5. Sony Loves Blu-Ray

We’ll end this initial look with two components we haven’t mentioned up to now: the battery and the optical drive.

More Than Decent Battery Life

The Z and TT, both equipped with six-cell batteries, were put to the test with Battery Eater 05. The two ultra-portables were set to energy-saving mode and the Z’s performance switch was set to Stamina mode. Stamina is an option that lets you switch from the dedicated graphics card to chipset graphics on the fly to reduce power consumption. That function enabled the 13-inch Sony laptop to offer four hours and 45 minutes of battery life (the test was run with the battery at 80%; the results are extrapolated).

The TT, which is less power-hungry and is equipped with components chosen for longer battery life, easily reached the six hours and 30 minutes of autonomy claimed by the manufacturer. Those are very encouraging results for these two computers, both of which are designed for easy mobility. It’s great to be able to rely on your PC to function for an entire afternoon on a single charge when you are on the go.

Blu-Ray Drive

For the optical drives in its new ultra-portables, Sony has obviously chosen to use Blu-Ray. And not only can the TT and Z read the latest HD disks, they can even burn them at a speed of up to 2x. That’s a pleasant surprise that helps justify the steep price, especially since the video quality with Blu-Ray is excellent on both models.