Sony VAIO VGN-TZ160N/B 11.1" Laptop (Intel Core 2 Duo Processor U7500, 2 GB RAM, 100 GB Hard Drive, Vista Business) Black

Average customer rating:

Nearly perfect provided one does some work first.

Small, Beautiful, Almost Perfect

Despite popular belief this subnotebook is best ever..

Poorly made, bad service, and a ton of adware!

Sony VAIO VGN-TZ160N/B 11.1" Laptop (Intel Core 2 Duo Processor U7500, 2 GB RAM, 100 GB Hard Drive, Vista Business) Black

Manufacturer: Sony IT
ProductGroup: Personal Computer
Binding: Personal Computers

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Product Features:

Ultra-lightweight laptop for road warriors with charcoal black carbon fiber case, 11.1-inch screen

100 GB hard drive, 1 GB of RAM (2 GB maximum), 1.06 GHz Ultra Low Voltage Intel Core 2 Duo U7500 processor

Two USB 2.0, one Firewire, one Memory Stick/SD slots, ExpressCard slot; dual-layer DVD+/-RW drive

Quad-mode Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/n), Bluetooth, Gigabit Ethernet, Intel GMA 950 (up to 224 MB of shared RAM)

Pre-installed with Windows Vista Business; ready for Sprint Broadband WWAN service (subscription required)

ASIN: B000TRMIKY
Release Date: 2007-08-01

Amazon.com Product Description

Take a load off your shoulders when you're racing for your plane with the sleekly designed and ultra-portable Sony Vaio VGN-TZ160N/B notebook PC. Weighing just 2.7 pounds, it offers a sleek, durable carbon-fiber case in charcoal black and a unique rounded hinge design. (Carbon fiber, the same material used on jets and sports cars to keep them lightweight yet sturdy, is much stronger than the magnesium used on standard notebooks.) And with 4 to 7.5 hours of standard battery life, it has the stamina to power you through your most demanding applications. It also includes a redesigned keyboard that balances a smart, sophisticated look with user-friendly touch and feel, and an 11.1-inch LCD using Sony's XBRITE-HiColor technology with an energy-saving white LED backlight for brilliant colors and added clarity.

Sony takes security serious, and this laptop employs a biometric fingerprint sensor to ensure your data is protected from unauthorized use. It also stores passwords to secure web sites you visit, so authentication and access are quick and easy--you only need your fingerprint. With the integrated wireless WAN, you can access the national Sprint Mobile Broadband service (subscription required) to extend your wireless coverage beyond LAN access networks and hotspots, giving you the freedom to go farther, do more, and stay connected.

It's powered by the 1.06 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo ULV (Ultra-Low Voltage) U7500 processor from the newest ""Santa Rosa"" line of chips. It offers an optimized, multithreaded architecture for improved gaming and multitasking performance as well as low power consumption for longer battery life. It includes Intel's 4965 AGN wireless LAN, which will connect to draft 802.11n routers and offers compatibility with 802.11a/b/g networks as well. Other features include a shock-resistant 100 GB hard drive, 2 GB of installed RAM (maximum capacity), Bluetooth wireless capability (for connecting to peripherals such as PDAs, cell phones, and printers), dual-layer DVD burner, Gigabit Ethernet, and a Memory Stick PRO reader.

The preinstalled Microsoft Windows Vista Business features a new user interface, named Windows Aero, that makes it easy to navigate through the operating system and from application to application. For instance, Windows Aero helps you juggle multiple tasks at once by providing a three-dimensional, real-time, animated view of all your open applications and documents. Vista also integrates new search tools throughout the operating system, includes new parental control features, and offers new tools that can warn you of impending hardware failures.

