Review: Sony's flash-based notebook — a road warrior's dream
a road warrior's dream — What's notable about this almost-weightless workhorse is that there's no traditional platter-spinning 2.5-in. hard drive — Sony Electronics Inc.'s Vaio TZ191N notebook proves that good things do come in small packages.
Context & Ripple Effects
Sony's ultraportable push has been building all year: back in May 2007 the company drew attention with what was billed as the world's thinnest notebook, and Computerworld's review of the Vaio TZ191N extends the same logic — shrink the machine further by deleting its heaviest mechanical part, the 2.5-inch spinning hard drive, and run it on flash instead.
The review matters because it treats flash storage not as a novelty but as the enabling technology for a 'road warrior' class of machine: almost weightless, and without platters to crash when jostled in transit. That framing puts Sony's TZ line at the premium end of a market where every ounce and every moving part is a selling point.
First-order effects
- Frequent travelers evaluating the TZ191N get a notebook whose lack of a spinning drive means less weight and better shock tolerance — the direct payoff of swapping a platter for flash.
Second-order effects
- Rival notebook makers competing for the same executive-traveler buyer now face pressure to offer their own flash-storage configurations, pulling demand toward NAND suppliers and squeezing traditional 2.5-inch drive economics at the premium end.
Third-order effects
- If flash pricing keeps falling along the curve this review assumes, the spinning hard drive's role shrinks first in ultraportables, then down-market — reshaping the supply chain around solid-state storage and blurring the boundary between premium subnotebooks and smaller, cheaper machines like netbooks.
The trend: Premium notebooks are trading spinning-platter hard drives for NAND flash, making weight, durability, and battery life the competitive axis for ultraportable machines.