First of all - It's generally somewhat overpriced. It's arguable that this is not so true in the US, because of the rebate running until the end of December and especially if you spec out the system more moderately, but the "high-end" options are expensive.

So, anyhow - the laptop has the following specifications (annotated - performance comments later on based on "my" config):
13.1" LED, half-glossy. 100% NTSC gamut screen.
1366*768 or 1600*900 (my) resolution
up to 4 GB DDR3 (my)
up to 320GB 7200rpm HDD (my) alternatively SSD: Sony ships dual Samsung 64GB SLC drives in raid or Samsung 128GB MLC drive, the intel X25-m is an option if you buy from certain authorised resellers
blu ray burner (my) or DVD burner
HDMI port
VGA port
FW 400 (no power) port
2 USB
Switchable graphics - 4500 or 9300 GS 128/256MB (follows screen res)
alps trackpad
no trackpoint
no dedicated home/end/pageup, down (accessed via fn)
"carbon fibre" body (solid plastic, IMO), aluminium keyboard surface
gigabit ethernet
modem
memory stick reader
sd reader
wireless on/off switch
fingerprint reader
bluetooth
640*480 video
built-in mic (apparently there's a "woosh" sound occasionally, audiable to other party in a skype call)
bundled with adobe elements
dock support
1.5KG with 3-4 hour battery (doesn't stick out).

--

So - in the 12/13" non-glossy, dock supporting laptop space, there are two classes of laptops. Slow (generally - less than 2Ghz C2D's) and fast (faster than 2GHz C2D's, 2.5" hard disk supported).

In the fast category, there are only: lenovo X200, dell e4300, Sony Z.

I bought the Z because it wasn't (my subjective opinion) butt-ugly (x200) and didn't have awful user reviews (dell e4300 - see notebookreview.com). The e4300 also wasn't selected because it was heavier (1.8kg), with a stick-out (ugly) battery, not a very contrasty display, lousy (supposedly) keyboard feel.

Having said that, the Z has its share of compliants:
1. blu ray drive doesn't burn DL DVD (true)
2. fan is always on (true - i find it irrelevant because even in the quietest environments it doesn't disturb me. Having said that, I use it for office stuff. Not gaming).
3. squeaky keys/double type (hasn't happened to mine)
4. screen resolution too high (pfft. I loves it)
5. expensive (true)

So - because I really hardly do anything taxing on a day to day basis (the most is photoshop elements, which handily comes with it) my general impression is that the machine is extremely fast.

In particular, it's extremely responsive in day to day use, and seems (subjectively) to be as fast as my XP desktop (C2D oc'ed to 2.4GHz, 4GB, 8400GS, 500GB 7200), although the boot time (approx 100 seconds to usable desktop, including finger swipe type) is not that fantastic. Compared to my previous laptop (tx1000, X2 1.9GHz, 4GB, 160GB 5400) it's almost blazing.

The laptop feels solid, except that the screen bends when opening closing. However, this bending is not visible in the display (i.e. opening it and looking at the screen there are no ripples) although if i push in the middle I can make ripples. The palmrests don't creak although it is possible to push them down. The (alps) trackpad works well, with vertical/horizontal scroll zones and a nifty top left edge gesture thing (top left to center closes a window, etc.) The screen is amazing. The pixel density is a little high (higher than all desktop lcds) but.. still. Colours appear very saturated, although this may be fake (not calibrated). The half-glossy display is sufficiently un-glossy that I have no qualms working in a sunlit room (I've got a huge floor-length window behind me at work - where I use the machine). It switches on/off almost instantly (LED tech). The keyboard is a joy to use - while it's an "isolated" design, it's got significant key travel and I had no problems adjusting.

I should add that the laptop runs quite cool. The only part whch gets warm (even after 5-6 hours use where the indoor ambient is 28 deg C) is the vent (air is pushed out rather efficiently) - don't block it. It will warm up whatever is just outside. It's very comfortable sitting the laptop on your lap.

Aesthetically, the Z is pleasing - handsome but not all that flashy. I (subjective) think it's alot more attractive with the premium carbon lid ($50 option). The Macbooks are more attractive in stores - the multitude of stickers really does the Z no favours. Better when removed.

The main thing I would have liked is a backlit keyboard ;) Other "missing" things are accidental warranty (although available in the US) and international warranty (almost completely unavailable - perhaps available for the first year, but not as a 3 year warranty).

Large photos listed below.

Let me know if there is anything you'd like to know. (alexREM@VETHISsymplification.com).

---
Proper reviews of the Vaio Z:

Silicon/Pop.Culture
Laptop Magazine - plus video
Engadget
Trusted Reviews
Notebookreview Forums - Vaio Z Owners thread

I've had the iPhone 3g for a couple of weeks now and today I've received a Blackberry Bold.

By way of background, while I had usually stuck with Nokia to satisfy my phone needs (after the Ericsson 388 - in 1997 or so), since I started busy-work I've experienced using a Blackberry (oldish model though - the 7290) and of course I've "defected" to Apple for my personal line. So much for "sym" plification eh?