The Basics

Processor: The Ultra Low Voltage Intel Core 2 Duo U7500 processor offers a 1.06 GHz speed paired with a fast 533 MHz front-side bus and large 2 MB L2 cache. (An L2, or secondary, cache temporarily stores data; and a larger L2 cache can help speed up your system's performance. The FSB carries data between the CPU and RAM, and a faster front-side bus will deliver better overall performance.) Part of Intel's "Santa Rosa" lineup of chips, this ULV processor is designed for high performance and low power consumption--perfect for advanced multi-tasking, and 4 to 7.5 hours of standard battery life on a single charge.
Hard Drive: The 100 GB UltraATA hard drive (4200 RPM) is average in size for notebook PCs--but a bit larger than you'll find in comparable ultra-light notebooks. It offers more than enough capacity for storing documents and productivity software for road warriors. You'll also be able to store a good-sized digital audio library.
The G-Sensor Shock Protection feature makes your data even less vulnerable to loss or damage. When the built-in 3-D acceleration sensor detects a risky movement like being dropped, the HDD-head will lock up to secure its position and protect the disc from scratching. An intelligent algorithm, unique to VAIO PCs, judges whether or not a movement is risky, activating disk drive protection only when your hardware is at risk.
Memory: This laptop has two memory slots and comes loaded with 2 GB of DDR SDRAM (PC4200, 533 MHz DDR RAM; 2 x 1024 MB), which maximizes the capacity of this PC.
DVD/CD Drive: The dual-layer DVD drive is compatible with a wide range of formats, including both DVD+RW and DVD-RW discs, CD-RW discs, and dual-layer (DL) DVD+/-R discs, which can hold up to 8.5 GB of data--great for backing up your MP3 collection or your most important documents. It features the following speeds: 4x for DVD+R DL, 4x for DVD-R DL, 8x for both single layer DVD+R/-R, 8x for single layer DVD+RW, 6x for single layer DVD-RW, and 24x/16x for CD-R/RW. It reads DVD-ROM discs at 8x and CD-ROMs at 24x.
Keyboard & Mouse: This notebook has a standard 82-key keyboard (1.7mm stroke and 17mm pitch) and electro-static two-button touchpad. Designed for ease of use and a smart, sophisticated look, the individual keys are slightly raised, producing a user-friendly touch and feel to the keyboard that creates an improved typing experience. In addition, an extra support layer has been added below the bezel to increase the structural integrity of the keyboard and add stability to the keys, giving them an unwavering up-down motion and making for quieter typing.

Screen, Video & Audio
The 11.1-inch XBRITE-HiColor LCD with white LED backlight has a resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels--perfect for watching movies in their intended 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio. Sony's innovative backlight technology offers lower power consumption for improved battery life and provides incredibly high brightness levels, amplifying colors and creating clear, crisp pictures that truly ""pop"" off the LCD. The result: an amazing 72% color saturation for deeper blacks, brighter whites, true-to-life color and razor-sharp detail. And, with the anti-reflective coating to minimize reflection while providing a wide viewing angle, you'll enjoy a beautifully clear image from almost any angle.

Sony's Smart Display Sensor feature instantly adjusts resolution when you connect to a display or projector. Video is powered by the Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950, which uses Intel Dynamic Video Memory Technology (DVMT) and provides up to 224 MB of total graphics memory from the system memory. Audio is powered by Sony's Sound Reality audio enhancer.

Networking, Connectivity & Expansion
Be ready for the next platform in wireless connectivity with the integrated Intel Wireless Wi-Fi Link 4965 AGN LAN chip. Based on the draft 802.11n Wi-Fi specification, it offers up to five times the performance and twice the wireless range as existing 802.11g wireless. It's also backward compatible with 802.11b/g networks (commonly found in home routers and Wi-Fi hotspots) as well as 802.11a networks (which has a higher throughput, but more limited range--great for closed office environments). This notebook also features Sony's SmartWi technology, which seamlessly integrates wireless Wide Area Network (WAN), office/home Wi-Fi LAN, and Bluetooth technologies, enabling you to toggle among your wireless connectivity options depending on your surroundings. Sprint's Mobile Broadband high-speed EV-DO service (software included, subscription requires) enables you to extend your wireless coverage beyond LAN access networks and wireless hotspots, helping you to keep connected without having to hunt for a Wi-Fi coffee shop.

With the Bluetooth connectivity, you can communicate and synchronize with Bluetooth-enabled peripherals such as PDAs and cell phones. This notebook also includes a next-generation ExpressCard 34 card slot (replacing the PCMCIA slot), which lets you take advantage of thinner, faster, and lighter expansion cards for even more advanced wireless, networking, storage, and security features. Here's the full list of connection options:

2 USB 2.0 ports for connecting a wide range of peripherals--from digital cameras to MP3 players
1 FireWire (also known as IEEE 1394 or i.Link) port for connecting digital video camcorders and other peripherals
1 ExpressCard/34 slot
1 VGA monitor out
Stereo headphones/speakers/line-out
Microphone/line-in
Memory Stick slot (with MagicGate functionality)
Secure Digital memory card slot (also compatible with MMC cards)

It also has an integrated 56K modem (V.90) and an RJ-45 LAN network port (for a Gigabit Ethernet connection to networks and DSL/cable modems).

