Sony copies and improves Apple’s MacBook design
By Jonathan Schlaffer
It’s said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery; then Apple should be quite flattered right about now. Not only are certain Chinese companies interested in copying the iPod, it seems a top tier company is interested in something more sinister. Sony has seemingly copied some elements of the MacBook design and incorporated them into its new TZ series laptops.
Sony was able to go a step further and actually improve on the MacBook design. Sony’s TZ series laptop is lighter, thinner, features a LED display and most importantly, a tough carbon fiber body. It also includes options for a solid state hard drive.
Its drawback, the only real drawback is it has only one memory slot. That’s bad should you wish to upgrade in the future and you don’t get the advantage of dual channel memory.
Sure, it comes in several colors but let’s look at the black one. Does it look familiar? It should. It looks like some kind of MacBook, especially with that chicklet style keyboard.
In order to eke out the up to 9 hour battery life, Sony went with a U7600 Core 2 Duo processor that only gets you 1.2GHz and it does not offer the Santa Rosa option. Also to keep battery life super long, Intel 945GM graphics are used, so no gaming.
The TZ laptop is probably the most expensive non-gaming laptop on the market at $2,744 for the top end model. It wasn’t designed for speed, or for gaming, it was designed to look cool.
Apple would be foolish if it did not incorporate some of these improvements into the next MacBook revision. I’d settle for that LED display and carbon fiber body.
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June 29th, 2007
First, carbon fiber is all well and good, but 1.2GHZ? And since when is the Santa Rosa chipset a bad thing? The chicklet styled keyboard is nice, but really..lets weigh the costs between a $1200 Macbook (with OS X, not craptastic Vista) and a $2750 1.2 GHz thing with a carbon fiber case…yeah..no.
July 1st, 2007
Many people that see the keyboard will no doubt think that it resembles Apple’s Macbook. However, if you read up a bit on history, it was actually Sony that came out with the style on its X505 about 3 years before the Macbook came out. I also read that it was Apple that hired some of Sony’s engineers to help design their upcoming Macbook.
July 1st, 2007
I was wondering, do you think that I should get a MacBook when I start college in September, or should I wait for the next MacBook upgrade?
July 2nd, 2007
Well, that depends, first on your major and second on what applications going into that major will require you to run. If you find that your classes will require a lot of Windows or windows only applications then go with a PC laptop.
If you aren’t restricted on what applications you need to run then, sure, go with a MacBook, whether you should wait or not is a complicated issue.
Right now, it’s hit or miss if the MacBook you get will be perfect, some have issues with the displays flickering and it’s more likely you won’t have the issue, it’s just something to be aware of.
Then it comes down to if Apple will release new models, they might, they might not. It’s hard to say, if you can wait until September and really want a MacBook, wait and see what happens.
If you buy now, that’s fine but if you want to wait, visit http://buyersguide.macrumors.com/ come September and see what they say at that time.
You’ll also be able to get a Student discount when you start college and maybe a free iPod if that offer is still going.
July 3rd, 2007
The free iPOd is the whole problem. My initial plan was to wait till Christmas, but the free iPod only lasts will September 16, and I think the new MacBooks will only be announced after that. Decisions, decisions! I’d rather wait a few months and have a better laptop than have a free iPod and miss a major upgrade.
July 4th, 2007
This article is so stupid, I though for sure that it must have been written by Triston McIntyre! Please… $1500 more for some crappy Windows imitation of a MacBook? I thought Macs were supposed to be too expensive!? “It’s only real drawback” is skimpy memory options? What about the super lame processor and the price tag?
July 5th, 2007
I agree this article and posts are lame. Please get it straight… Apple copied the keyboard from Sony’s X505. That information is all over the web.
Yes, it is expensive if you are comparing to the 5.1 lb MacBook or some other average notebook using average components. With the TZ, as it was with the TX and TR series you are paying a premium for size. This is a 2.2 lb ultra portable computer that is still loaded with things like a dual layer DVD burner. Not to mention very cutting edge technologies like an LED screen, biometrics, carbon fiber case, and solid state drive. Hell, they even miniaturized the power supply.
Half the weight, twice the price. Makes sense, that seems to always be the case.
Lame processor?!! Blame Intel, their the ones who don’t make the Santa Rosa in a ultra low voltage configuration. This processor was obviously picked for a reason, long battery life. Not only is the machine small, but so is the battery. So don’t fault Sony for trying to free you from being plugged in to an outlet.
The target audience for this is corporate travelers, bigger budget, need for portability, and long battery life for travel.
I agree, Vista sucks, but it is pretty easy to throw a copy of XP on it and run your non Mac compatible business applications.
Now I just wish Sony would hurry the hell up and release it in the states so I can replace my bulletproof TR3-AP with a newer more advanced machine.