Sony VAIO VGN-TZ250N Ultraportable Laptop

3/6/08 – The Sony VAIO VGN-TZ250N is really just a minor upgrade of the previous TZ150N. For example, it gets a slight boost in the processor speed from a Core 2 Duo U7500 to the U7600 ultra low voltage version. This is still one of the strongest mobile processors you will find in the notebook market. They also increased the memory from 1GB of 2GB of PC2-5300 DDR2 that really helps improve performance with the Vista Business operating system.

Storage features remain the same between the previous TZ150N and the new T250N. A smaller 1.8” 100GB hard drive provides storage. This is a fair amount of space but don't expect much in terms of the performance compared to traditional 2.5” notebook drives. The system does include a dual layer DVD burner for handling CD and DVD tasks.

Graphics still remain very good with the TZ250N thanks to the 11.1” LED backlit display. This very bright display comes with a slightly more video centric 1366x768 resolution more commonly found in 720p TV displays than the 1280x800 found in computer displays. It does use the older Intel GMA 950 which is OK for general graphics but falls even behind the newer GMA X3100 for 3D video.

The VAIO TZ was a strong system for those that needed network connectivity. The TZ250N builds on the wide range of wireless and wired options by including a wireless wide area network connection that uses the Sprint cellular data network. This is useful for those that need access when wired and wireless networks are not available. The drawback of course is that it requires subscription to a Sprint cellular data plan.

Overall, the VAIO TZ250N is a nice update to the system but it could use a good deal more work and a price drop would also be nice.

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