Operating System
The Windows Vista Business operating system is designed to meet the needs of business organizations of all sizes. For small businesses, Windows Vista Business will help keep PCs running smoothly and more securely so you will be less reliant on dedicated IT support. For larger organizations, Windows Vista Business provides dramatic new infrastructure improvements, enabling your IT staff to spend less time focused on the day-to-day maintenance of PCs. An array of sophisticated new backup technologies helps protect your information even in the event of a catastrophic hardware failure. And Windows Vista Business has a new user interface, named Windows Aero, which is designed to deliver new levels of efficiency for any business user. This new interface makes it easy to navigate through the operating system and from application to application. For instance, Windows Aero helps you juggle multiple tasks at once by providing a three-dimensional, real-time, animated view of all your open applications and documents.

Every edition of Windows Vista provides the essential tools and technologies to help protect you whether you are browsing the Internet, connecting to a wireless network, or just reading e-mail. All editions of Windows Vista include new tools that can warn you of impending hardware failures long before you have lost any important personal data. And, all Windows Vista editions include parental control features that allow you to manage and monitor your family's use of games, the Internet, instant messaging, and other activities.

Preloaded Software
Includes Sony Click to DVD (for easy DVD creation), Microsoft Works, Microsoft Office 2007 (60-day trial), Symantec Norton Internet Security 2007 (with 60 days of Live Update), SmartWi, LocationFree Player.

Dimensions & Weight
This notebook measures 10.9 x 7.8 x 1.17 inches (WxDxH) and weighs 2.7 pounds.

Power
It's powered by the VGP-BPL11 rechargeable lithium-ion battery, which has a battery life of between 4 and 7.5 hours (depending on usage).

What's in the Box
This package contains the VGN-TZ160N/B notebook PC, rechargeable lithium-ion battery, AC adapter, and operating instructions. It is backed by a one-year limited hardware warranty, and Sony offers 1-year of toll-free telephone technical assistance.

Product Description

The Sony VAIO(R) TZ series notebook is remarkably tiny and light. At about 2.7 lbs (with starndard battery) with 4 to 7.5 hours of standard battery life and durable carbon-fiber casing, the VAIO(R) TZ notebook is built for ultra-portable performance. With an 11.1? diagonal display with XBRITE-HiColor LCD technology, an Intel Core 2 Duo processor and 802.11 a/b/g/n wireless LAN technology you'll be able to stay connected and productive wherever you find yourself. With a 100GB hard-drive and a DVD multidrive, there's no compromise in storage and performance. Finally a complete notebook PC that's no big thing to lug around. It's waiting for you. Intel 950 Graphics with up to 224MB Total Available Graphics Memory Multimedia Card Reader - Memory Stick(R) PRO (with MagicGate(TM) functionality), Secure Digital Media, One ExpressCard /34 Slot Connectivity - Ethernet Port - 1; Headphone Jack - 1; i.LINK(R) IEEE1394 Interface - 1 (4-pin) interface; emory Stick Media Slot - 1; Secure Digital Slot - 1; RJ11 Modem port 1; RJ45 Ethernet 1; Microphone Input - 1; Port Replicator Connector - 1 (Bottom) requires optional replicator; USB Port(s) - 2 (2.0 compliant); VGA Output - 1; DC-In - 1 Wireless LAN - Intel PRO/Wireless 4965AGN Network Connection (802.11a/b/g/n) Wireless WAN - Sprint Mobile Broadband service (requires subscription) Standard Capacity Lithium-ion Battery (VGP-BPL11) with Estimated Battery Life - 4.0-7.5 hours per full charge / Dual-Volt AC adapter/charger Unit Measurements - 10.9(W) 0.8 - 1.17(H) 7.8(D) / 2.7 lbs with standard battery installed Color - Black Sony 1-Year Warranty - (toll-free assistance, available 24-hours, 7-days-a-week); Online and E-mail support

Customer Reviews:

Nearly perfect provided one does some work first........2007-12-23

To start with, because Amazon is lumping all the TZ reviews together, I should mention I purchased the VGN-TZ160N/B model, which is one of the non Solid State Drive (SSD) models available in the TZ series. Having heard how "slow" the non SSD models were, I was expecting to be disappointed with program load times and boot and shutdown times. However, the experience has definitely been positive thus far in my brief time of ownership.

First, I decided I didn't want to go back to Windows XP (you can order XP downgrade disks from Sony for free), so I did a clean install of Vista Business. This was required because Sony preloads their computers with so much junk software that hogs up resources: AOL, Norton, you name it. I had 96+ processes running in Task Manage upon first booting up my TZ--deplorable! Because I was familiar with doing this before on another Sony computer, the process of clean install took about half an evening to finish, counting the time it took to install the drivers and utilities on Sony's website.