The blackberry bold is a gift from RIM (bonus for launch party attendees - invite me to the next one too please!) and the iPhone 3G was purchased at retail.

I would say that the iphone has been quite a crappy phone (coming from a Nokia N80, 8800 and 5220), because of a lack of - forwarding messages, cut/paste, and battery life, but amazing as a browsing device and as an iPod. That's not what you're here about though...

First impressions:

Both quite pretty. Size is rougly comparable, iPhone is better, but the difference is not going to help you make the decision.

Screen - size vs. pixel density. Pick your poison.

Call quality seems to be similar. I won't really be using the bold as a phone phone - it's primarily a data line, but I tested it today and there was no big difference.

Built-in Speaker - the bold is LOUD. Very Loud. It's also got slightly better sound quality, but any headphones would be better. The bold also comes with "in ear" headphones.

Accessories - bold comes with a nice (real) leather slipcase, which is nice.

The bold doesn't browse quite as quickly. The reaction time of it's connection seems to be slower, although the rendering of the content seems to be equally quick. Where the bold has a built-in app but the iPhone doesn't, the bold is FAST. (see: gmail).

Bold has proper multitasking! Which enables a non-braindead messaging facility. In addition to SMS, MMS (which the iPhone lacks) you can use blackberry messenger, google talk, yahoo and msn. There might even be an aim client. While the iPhone 3G has custom apps for some of these chat protocols - you might as well not bother. The combination of the battery life (and to my mind firmware 2.1 has not made any difference) and the fact that you can't let the iPhone sleep at all to maintain an internet connection, means that messaging on the iPhone, even if you love the virtual keyboard, is basically a no-go. This -could- change if "push" notifications are enabled, but the bold is still likely to be better (see: physical keyboard, battery life).

Note that you can multitask partially on the iPhone - you'll still receive calls and sms messages while you're in an application, and you can use the iPod application simultaneously (press the home button twice to bring up an overlay on whatever actual application you're on).

On the virtual keyboard - the bold is obviously better, but the virtual keyboard + autocorrect doesn't leave the iPhone that far behind.

Email - bold wins. No question. Now with word / excel / powerpoint editting for extra special fun. It's actually somewhat better -viewing- attachments on the iPhone, however.

Conclusion:

The iPhone is better to browse with - it's slightly snappier and the touch interface and larger screen conspire to improve the experience. I would also say it's better as a media player (yet to test this extensively with the blackberry, although I might not even bother because it's not clear how it can actually surpass the iPhone, and I would need to buy a large micro SD) .

Having said that, the iPhone: (i) sucks for SMS (just forwarding would be enough, darnit!); (ii) has a pretty crappy battery life (in absolute terms, I'm hoping the bold is better but I can't confirm yet); and (iii) is not yet the right choice for the enterprise or where email is crucial.

So, for most consumers, the iPhone's advantages might help, but if you have BES switching to an iPhone is like... the dark ages (for communication). Maybe get a bold + netbook - unlike the iPhone, the bold can actually tether.

--

On a separate note, if you have specific questions on iphone/bold feel free to email me:

You might also be interested to know that I have begun (occasionally) contributing to PhoneArena - here are some recent articles.

--
Photo credits: Image of bold taken with iPhone, Image of iPhone taken with bold. Both photos kinda suck - but I think there's no autofocus/macro on either, so... (note that the bold has a pretty bright flash).

Which is not really news, but it might be interesting to note the prices/plans - starts at SGD 56 (USD 40) and SGD 348 (USD 245).

SingTel is making the iPhone 3G affordable for everyone. We're introducing a great new range of iFlexi plans that are loaded with BONUS mobile data for Mobile Internet Browsing, and extended free Wireless@SG. These plans have been specially built for you and your iPhone to deliver fantastic value, make sure you ask for an iFlexi plan when you sign up.

Data allowance above is a limited offer; only for customers who connect or recontract with SingTel on an iFlexi plan between launch and 5 September 2008.



All iFlexi plans feature free incoming calls.

Nano-Proprietary (now, apparently APNT), previously blamed for the delays in rolling out SED televisions, has lost what seems to be an important appeal.

The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has found that the “irrevocable, perpetual” licence agreement APNT had granted to Canon could not be terminated by APNT “notwithstanding a material breach of the agreement”. APNT dropped 17% from USD 1.09 on the Friday (25th July 2008) the decision was filed to USD 0.90 on the following Monday.

The court also confirmed that, by virtue of the licence agreement between APNT and Canon, Canon can now grant to its wholly owned subsidiary, SED Inc., a valid sublicence use the relevant APNT patents. Subsequent to APNT's initial claim SED Inc. was restructured from what was effectively a 50/50 joint venture between Canon and Toshiba into a 100% Canon subsidiary.

