Nothing helps mythologize a steamy tension between Apple and Sony quite like the Vaio Premium SZ, a sub $3k notebook that looks like the 13.3-inch MacBook's evil twin.
Where the MacBook is smooth, minimalist and Zen-like, the Vaio, which has 4 GB of RAM, a cellular modem, DVD burner and a 250 GB hard drive, is sharp and splendid. Where the MacBook balances consumption and performance, the Vaio's muscular engine, powered by a 2.5-GHz T9300 Core 2 Duo and an Nvidia 8400M video chip, all but roars as it murders the battery. Where the Apple logo gently glows, the Vaio's similarly placed marque glistens in chrome.
And where the MacBook is a pure, robed priest of a notebook, the Vista-sporting Vaio SZ is a dashing mustachioed villain, clad in tight-fitting leather, an unhinged glint in his eye. The conceptual relationship could not be further illustrated without writing slash fiction.
Like any good villain, however, the SZ is wracked by flaws. The battery life really is abysmal: Working full-tilt, you'll be lucky to get much more than an hour out of it. Even with the GPU turned off, it didn't reach 3 hours. A cascade of craplets and other pre-installed junkware annoys from the very first boot: Who the hell pays three grand for a laptop with an integrated cellular modem, only to use AOL? Fumigating it required a long session in the Add/Remove dialog. The keyboard is neither as attractive as the Vaio TZ's, or as usable as traditional extruded keys.
If you want an uncompromising 13.3-inch notebook and have buckets of money to spend on one, the SZ is a fine choice. But when you're 90 minutes into a transcontinental plane flight and the battery sputters out in the middle of The Wire, don't come whining to us that your lovable rogue suffers from premature capitulation.