After the clean install and installing all my favorite programs, I am now done to 48 processes running in Task Manager (a drop of almost 50 processes!) and I can safely say the system is definitely usable without any hitches. My previous computer is a Desktop with XP Media Center, a Pentium 4 processor, and 1GB of RAM and the TZ seems to run much better/faster than the dekstop despite this being an ultraportable with a slower RPM HDD (4200) AND with memory-intensive Vista! I can definitely say I'm happy with the performance of my TZ considering how small and lightweight is. I've already packaged up my old desktop and deciding where to relocate it to because I'm so pleased with the performance of my TZ--though like many have mentioned, I would not say this is a desktop replacement for most people (my computing needs are basic, so I am easy to please).

This brings me to the design of the TZ. The first thing I noticed upon opening the package is how awesome the clean silver VAIO logo looks contrasting the dark black top lid cover. Looks like a perfect canvas for doing some custom engraving/skinning...

...But after lifting the TZ's lid, nothing, I mean nothing, could prepare me for how breathtaking the TZ's keyboard looks. I am a HUGE fan of glossy piano black for electronics (Playstation 3, Sony XBR3/5 TV, and so on), and the keyboard is housed in a piano black frame with room between the keys. I have never used this type of keyboard before and I must say it feels wonderful. The keys are a bit small (especially the Function keys). I would really advise that you get a keyboard protector to protect the keyboard area because glossy surfaces such as this can get smudges and scratches easily.

Oh, and did I mention how awesome that green light emitting from the power button (located on the right side) looks yet? This is such a unique looking notebook!

Yes, the 11.1" widescreen 1366x768 resolution LCD screen is gorgeous, but when you've been used to high quality Sony HD displays for so long now, such as Sony's XBR LCD Digital TVs, you don't really get wow'd anymore. :) I have never had experience typing on an 11.1" screen before and I am already used to it in less than a day now. You should probably go to a store though and see if you like how small the screen is.

I should point out that getting the TZ had never been my initial goal in choosing a laptop: I had recently ordered a 13.3" Sony VAIO SZ, but returned it because I didn't like how big it is (screen, size, housing, etc.). It was not comfortable to hold and carry around. The TZ's 11.1" is truly "portable" in my definition and I can see myself taking this notebook and laying it on our really small desks at school with zero trouble. I can't say that about the 13.3" screen SZ. Also, the TZ's screen does not suffer from the banding problem the SZ600's screen seem to have...

Programs wise, everything runs fine thus far. I am constantly having Winamp (Music/Video), Thunderbird (E-mail) and 3+ Firefox (Internet) tabs open, and it all runs smooth like butter--so light multitasking is fine. I do worry that having Photoshop CS3 and more memory intensive applications like Netbeans (for programming assignments) running simultaneously might slow it down just a bit, but I haven't tested this yet extensively to comment. Photoshp CS3 loads in ~10 seconds counting the splash screen credits.

The battery life seems standard. About 4-5 hours with light optimizations done to your brightness and volume, and probably 3-4 hours with full brightness/volume. I can see myself pushing it to 6-7 hours at the most. Sony sells an extended battery which will offer better life (I've heard around 10 hours) but it will cost you.

I am happy to report I have not had one crash in all this time of tinkering, formatting, and installing programs. Nothing has failed me yet. Everything is just working perfectly. Function keys, Memory card slots, USB slots, Internet WIFI, battery and all are working as they should. I set the notebook to always turn off when I close the lid when it is running only on battery, and it always does that; and when it's running on power, it instead goes to sleep (just as I wanted). Can't ask for more precision than that.

The TZ seems like a great notebook: it has the performance I need from an ultraportable (albeit my requirements are probably not "high") and the outstanding looks and aesthetics (as usual from Sony) are just the icing on the cake. Truly though, I don't recommend purchasing the TZ if you do not plan to do a clean install of the operating system, so that is why I dock one star from my rating due to Sony preloading it with so much bloatware (otherwise it gets 5 stars). I can only say I am 100% glad and happy I bought a TZ. It's been a wonderful experience thus far.

December 24, 2007 Update:
I just wanted to share my boot-up and shut down times since I forgot to include them in my review. These were timed with a stop watch.
Cold boot-up: 50 seconds.
Shut-down: 25 seconds.

Very pleased.

