Sony VAIO VPC-Z116GX/S 13.1-Inch Laptop (Silver)

by Sony

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 12.4 x 1.3 inches ; 3 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 5.4 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B00365DXAK
• Item model number: VPC-Z116GX/S
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,728 in Computers & Accessories (See Top 100 in Computers & Accessories)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: February 10, 2010

Product Description

Model: VPC-Z116GX/S

Built tough for business, the VAIO Z notebook offers the portability of a 3 lbs (with standard capacity battery) form factor with the functionality and performance of a larger computer.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars amazing hardware, April 26, 2010

By 

Narada "the wondering jew" (Princeton, NJ, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Sony VAIO VPC-Z112GX/S 13.1-Inch Laptop (Silver) (Personal Computers)

I am more of a Mac user usually, but I need a windows machine occasionally, and this is far and away the best piece of hardware I have ever had (in case you wonder, I also have a thinkpad X200 and macbook pros of all sizes). The hardware spec is very similar to the last generation of macbook pro (same graphics card, similar CPU), but this is a 3lb machine, vs a 6lb mbp). The SSD is blazingly fast, the machine never gets even slightly warm (despite the fact that I usually run a number of CPU hogs on it), the keyboard is amazingly comfortable (It has a similar chicklet layout to the MBP keyboard), the screen is phenomenal (by contrast, the Thinkpad screen is much too dim). I am sure there is a bit of bloatware, but I don't notice it (256GB is a lot of bits), and the default browser is Chrome. Windows 7 is the most usable Windows release yet, which may or may not be saying much.

To comment on another review: I am very much a unix person, but if you want to run unix on a laptop, just get a mac, and certainly DO NOT get a sony. Sony has always made slightly incompatible hardware (I got my first Sony ultraportable in the late 1990s -- same problems). That said, I have NEVER had a linux laptop which ran properly (Thinkpads, Dells, Acer, you name it). Power management is always goofy, the display drivers are always a little off, etc, etc. Run linux at home/work, and use a vnc client to connect, if linux is that important to you. Every single old unix hack I know carries a mac (that includes some of the fathers of the open source movement) -- essentially every useful piece of linux software runs (sometimes better) under OSX.

Anyway, giving two stars to the Vaio because it is not a unix box is like giving two stars to your ferrari because it won't go offroad (or conversely, to your landrover because it can't keep up with a mustang GT from a light). Use the right tool for the job.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Screen Issue, August 25, 2010

By 

Long B Nguyen - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sony VAIO VPC-Z112GX/S 13.1-Inch Laptop (Silver) (Personal Computers)

I would recommend against purchasing this laptop. I purchased this in April 2010 for $2300. A month or so later, I started seeing lines on the LCD screen which I thought were dirt marks form the keys on the keyboard. I tried to wipe it off, but it didn't come off. Apparently, the lines are scratch marks caused by the keys on the keyboard. The LCD screen is designed to be too closed to the keyboard. The scratch marks are in the shape of the keys. Contact Sony and at first, they blame it on me for scratching it and said it was outside of warranty. After reasoning with them that there are no other signs of damage on the laptop (no signs of puncture, drop, or other type of accidents", they retracted their claim and provided the repair.

You can Google this issue with this laptop and you will see that there are many other people with this problems. I am not the only one. And the responses from Sony have been the same with first denying the problem and then blaming the customer.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent lightweight, but fully capable laptop, May 7, 2010

By 

Cincinnatus (Fayetteville NC) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Sony VAIO VPC-Z116GX/S 13.1-Inch Laptop (Silver) (Personal Computers)

This is my third "Z-series" Sony Vaio (I previously owned a VGN-SZ750N which replaced an earlier VGN-SZ680N).

The VPC-Z116GX/S is awesome. Its lighter, faster and with Windows 7 64-bit Professional it just snaps along.

The smaller form-factor screen with its much higher resolution over that of the VGN-SZ series takes some getting used to.

I use this (like I used the others) for work and play (I travel a lot) and it is a perfect balance between portability (weight and size) and power for me.

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