Sony has, for some time now, been considered the kings of the ultra-portable notebook. It's a reputation it has fostered for many years and one that was solidified, in our minds at least, when we gave our 2007 Best Notebook award to the much coveted Sony VAIO TZ. Yet, even now the VAIO TZ is starting to look a little old-hat given the plethora of new contenders, like the Lenovo ThinkPad X300, hitting the market. Clearly Sony hasn't been resting on its laurels, however, since the VAIO TT Series (review coming soon) has arrived to replace the TZ and Sony has also been busy revising the rest of its range, replacing the 13.3 inch SZ with today's target, the Z Series.
Like the SZ before it (see: Sony VAIO VGN-SZ61VN), the Z Series is targeted at those demanding users that require a highly portable machine that doesn't sacrifice any performance over a regular laptop. This time around Sony has embraced the evolution towards 16:9 aspect based machines by fitting the Z Series with 13.1 inch displays. Most interestingly, though, this has also precipitated the move to a roomier 1,600 x 900 native resolution. This is even greater in size than the 1,440 x 900 sported by the likes of the ThinkPad X300 and is a very welcome feature.
