love the sound of that symbol. Type S. Anything the make car, computers whatever is always kewl with the type “S”
Well, have to find out in the long run how it goes. Keep us in tune.
With the screen looking better. I compared a lot of lcds and the all look different. Even 2 TR’s same make same model have differt tints, brightness, sharpness. I always thought the TR had one hell of a screen, escpecially for its size.
You have to remeber not only you have the new technology from sonys screen on the ‘Type S’ you have one kick A$$ grafics card. That could help out a lot…
which side is the memory stick slot in? i like to remove the memory stick with one hand on the tr and i often accidently switch the bt/wifi button to off without realizing(would be troubleshooting for a while before i finally realize.. :oops:)
Great pics, but still prefer my TR for its size, colour, overall quality.
Only thing that I would consider the S Type for is the Radeon 9700 as for my needs the TR has everything I want but could do with better graphics performance.
Gameson,
I was at BestBuy and played with the same notebook and I saw with my own eyes MADE IN JAPAN! When I saw pics of this one I was surprised to see it was made in the US. Weird.
Stan
[quote author=“psikey”]Great pics, but still prefer my TR for its size, colour, overall quality.
Only thing that I would consider the S Type for is the Radeon 9700 as for my needs the TR has everything I want but could do with better graphics performance.
I have to agree with you, psikey. I do not game enough to want the ‘S’ right now. Additionally, the TR does not hinder my productivity. The next TR should have the next generation integrated graphics (GMA 900). While it is substantially better than the current TR graphics, it is a far cry from the Radeon 9700 or even an ‘X300’ for that matter.
[quote author=“linc”]which side is the memory stick slot in? i like to remove the memory stick with one hand on the tr and i often accidently switch the bt/wifi button to off without realizing(would be troubleshooting for a while before i finally realize.. :oops:)
The Memory Stick slot is located at the front of the computer under the trackpad, it’s kind of tough to get used to and isn’t as easy to access.
[quote author=“VAIOfreak”]Gameson,
I was at BestBuy and played with the same notebook and I saw with my own eyes MADE IN JAPAN! When I saw pics of this one I was surprised to see it was made in the US. Weird.
Stan
I wonder if the stock S series models are made in Japan, my friend’s which was bought at retail is from Japan, while the one I custom-configured at sonystyle.com was a U.S. model.
[quote author=“VAIOfreak”]Gameson,
I was at BestBuy and played with the same notebook and I saw with my own eyes MADE IN JAPAN! When I saw pics of this one I was surprised to see it was made in the US. Weird.
Stan
at bestbuy, it’s S150. it’s pre-configured. if it’s pre-configured (like TR), then most likely is made in japan. but S170 is not pre-configured, therefore it says ‘made in USA but with foreign components’. most sony products, if it’s small and expensive, most likely made in japan. i’ll bet that if U series is on sale here in USA, it will say made in japan cause the hardware is assembled there and it’s pre-configured. this happens not only with sony, but with most of japanese products, like lexus. i think all lexus cars are made in japan (check the vin, if it starts with J, it’s 100% japanese part and japanese labor). i like buying ‘made in japan’ stuff, cause they take pride of making one, not like american worker. all they care is their money and it’s done, quantity, not quality. if you have seen the movie (i don’t remember the title, but it’s 80s), where one japanese company starts investing in usa to build cars, the quality drops. another example is acura TL. the TL series is build in USA, and you will see that most TL has problems in their tranny among others. i bet u that TL has more problems then acura RSX, even though RSX is cheaper, cause RSX is japanese made.
Whoa!!! Awesome pics, Cellery!! Thanks a ton for the review as well. I hope that one day, I’ll be able to purchase the S-series, but it does look a little big—but the thinness and the additional power might make up for that a ton!
That’s probably the best game-machine/travel-media-center/portable-desktop all in one! in an ultraportable. >>Needs to save money ....
I am thinking of switching mainly because the 1 Mhz processor on my TR2 oftens maxes out as displayed in task manager. In fact I often crash the machine with no way out but power key for 5 seconds. I do have 1 GB of ram and increased my “page size” but still when running multiple programs….crash!! The camera seems particularly vulnerable to system crash.
Also when launching a large video file with a program such as quicktime, the load time is very long…30 seconds or so.
I dont really know if i have other software/hardware issues…or if the processor/embedded graphics is the problem. Is there a distinct performance advantage with the “S”... snappiness, lack of overload, crashing, program launch speed, etc??
I use my TR as my sole laptop: business and pleasure…maybe its just not capable?
