Thankfully, they are backlit, yet like the previous Z, there’s no way to manually adjust the brightness.
That’s not to say it isn’t comfortable - it actually is, and I love the way the screen hinge props up the panel at a slight angle - but flat out (pun perhaps intended!), the keys aren’t as homey as others out there. The entire panel feels shallow and the plastic keys somewhat mushy. The spacing of the keys is just right, but the height isn’t. LI’ve typed the brunt of this review on the VAIO Z’s chiclet keyboard, and while I wouldn’t describe it as an unpleasant experience, I did find myself missing the previous Z keyboard and my MacBook Pro’s panel. But don’t let me tell you what to do with your $2,000 investment! I can’t say if it will wear well over time, but it’s absolutely the sort of laptop you will want to keep protected in a neoprene sleeve of some sort. According to one of the Z’s product managers, that’s actually intentional - apparently, the product designers worked with the carbon fiber to give the screen some added flexibility - but regardless, it makes the upper half of the system feel cheaper than it should. Overall, I have to say the carbon fiber coating and the aluminum-core give the system a very sturdy feel, but there is some noticeable bend to the lid.
Sony opted to send me the black and indigo model - which our own Nilay Patel has pointed out looks as if it was made to match the Joker in the 1989 "Batman" - however, those who prefer a more villain-free color combo have all-black and gray / black versions to choose from. Also, the way the screen hinge props up the keyboard when opened is very cool. Like many VAIO fans, I took the removal of the classic cylindrical hinge / power button a bit hard, but after some hard thinking, I’ve decided the new model’s sleeker look, flared edges, and tapered bottom make up for it. The entire system is covered in a smooth carbon fiber, which intrinsically gives it a very simple and minimalistic aesthetic. Sony's upped its game hereīut there’s more to the Z than its thin and light attributes. The Power Media Dock itself houses a slew of other ports - details on that soon. The left has a VGA port and the front edge two separate MagicGate and SD card slots. The right edge is stocked with a 3.5mm headphone jack, one USB 2.0 port, an additional USB 3.0 socket (or the Power Media Dock port, as Sony would like you to call it), a full-sized HDMI jack, and a pull-down Ethernet outlet.
#SONY VAIO S KEYBOARD SERIES#
The Z isn’t as pinch-thin as the MacBook Air or the Samsung Series 9 (at least at their thinnest points), but neither of those can claim to have the Z’s port line up. And a check of the chart below indicates that we can pretty much take that as gospel. I got firsthand proof: one of my friends picked up the laptop and somewhat seriously asked, "What? Is this the lightest laptop ever?" Of course, that’s not totally true, but Sony does claim that it’s the lightest 13-inch standard voltage laptop out there. The 2.57-pound rig is actually lighter than most 10-inch netbooks, and that’s really the first thing anybody is going to notice about it. 66 inches thick, but more shocking is its weight. The previous Z was always portable, but boy, Sony’s upped its game here. So, does the VAIO Z continue to be the must-have ultraportable? Or is it simply just an overly luxurious laptop for Sony to brag about? Hit the break for the in-depth review you’ve been waiting for.
#SONY VAIO S KEYBOARD PLUS#
The spec list is no joke, but of course, neither is its plus $2,000 price.
#SONY VAIO S KEYBOARD 1080P#
And then, of course, there’s its matching slice battery that promises up to 14 hours of battery life as well as that full 1080p display. Its most interesting feature, however, is undoubtedly its new high-speed port based on Intel’s Light Peak, which provides the optic tubes to connect an external GPU and Blu-ray optical drive - what Sony calls the Power Media Dock. The thickness has been practically sliced in half since the previous version, and yet, it’s still powered by a fresh Core i7 processor and speedy solid state drive. The 13.1-inch VAIO Z of 2011 is no different in that regard - it’s the epitome of a groundbreaking computer. Nope, the VAIO Z has never been just any ultraportable, and it’s almost seemed as if the guys in Tokyo have been morally opposed to using anything but brand new technologies in the line - the premiere Z was one of the first laptops to be sold with an SSD and switchable graphics, and the 2010 refreshed model was packed to the brim with the latest components, including a backlit keyboard and a quad-SSD option. Ever since Sony introduced its VAIO Z back in 2008 it’s made one thing very clear: its premium thin and light notebook wasn’t going to be subject to a performance cap like so many others on the market.
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