Laptop Lust

Once again, Sony proves they can compete with the best with the introduction of one of the best-looking, best-performing notebooks on the market. Good things do come in small packages. The Sony Vaio TZ191N notebook has an Intel Centrino Duo processor (a 945GMS chip running at 1.2 GHz) with a bus speed of 533 MHz, 2GB DDR2 SDRAM and a double-layer DVD writer. A Sexy black carbon fiber case, and a screen sharpness to die for - The 11.1-in. WXGA active-matrix TFT color LCD screen has got to be one of the sharpest I have ever laid eyes on. It measures 10.9 in. wide by 7.8 in. deep by 1 in. high and weighs in at a mere 2 lb. 10 oz, slightly more if you add the power cable

Sony has loaded this laptop with a 32GB Ultra ATA flash drive which should provide cooler and quieter operation, long battery life and faster performance. And for once, a laptop lives up to the hype – This runs quiet and cool; The only heat comes from the motherboard which is released through a small vent on the side of the unit and there is no perceptible noise from the drive.

Sony claims that you can get up to seven hours using the Power Saver mode, accept, but I found the dim screen display to be too faint for everyday work. Overall, I preferred the setting that Sony uses as the default. In this “Balanced” mode, the system provided 4.5 hours of battery life with a bright, readable screen that didn’t consistently drop into sleep mode.

I was pleasantly surprised by the performance from the flash drive, almost regardless of how many applications I had running at the same time. I like it and from bench mark tests I have read elsewhere, it performs well. If I was going to part with my MacBook Pro, this is what I’d buy.