The best branded products ...

[hyperD]

I suspect Threaded ...

Where's Wally, er, Threaded?

[doodab]

I would argue the toss especially as the S and SZ series were never the top of the range models (that has always been TZ followed by Z series).

You are thinking of the modern ones. 6-7 years ago there was no Z series, the "first" S series was a top of the range sub 2kg 13" ultraportable (Sony VAIO S series - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia), it was replaced by the SZ series (first ones with a super light carbon fiber case) around 2006 and the Z series followed on from that about 2008/2009. They have been for quite a long time about the lightest laptops with "full fat" innards that you can get, and when I bought mine they were about the only full power laptops around at that size and weight.

Thinkpads are built as tanks which if that is what you want is brilliant. If what you want is light weight vaio is about the only option but because they are light weight they won't take the beating a Thinkpad will. The three TZ and Z series Vaio's I've had over the last eight years are all going strong tho although that could be because I treated them well rather than throwing them around.

It's pretty pointless making the lightest laptops if they won't survive actually being used or taken out of the house in the cases you sell for them. FWIW the first Sony I had was some big heavy 16" thing with a P4 processor that I bought in 2001 and it was still going strong when I gave it away at the end of 2005.

I took my S3 to work every day for a year or so in the Sony slip case, after that it lived on a desk for a bit and around the house. The buttons are cheap and plasticy like a low end phone, the metallic look plastic wore so it's just grey on the edges, a key fell off the keyboard, the PSU stopped working after a while, I replaced it and the machine itself died after about 4 years. I actually just found it in it's little case on the bookshelf the other day, might have a go at fixing it later. The SZ went work every day for a couple of years in it's Sony case then it became a house cat. It died after 3 1/2 years, just refused to start up. Neither of them were "thrown around".

I know I paid a premium for top end tech and super light weight, but for a so called premium product the build quality and durability was not up to snuff. That might not be an issue for a £500 product but at more than three times the price I think Sony would do better to stop worrying about shaving 50g off and build things to last, especially as it's no longer the case that Sony are the only people offering full power hardware in an ultralight package. There are plenty of small, light laptops with Core i5 and i7 in now, and you can put 8GB and an SSD in any of them. Most of them are cheaper as well.

[doodab]

Kitchen Utensils: Rösle

[Freamon]

Taps: Grohe