Customer Reviews
An excellent well-rounded machine. 
2007-09-20
I purchased this notebook to augment a large dual-monitor software development workstation that I use on a daily basis, so I was looking for portability, battery life, and style points more than raw processing power and features. This is the first ultra-portable machine I've ever used so cannot compare to other systems.
That being said, this is an excellent machine. It is lighter/smaller than the novels I stick in my backpack, fun to type on, and plenty powerful enough for what I need. I have no trouble running Vista, databases, software development IDEs, and Adobe CS3 on the machine, although it is understandably slower than my workstation, but not by too terribly much.
The only negatives to this machine are the power button, power cord, and feeling of fragility. The power button, on the outside hinge, is easy to press on accident. It's important to note that with the lid closed and on standby, pressing the button does nothing (so it wont drain the battery by turning on in your backpack while you're about town), and only becomes a problem when you're working on it and accidentally put it in standby.
The power cord is also a little hokey. Sony spent a ton of money designing a stylish notebook but uses a power cord that doesn't seat properly and still needs an adapter brick. They should spend some of that industrial design money to improve the whole package.
And finally, it feels fragile, although this is unavoidable since it is ultra-portable. I would love a machine as small as this in size, but weighs two extra pounds by being made of aluminum. The carbon fiber is "sturdy" but not "solid."
That being said, I have no trouble with the machine and it runs plenty fast enough once I spent three hours uninstalling all the crap-ware that Sony threw on it. It was definitely an expensive, but justifiable, purchase.
Excellent Size / Performance in-line with Size / 5 Stars except for price 2007-09-17
Disclaimer: I am not running the stock operating system configuration. I always planned on this being my Linux laptop. I dual-boot Vista when I need it (rarely.)
This is my first sub-notebook purchase, and I don't have a lot of experience with the sub-notebook genre in general. But I will provide my observations as accurately as possible.
First of all, if you are planning on running Vista (which is what ships with this laptop), you are probably going to be frustrated. This laptop seems to be severely underpowered for Vista. I think it took me about 20 minutes to boot into Vista for the first time. Once it booted, there was a dozen or so pre-installed packages that I didn't want or need. I removed everything I could. Overall, the Vista experience sucks. But I've heard that across the board for all systems. So I will not hold that against this laptop.
Once I made it through the initial Vista experience, I installed Linux. Linux runs great on this system. You will need to run a fairly up-to-date version of Linux in order to use the on-board wireless and Sony media controls. I am very impressed with my Linux experience on this laptop.
Let's talk about the good stuff:
Screen - 5/5 - This is incredible screen for the size. But it is not for the seeing-impaired. There are a ton of pixels crammed into a 11.1" diagonal space.
Processor - 3/5 - For a laptop that gets 5+ hours (my experience) per charge while doing my normal activities (writing code, compiling, surfing, email), the overall experience is very acceptable.
Keyboard - 5/5 - This is a straight copy of the Mac keyboard. I am a Mac user as well, so this was a welcome feature. The keys are very easy to type with, and major bonus points are awarded to Sony for putting the Ctrl key in the right place.
Price - 2/5 - This laptop is $2700.00 with tax. I don't care who you are. That is expensive.
Overall - 4.5/5 (not an average) - I was blown away by what Sony crammed into this little chassis. The fact that there is an optical drive, SD/Memory Stick DUO, 2 USB ports, VGA port (which is great for presenting, no dongle to remember), 100gb, 2gb ram, and some other things that are not as noteworthy for me, is an impressive feat. This is a very full featured laptop for the size.
If you need/want a small laptop with all the features, then this is one of the few on the market that makes the list.
I like it 
2008-02-08
The laptop runs decently fast. The keyboard is pretty good for the size of the laptop, just takes like a day to get use to. The only thing is that the screen is small so it kinda hurts my eyes after staring at it for awhile, even after adjusting all the icons and text sizes. The laptop is quiet and doesn't get very hot.
The only ting is that ,its very easy to break, so must be very careful with it. I had an issue with the battery locking mechnasm with the laptop but sony sent me a new battery.
Excellent Size BUT don't work with vista yet... 2008-02-08
Sony has a very good machine here. But you needs 5 hours cleaning out all the Sony Garbage installed on the machine and If only they would get rid of the bloatware and provide an option for XP instead of Vista, this would be a great machine.Take out to Vista and downgrade to XP to improve performance..
Love Hate Relationship 
2008-01-31
Ok I'm fairly computer literate, not a blonde and I have a very very bad back with a couple bulging discs so I can't tote much weight.
I love the size weight (less than 3 lbs) and look of my Vaio RZ170N (it's "sigh" champagne) but not necessarily the function. I can hardly download anything for starters. I set it for performance all the time and plug it in. THe multiple functions I'm used to devour this battery.
I had to use the original teeny font since the larger fonts messed up the way so many web sites displayed. It would help if the C drive had some room. Vista Business is a total hog and so far incompatible with at least 2 pieces of software including Norton Internet Security--which it came with and which I couldn't even click "buy" for after the 60 day "trial". I won't bore you with the 17 downloads I tried.
I love the champagne leather carrying case ($100 extra) too, and it is the only computer that will fit in the camel colored Louis Vuitton bag I bought that said it would fit "a laptop". It will ONLY fit this laptop. So is it a computer or a fashion statement? My husband says it's a toy. He may be right. I wish I'd paid for the flash drive but I did take back the 1000 and get 2000 so it's not like I didn't try. For $2200 all in this should be better.
I may do what so many others have and dump Vista and downgrade to XP to improve performance and free up disc space. If I didn't have the trusty Dell desktop at home, I definitely couldn't cruise around with this.
All in all, a mixed bag.
My super hero! 2008-01-19
I have purchased this notebook for a month ago and today I am very proud that i took the decision. This computer gives me what I want and was looking for.
Its top-notch design, very good screen, extraordinary battery time, its lightweight...very good piece of quality.
When you have removed all the preinstalled program this notebook is quite fast and nice response.
I love my Sony Vaio Tz-170!
Great Machine....After Considerable Cleanup Work 2008-01-13
After spending easily more than 10 hours cleaning out all the Sony Bloatware installed on the machine, ditching the Norton 2007 trial version (2008 seems to be a considerable improvement performance-wise), and configuring Vista so as to run more efficiently, this machine is great. The display is very sharp and bright, it runs very quietly (you can barely hear the fan) and is very compact and light. My co-workers are quite impressed Sony was able to put so much into such a small package. 2GB of RAM is a must though to deal with Vista.
Sony has a very good machine here. If only they would get rid of the bloatware and provide an option for XP instead of Vista, this would be a great machine.
