Sony Centrino notebook is a design cracker

THE SONY PCG-Z1XSP is a jaw-dropper in terms of design. Its sleek silver-and-black magnesium alloy enclosure, non-catch lid and brightly illuminated power button will definitely turn heads, but you'll have to pay over the odds for such eloquent engineering.

Based on Intel's Centrino platform and offering both built-in 802.11b/g and Bluetooth connectivity, the PCG-Z1XSP is designed for business users. It's relatively small at 316x247x39mm and light at 2.1kg, but its 14.1in. display isn't based on Sony's excellent Ultra-bright technology and ATI's Mobility Radeon graphics chipset comes with just 16MB of DDR SDRAM, making it unsuitable for high-end graphics use or other multimedia duties, such as video editing or gaming.

General business-focused performance and battery performance is much better, so the PCG-Z1XSP is worth considering if you're looking for a laptop that stands out from the crowd. If performance is key, there are plenty of other systems that can outperform the PCG-Z1XSP for a lot less money.

Pros: Stylish; high-res screen; good battery life; excellent software
Cons: Dire graphics performance; noisy DVD drive; expensive

The PCG-Z1XSP is one of the most attractive laptops we've seen, sporting a sleek silver-and-black magnesium alloy enclosure. Its footprint is relatively small too, and a weight of 2.1kg makes it hardly noticeable when slipped into a carrying case or briefcase. Good design comes with practical compromises though, such as basic connectivity options and two USB ports that are so closely positioned to the enclosure that larger USB devices may not fit properly (particularly USB flash storage devices).

Sony classes its PCG-Z1X series as an ultra-portable, but it's difficult to consider a 2.1kg laptop with a 14.1in. TFT display as being an ultra-portable, especially as you can get systems with 10in. or 12in. screens that weigh less than 1kg. Nevertheless, the PCG-Z1XSP we've reviewed here is both relatively small and light considering it includes most of the latest computing technology and a 14.1in. TFT display with a native resolution of 1400x1050 pixels.

Designed for general business computing duties, the PCG-Z1XSP incorporates Intel's Centrino technology, power conservation options and wireless networking facilities based on Sony's Calexico chipset. The system is based on a 1.70GHz Intel Pentium M processor, 512MB of SDRAM memory (upgradable to 1GB) and a huge 80GB hard disk. We also expect Sony to offer a 1.8GHz Dothan Pentium M processor at a later date. You also get a super-slim 9.5mm DVD-RW burner as standard, as well as ATI's Mobility Radeon graphics chipset with just 16MB of DDR SDRAM.

The PCG-Z1XSP's striking design is characterised by its attention to detail. For example, the system's power button and AC adapter connector illuminate bright green when powered, there's a completely redesigned screen hinge mechanism that lets you push the screen right back so it's almost flat, and the catch-free lid means you don't have to press a screen release switch to lift the screen. In addition, each side of the enclosure features a contoured s-shape design that gives the laptop a distinctive profile.

Two programmable buttons (P1 and P2) above the keyboard provide quick access to volume and brightness levels, although you can hold either down to enter a setup menu and apply different functions. These include the ability to switch video output to an external source, at the same time stepping the resolution down to XGA (1024x768 pixels) when using a projector. The menu also allows you to alter the system's bass and treble settings and set up a power-on password. There's also a dedicated switch to turn Wi-Fi on or off.

Built-in wireless communications come in the form of both 802.11b/g, which is approximately five times faster than the original 802.11b wireless standard, as well as Bluetooth. Those intending to use the laptop on a corporate network shouldn't worry about networking compatibility because 802.11g is backward compatible with the older 802.11b protocol. Other connectivity options are less accommodating, including just two USB 2.0 ports, a single mini-FireWire, Type I/II PC Card, headphone and microphone, 10/100Base-T NIC, V.90 modem, and VGA monitor for hooking the laptop up to a larger screen. Of course, there's also a Memory Stick Pro slot for reading and writing to Sony's removable flash memory cards.

There's no serial or parallel ports and Sony has also done away with an infrared port, which may cause problems for those with legacy devices, such as parallel port printers and older PDAs that only offer serial connections.

The connectivity ports are scattered around the laptop, with the USB, FireWire, headphone and microphone options on the left-hand side of the system (looking from the front), the modem is isolated on the right side (hidden behind an annoying tethered rubber cover), and the VGA and network ports are at the rear of the system protected behind a plastic flip-down cover. There's no obvious practical reason for placing the ports where they are, so the decision was most likely a design/style one.

The PCG-Z1XSP uses an SXGA+ high-resolution screen which has an impressive native resolution of 1400x1050 pixels. The screen has a regular 4:3 aspect ratio however, so those looking for a widescreen display will have to look elsewhere. We were disappointed that the PCG-Z1XSP uses a typical TFT panel, rather than Sony's Ultra-bright technology found on other systems in its range, such as the excellent VAIO PCG-K115Z. Ultra-bright screens combine a glare filter and a low-reflection finish, designed to suppress reflections but without the negative side-effects associated with the standard approach, which gives them a powerful backlight that increases the overall brightness of the image, resulting in brighter, richer colours that look truly stunning. Ultra-bright technology also means the laptop can be used outside more comfortably in daylight conditions, unlike most other systems.

The PCG-Z1XSP's screen is still impressive though, and is still brighter and crisper than most competing solutions and will suit typical business users. Colour levels are excellent too, although the fact that the panel doesn't diffuse light on the screen means that it cannot avoid also diffusing the light coming through from the image itself, causing darker areas of the screen to become slightly washed out as light is scattered across the screen surface. As a result, the range of contrast and overall brightness of the image is generally reduced towards the bottom of the screen, so you never get a solid block of colours like you do on a good CRT or LCD monitor - an issue that should affect those who work with high-end graphics applications for a living.

The PCG-Z1X series is supplied with a large and varied selection of quality software, ranging from Microsoft's Windows XP Professional and Microsoft's Works to Symantec's Internet Security Suite. Sony also bundles a few exclusive utilities, such as Sonic Software's SonicStage and PictureGear Studio, as well as DVGate. These A/V editing and data management tools in the VAIO suite are partnered with Adobe's Companion Pack, which includes Premiere Standard (video-editing application), Photoshop Elements (image editor), Acrobat document reader and Acrobat Elements for converting regular office documents into PDF format. Like all VAIO portables configured with a DVD burner, the PCG-Z1XSP is also supplied with Sony's Click To DVD 1.3 software for authoring CDs and DVDs.

When it comes to performance, the PCG-Z1XSP is as capable as most other business-focussed laptops we've tested - unless graphics are your livelihood. The system's ATI Mobility Radeon chipset includes just 16MB of memory can't handle high-end graphics programs or games, which is why it scored a dire 1683 using Futuremark's 3DMark2001 SE. Style is the name of the game here - and that comes at a price. If performance is all that matters to you, there are plenty of other systems that can outperform the PCG-Z1XSP for a lot less money.

Battery performance is more impressive and a Business Winstone 2004 BatteryMark score of 3h 54m puts the PCG-Z1XSP in the same league as the best. If that's not enough power autonomy, Sony offers a secondary battery (PCGA-BP4V) to double the system's running time, as well as a replacement super-slim AC adapter in case the original is lost (PCGA-AC16V6). Business users will also appreciate the option of a docking station (PCGA-PRZ1), which provides connectors including three USB, parallel, VGA, and DVD-D for driving digital flat panel displays. µ

Review kindly supplied by BIOS Magazine. Go to this page for its performance testing results