Small, Beautiful, Almost Perfect.......2007-10-17

When you buy a Sony laptop, think two things: Beautiful and expensive. This machine delivers both.

When I first opened the small box, I couldn't help but be impressed by the complete miniturization of everything, including the AC adaptor (thanks Sony!). Even though the keyboard is smaller, I found it comfortable to type on, similar to a Macbook. The screen is gorgeous! This laptop is quiet, thanks to an SSD 32 GB "hard diskless" configuration. This laptop does not generate anywhere the amount of heat I have forcibly had to get used to. It gets warm, but not hot.

There's always a negative with laptops, and with this machine it's disk space. I'm telling you, they couldn't fit another third party trial application on this machine. Sony exec are whores. Beautiful and expensive whores, but whores nonetheless. I'm pretty sure I could get my application bundled into the next Vaio if I tried hard enough. Anyway, back to the facts. Start with a 32 GB SSD, which is really 30.7 in real life (nasty little Gigabyte to Megabyte to byte conversion - - - 1024 bytes vs. 1MB - - so you lose 24 bytes per MB in real life). OK, so take off 8 GB off the 30.7 because they don't include recovery disks, they created a "recovery partition" on the laptop itself, so you're down to say 22 GB. Vista is a hog, and so MS Office 2007, and so is the biometric fingerprint reader software and so is the adware, the trialware, the multimedia software, the Click to CD software, etc, etc, etc .....

Whew... You're left with about 8 GB of hard drive space ... I don't know about you and your usage, but 8 GB (to start out with!) is practically nothing. This does not work for me. Maybe it will for you, but not me. So what do you do ...........

Downgrade your new Vaio to Windows XP. Ouch! The Vista screen is so nice and beatiful though. Isn't this what we paid for? No. We paid to have a small fast beautiful machine. And unfortunately, Vista is just not ready for primetime, therefore, the best move you can make is to go to NotebookReview.com forums reading up and spend a day downgrading your system. Afterwards, everything (well, mostly everything) will work as before, and instead of running into deadends trying to get your old applications to work with Vista, you'll be with using tried and true, XP, and you'll have 20 GB of space instead of 8 GB. ** Caution ** - - - remember to create Recovery Disks beforehand (it's easy and takes 2 DVDs).

In conclusion, this machine is sweet, and if you can be happy with not a lotta storage or you can make it through a downgrade, you will love this laptop.

Despite popular belief this subnotebook is best ever.........2007-10-12

First of all I was really skeptical on this model, especially when I had just bought the cheaper version TZ150 with 1.06Ghz Core 2 Duo, 1GB RAM and 100GB 4200rpm HDD. I used the TZ150 for approximately 2h trying to remove all the bloatware that Sony decided to install (apparently an issue with all US/NA Sony laptops) and at the end gave up.. Way too slow, to the point it was unusable. Took it back to BestBuy got charged 15% restocking fee and after reading lots of reviews online I decided to order the faster brother TZ190N..

Let me start by saying the 32GB SSD has 0.3ms access time, making it BLAZING fast.. Adobe Photoshop CS3 opens up in 5 seconds flat, Microsoft office 2007 is as fast as on my quad-core desktop and in general the performance boost from the faster processor, faster SSD and 2GB RAM make it amazingly fast and usable..

I recommend doing a clean Vista install to lose all the sony bloatware and install the drivers from Sony's site. Granted you'll waste an evening doing that, but your laptop & yourself will thank you..

Amazing battery life, love the keyboard and the screen is gorgeous. I could do with larger SSD but remember this is NOT a desktop replacement and SSD prices are skyrocket high. I'm very very pleased and if I had to chose I'd buy it again!!

Poorly made, bad service, and a ton of adware!.......2007-09-27

I bought this machine from Sony back in August. It took me three days of sweat and tears to get all of the adware off of the machine's tiny hard drive. In addition, the battery never seated firmly and always wiggled around a lot. I wrote Sony service about that and they told me it was "normal." Then, the second time I took the laptop out of the house, one end of the battery fell out. It's held in my a tiny plastic prong, which evidently broke off under the severe stress of being in a padded laptop sleeve inside a padded laptop bag. My service options? Send the computer to them for service (minimum turnaround: 2 weeks), or buy a new battery myself. Can they reimburse me if I send in the defective battery? No. Can they reimburse me if they later figure out this is a widespread problem and recall the battery? No. The service rep actually suggested that I could just use the computer without the battery--not so I could send the battery in for Sony to examine and replace, but just, you know, permanently. This is the last time I am ever buying any product from Sony.

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