Reply to: The best branded products ...

[Freamon]

Taps: Grohe

[doodab]

Kitchen Utensils: Rösle

[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.

[hyperD]

I suspect Threaded ...

Where's Wally, er, Threaded?

[Clippy]

Pacharan's creator is also Gricer's. I suspect Threaded because both have sad, homosexual-tending, lives like his.

Agreed although I think it is just happy coincidence about them both being sad homos.

[sasguru]

Only slightly surprised you didn't enter any British brands!

Rolls Royce jet engines
Hawk trainers
GSK blockbusting drugs
Oxford/Cambridge
Nissan Qashqai
Autonomy (oops thats Yank now)

[Churchill]

Pacharan's creator is also Gricer's. I suspect Threaded because both have sad, homosexual-tending, lives like his.

Oi SAS, you know you love it!

[sasguru]

Nope, but I stopped reading Pacharan threads a long time ago.

My last theory was its Richard Cranium.

Pacharan's creator is also Gricer's. I suspect Threaded because both have sad, homosexual-tending, lives like his.

[eek]

I disagree. The tech specs might be impressive, and they are very light, but in terms of actual quality it's night and day compared to a Thinkpad.

I've had several VAIOs, the last two being an S and an SZ (predecessors to the Z series) which were bought on the basis of being the most powerful and lightweight machines I could find at the time. They each cost around £1600, neither was any better built than an Acer or Samsung, they start to look tatty very quickly, and the Z series is about the same level of build quality, which is not becoming of something that costs that much. Personally I expect that if I spend that sort of money on a laptop then I ought to be able to hand it down to someone else when I upgrade after a few years, not bin it because it's falling apart or simply expired. My last Sony had bits coming off after two years and died completely after 3 1/2 years. That's why they didn't make the shortlist for a replacement.

The Thinkpads might weigh a bit more but they have a far more high quality feel about them, especially the keyboards, and the level of support from Lenovo is in a different league as well.

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).

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.

[pacharan]

Yes, my dad used to own/run one.

Why you asking?

BTW, it was Wavy Line not Lion.

Because the thread is about branding and in an earlier post I was talking about brands sold by chains of independent traders like Navy Line.

I also have fond memories of the store as I used to cycle down to my local one once a week to buy my Herbert dibdabs.

[MarillionFan]

The sockie meister doesn't want the same IP address associated with two separate CUK accounts.

Which is why you run the other browser via a HideMyIP style link, lest that way it's easy to use sockies at the same time as...

Ooooops.

[Clippy]

The sockie meister doesn't want the same IP address associated with two separate CUK accounts.

[Churchill]

I'm puzzled why he doesn't just use 2 different browsers much easier than typing in a phone.

Though he could have the problem with typing in the wrong one then posting.

Oh FFS, tell me you're not *that* dizzy!

Anyone want to educate Rita? I can't be arsed.

[SueEllen]

Can you think of a more plausible explanation?

I'm puzzled why he doesn't just use 2 different browsers much easier than typing in a phone.

Though he could have the problem with typing in the wrong one then posting.

[Clippy]

Can you think of a more plausible explanation?

Nope, but I stopped reading Pacharan threads a long time ago.

My last theory was its Richard Cranium.