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Sony VAIO VGN-TZ17GN/N

By Craig Simms, CNET.com.au on 12 October 2007 01:21 PM

Tags: vaio, sony, tz, notebook, laptop, ultraportable, hinge, black

Manufacturer: Sony

Battery

  • Battery type included
  • Lithium-ion
  • Claimed battery life
  • 11 hours

Connectivity

  • Network interface
  • 10/100/1000 LAN, Bluetooth, 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g
  • Dialup modem
  • Yes
  • USB ports
  • 2
  • Firewire ports
  • 1
  • Firewire type
  • 400
  • S-Video
  • No
  • VGA
  • Yes
  • DVI
  • No
  • HDMI
  • No

Display

  • Natural resolution (max)
  • 1366 x 768 pixels
  • Diagonal screen size
  • 11.1 inch

Drives

  • Primary hard drive
  • 100 GB
  • Optical drive
  • DVD-RW

General

  • Dimensions (H x W x D)
  • 22.5 x 227 x 198.2 mm
  • Weight
  • 1.2 kg
  • Laptop type
  • Ultraportable

Graphics

  • Graphics hardware
  • Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950

Memory

  • Amt of RAM
  • 1GB
  • RAM type
  • DDR2-400
  • Memory card reader
  • Yes

Other

  • Motherboard chipset
  • Intel 945GM
  • Integrated webcam
  • Yes

Processor

  • Processor type
  • Intel Core 2 Duo
  • Processor speed
  • 1.2 GHz

Software

  • Operating system
  • Windows Vista Business

Sound

  • Embedded stereo speakers
  • Yes

Talkback 3 comments

    The adapters and external batt ...pan -- 03/01/08

    The adapters and external battery for the VAIO VGN-TZ17GN/N are available here.
    http://www.global-batteries.com.au/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=VAIO VGN-TZ17GN/N

    Those looking for a mostly ful ...Shaun Paul Singh -- 08/01/08

    Those looking for a mostly full-featured notebook with an ultra-light, super slim form factor will appreciate this machine. Excellent for programmers who like to code anywhere anytime. Battery lasts 9 hours with wireless turned off and screen running at 80% brightness.

    The good: Long battery life Super lightweight Looks great in black Comfortable keyboard(takes a little getting used to) Included Optical Drive Super strong casing(carbon fibre in many parts) Screen is NOT flimsy(carbon fibre backed) Super slim screen High-resolution screen(1360 X 768)

    The bad: Horrible 3D performance Optical drive seem a little slow Hard drive is sluggish(4200 rpm) Not fully compatible with Linux(SD/Memory Stick, Webcam works with most models, brightness and other "soft" keys need tweaking with spictrl)

    I run Ubuntu 9.04 on this mach ...Jim Paradies -- 06/05/09

    I run Ubuntu 9.04 on this machine and in general very I'm very happy with it. There is one point that people should be aware of - the screen contacts the keyboard when closed and packed into a tight bag.
    When the laptop is closed normally, you can see light between the screen and the keyboard but in a carry bag that may have books and other items, the laptop is squeezed and this causes the screen to come in contact with the keyboard. This in turn causes scratching to the screen and, if the laptop is not suspended, it may cause keys to be pressed accidentally causing all sorts of mishaps (e.g. lots of windows opening or text documents with thousands of characters in it.

    The good: Performance good Great display Great form factor

    The bad: Lacks full Linux support Could have been better designed

Add your opinion

Overview

» Enlarge

The good:
  • Great screen
  • Optical drive
  • Fantastic battery life
  • Feature strong for a portable
  • Express card 34
The bad:
  • Feels fragile
  • No native digital video out
  • Bland design.
The bottomline:

The Sony VAIO VGN-TZ17GN/N is more fragile than we'd like, especially at AU$3,599 -- but the feature set is quite impressive for an ultraportable.

Editors’ rating:

7.5/10

RRP: AU$3599.00

Related topics:

vaio, sony, tz, notebook, laptop

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