Leaked: New Sony laptops
Sony Vaio FZ
(Credit: NotebookReview.com)As Lenovo can attest, it's tough to keep a secret in the Internet age. Today Sony joined the club of PC makers with leaked product plans, as forum posters at NotebookReview uncovered details of new Vaio laptops buried deep on Sony's European site.
The new models, reportedly due in July, will include the 11.1-inch ultraportable TZ11 (a follow-up to the existing TX series), the 13.3-inch SZ5, and two new models in the 15.4-inch FZ series. In addition to refreshing the systems with Intel's new Santa Rosa chipset and X3100 graphics, Sony will also be giving the laptops a more subdued design, as shown on the FZ here. According to one forum poster, the TZ series will see more than a component refresh, with a completely new chassis design that incorporates a built-in Webcam and a redesigned keyboard. The latter revision will be particularly welcome, as keyboard comfort has long been one of our key complaints (pun intended) with tiny ultraportables.
Also in the rumor mill for a July release are the 13.3-inch CZ and the 14.1-inch CR series notebooks, though no more information on these models is available.
Michelle Thatcher has been reviewing technology products for nearly a decade. Her current focus is laptop reviews, with some kitchen gadgetry and Web 2.0 thrown in for good measure. 
I'm sure other PC makers are likely to follow.
They aren't "leaked", they are meant to be out in the public eye.
Why? Because venues like c|net will post stories about them and
give free publicity.
Case in point, for all the releases that Apple has been making in
the last couple years, I haven't seen a single leaked iPod picture
or computer picture. These companies can control their product
shots, they just don't want to, and truthfully, why should they
when it is giving them free publicity?
Also, these people that keep pointing out laptops with webcams
on them as copying Macbooks need to get over themselves. I'm
an avid Apple user, but they aren't necessarily copying. PC
manufacturers have taken a clue from Apple's positive sales and
consumer demand for extras and are providing. I agree that
Apple made the laptop webcam popular to the masses, but they
didn't invent it.
If you really want to complain about copying, I would complain
about HP's blatant case design rip-offs. The sudden abundance
of super-glossy laptop cases (some even in white if I remember
right) seems a little suspicious.
- Okay...
- by dopestgingah April 30, 2007 2:43 PM PDT
- True but, Apple certainly did popularized the built in webcam
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- Yeah..
- by Pacu102 August 8, 2007 8:32 PM PDT
- You're repeating what he just said, anyway, this conversation looks way too ridiculus. Mac people idolatrize their machines way too much and Windows... well Windows obviously runs the world! No doubt about that, looks like this is and endless war. Anyway, I don;t have a purpose to switch to Mac as I am very pleased with my Windows machine. Ta ta! and I still can't believe you are still talking about a stuped built-in webcam, and by the way, I love Vaios.
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(9 Comments)concept. But Sony has definately taken note of the Apple line. You
can not deny that this looks very, very similar to the white
MacBook; http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/
eCS/Store/en/-/USD/SY_BrowseCatalog-Start?
CategoryName=cpu_VAIONotebookComputers_NSeries&Dept=com
puters