Exterior Design and Ergonomics
Most manufacturers of notebooks prefer rounded-off and curvy shapes but Sony’s machines often have an angular outline which doesn’t make them less elegant, though. The VAIO VGN-C2ZR/B carries on this design tradition of the Japanese brand. The display seems very narrow like in most other Sony notebooks. Instead of a silvery line that usually separates the lid and the bottom in other notebooks, the VAIO VGN-C2ZR/B has a brown molding there (it goes around the touchpad as well).
The chrome VAIO wave is in the center of the lid; the manufacturer’s logo is near its edge.
There are two things that catch one’s eye on the front panel: a Wireless switch designed like a silvery slider and a Memory Stick Pro/Duo slot on the right.
The screen lock is missing but the stiff hinges keep the lid steady and firm in both closed and open positions. The lid fastening mechanism is designed in Sony’s style: the hinges go out of the screen bezel, making it impossible to unfold the notebook by a full 180 degrees.
The color scheme is continued inside and matches the notebook’s exterior. The brown edging of the body adds some originality to this design without making it too frivolous. This computer is all classic inside and out. I’m talking about the black color scheme, of course. The other schemes aren’t serious at all.
There is a built-in single-channel microphone in the bottom part of the screen bezel, to the left of the Sony logo.
The VAIO VGN-C2ZR/B is equipped with a widescreen 13.3?matrix with a max resolution of 1280x800 pixels and an aspect ratio of 16:10 (WXGA). The matrix is manufactured using the exclusive dual-lamp Sony X-black LCD technology that ensures higher contrast, wider viewing angles and better image brightness and sharpness. The point of X-black LCD technology is in replacing the traditional anti-flare coating of the screen with a special anti-flare filter and a brightening coating. There are four layers in the filter, each with a thickness equaling one fourth of the light wavelength. According to the manufacturer, the reflection is eliminated even before the light falls on the screen, which ensures high image sharpness. Image brightness is improved by a number of optical inserts between the backlight and the LCD screen. They focus and intensify the light, thus increasing the overall brightness.
However, the “glassy?matrix isn’t as good as the manufacturer claims and there are flares on it under sunlight or from a bright light source behind your back. It means you still have to take care about proper ambient lighting when you sit down to work with this notebook.