This is the first appeal. We're not familiar with the US appeals system, but judgment was only filed on 25th July 2008 (which we think makes it likely that it has not yet been decided whether there is any right to a further appeal). There’s a press statement from APNT dated 28th July which states that their counsel is currently “considering options”.

SED - hello glorious 55" screen with 1ms and 50,000:1 contrast - might yet appear!

[First seen at the Arstechnica forums in a post by Biggiesized]

Symplification obviously hasn't been updated for some time, and the way things are going it's likely that they're not going to be.

It's not just the "new" job (and sometimes World of Warcraft, hehehe) - it's also that since that new job started I've been using a blackberry (with an unlimited data plan), and that single device provides basically all of the functionality I need.

For example, I have an N80 - but as it's music playing capabilities were rendered useless by an ipod shuffle (which is about the same size as the adaptor it needed for me to plug proper headphones in - and has much better sound quality through my super.fi 5 pros), the only thing I use it for nowadays is to actually make phone calls. Yeah - not even SMS.

Indeed, assuming you have Gmail App (for email) and the newest version of velvetpuffin (for instant messaging - disclosure, I've acted for the owner of velvetpuffin before) I don't think there's actually any reason to have a smartphone - anything which has data (preferably 3G) and supports those applications will do! So - buying a phone will become something which is almost -completely- about how you feel about the device.

And this is from the perspective of someone who actually uses a smartphone as a smartphone... (which is a whole other reason to think that "smartphones" are a waste).

It is, of course, possible to argue that I've just lost the faith, and it's also perfectly accurate to point out that phones are branching out even more than ever before (GPS, for example) - but unfortunately I suspect that it's all about usability, and the swiss-army knife device is likely to be inferior to the "real deal" (e.g. look how the prices of standalone GPS devices have fallen, and think about how much easier it is to have a nice big screen when being directed; or consider something how the creative zen stone plus manages to have a screen and 2GB in a device basically same size as the shuffle).

So - bye for the moment, and thanks for all your clicks! I'm likely to create some other website soon, because that's kinda fun. Don't know what it'll be about though... hmm. I did recently buy a new camera...

[sorry about that - I was getting too many spam comments - send me email if you have something to say, and I'll update accordingly ^.^]

According to news.com.com (*koff koff horrible url*) the iPhone is going to be announced on the first day of WWDC.

Cool.

This means that Nokia (and the other usual suspects - Moto, SE, Samsung, etc.) still have more than 2 months left. For Nokia, by their usual standards, this means that if they are going to have a direct iPhone competitor (touchscreen etc.) it has to be announced within the next couple of days.

We don't think the announced yesterday Nokia 5700 (pictured above) is it, although we do admit to liking some of the new styling cues.

Quick! Touchscreen device with symbian, multi-touch (like this!) tech, blackberry connect, 3.5mm plug and the music quality of at least an ipod shuffle, and I'm sold (if I were planning on getting an iPhone, and the multi-touch actually works such that our concerns about painful interfaces are misplaced).

[via Engadget]

Nokia Press release: "New York, NY - Nokia, a world leader in mobile communications, and EMI Music, one of the world's leading music companies, have announced a marketing and content agreement in which EMI artists, beginning with Capitol Music Group artists Lily Allen and Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, will be featured in Nokia's Flagship Store locations worldwide, as well as Nokia's Experience Centers, theater locations and certain Nokia music-related websites across North America. EMI will be the exclusive major label provider of music content for the retail program, and new content from its artists will be added and featured every 60 days."

I don't know why the "Ring Nokia" chap thinks DRM won't be involved in the deal - most current Nokia devices are compliant with the Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) 2.0 DRM standard, and while EMI has flirted with the distribution of DRM-free music, I don't see anything in the press release which suggests that the content provided won't be locked down.

Who knows.

On a brighter note, lets hope that this is the beginning of a beautiful relationship. With the iPhone approaching, it would be a really good idea for Nokia to have an answer to the iTunes Music Store (operators have been trying their darndest) and OTA downloads would be useful- although to be honest, given the Zune's current lack of the feature it's entirely unclear if even the iPhone will sport this functionality.

Bleah. We were wrong, and it does appear that all Ferrari and Vertu had to announce was a new phone cover - the Vertu Ascent Ferrari 1947 Limited Edition. Of course we're basing this on the information which we received.

That information is basically identical to the information chronicled over at Darla Mack's blog, so I shan't belabor the point.

It's interesting that Vertu's own website (as of the date and time of this article) has not yet been updated with the official press release. Having said all that, since it's a Vertu Ascent, we'd expect the specifications to be identical to existing Vertu Ascents - which basically means that if you want a basic phone it should serve you well.

Pity.

We would post pictures, but as all existing pictures appear to be from the same source, and aren't of the best quality (although we're not entirely sure why, since EXIF data shows that the camera involved was a Nikon D100, which is old, but is still based on a sensor very similar to current DSLRS) we shan't bother for the moment. :D

[source: little bird! Hooray for little bird! :D]