We noticed a trend among users of VAIO SZ Premiumhigh-performance notebook PC. With a notebook that gets taken out and about, long battery life takes precedence over performance. However, people demanded high performance from VAIO SZ Premium even though it was a notebook. When asked what was unique about VAIO SZ Premium, people usually say the high-speed CPU, the switchable graphics accelerator, the easy-to-use keyboard, and the large 13.3-inch LCD display that makes work easier. VAIO SZ lacked none of the features needed to be used as a main PC. However, what people wanted us to improve even more was the battery life, along with its size and weight that made people reluctant to carry it around all the time.

Jun Otsuka, who supervised the planning of VAIO Z, explains its concept.

The customers who use VAIO SZ Premium, which has all the features needed to be used as a main PC, place a greater premium on performance than users of other models. Many VAIO SZ users are most likely businesspeople, for whom every minute and every second count. Since they use it as a main PC, it would be most beneficial if it offered users the ability to pack it up, take it out, and do business anywhere.
In order to respond to such requests, we aimed for three targets with VAIO Z: "enhanced performance," "better mobility through reduced size and weight," and "a design that lives up to the Premium name."
Having said that, it was not possible to include everything we wanted in the small form factor. That is why we worked to achieve those three goals without any compromise, and make a notebook with performance fit for a main PC yet just the right compactness so as not to lose its convenience. That is VAIO Z. You can put it on your office desk and use it as your main PC, then slide it in your bag and take it out with you. That type of usability has been made possible with VAIO Z.

When lined up next to the VAIO SZ Premium, the compactness of VAIO Z clearly stands out. Its footprint is 10% smaller, and its weight has been reduced by almost 20%. Yet holding VAIO Z in your hands, it feels even lighter. This is most likely a result of its fit in the hand and its superb weight distribution.

Inside the body is a lineup of high-performance features that only a small minority of mobile notebook PCs can claim: high-speed standard-voltage CPU, switchable external graphics accelerator, and a newly-developed 13.1-inch LCD display. And so that you can access the Internet whether inside or outside the office via Wireless LAN.

Project leader Atsushi Miyairi takes Jun Otsuka's explanation a step further.

This is a culmination of the mobile PC expertise we gained from VAIO TZ and VAIO G and all of the technological skill we have acquired thus far. VAIO Z features a combination of devices that could not have previously been offered, and offers a new level of both performance and mobility.