Sony VAIO Z2 Signature Collection, an Excuse to Overcharge?

Sometimes you wonder if marketers ever pay attention to their price lists, or just hope that customers really don’t care about finding the best price possible.  Case in point, the Sony VAIO Signature Collection Z Series (model VPCZ21TGX/X) is $2,999.99 on Sony.com.  That’s a lot for a laptop, but hey, it’s a signature edition so it must be special and a unique deal.   Right?  Until you start configuring the Sony VAIO Z2 customizable machine, model number VPCZ2290X CTO, and find that you can get better specs than the Signature VAIO Z but for less right on Sony.com.  Here are the specs for the VAIO Z Signature laptop:

• Screen: 13.1 in Full HD LED backlit (1920 x 1080)
• Processor: Intel Core i7-2620M 2.70 GHz with Intel Turbo Boost Technology up to 3.40 GHz
• Memory: 6 GB DDR3 1333 MHz
• Storage: 256 GB SSD (RAID 0 x 2)
• OS: Windows 7 ProfessionalPC
• Optical Drive: External Power Media Dock with slot-loading Blu-ray Disc
• Intel HD Graphics 3000 with shared graphics memory (1 GB graphics card in dock)
• Battery: Internal lithium-polymer (4000mAh) and external lithium-polymer sheet battery (4400mAh)
• Color: Black

Those are impressive specs for a light weight 13.1-inch laptop that weighs only 2.57lbs.  However, I can go to Sony.com and configure the VAIO Z2 CTO model with all the same specs and a slightly better Core i7-2640M 2.80GHz processor for $2,619.99, screenshot to prove it and specs below:

• Screen: 13.1 in Full HD LED backlit (1920 x 1080)
• Processor: Intel Core i7-2640M 2.80 GHz with Intel Turbo Boost Technology up to 3.50 GHz
• Memory: 6 GB DDR3 1333 MHz
• Storage: 256 GB SSD (RAID 0 x 2)
• OS: Windows 7 ProfessionalPC
• Optical Drive: External Power Media Dock with slot-loading Blu-ray Disc
• Intel HD Graphics 3000 with shared graphics memory (1 GB graphics card in dock)
• Battery: Internal lithium-polymer (4000mAh) and external lithium-polymer sheet battery (4400mAh)
• Color: Black

That’s right, you pay almost $380 less and get an ever so slightly faster Core i7 processor by going the CTO route with the VAIO Z2.  Apparently the Signature series has a slight gold tint to the lid finish (it’s hard to tell in the product shots) and if that floats your boat and is worth $380 to you then it could be worth it.  However, I doubt many people will see things that way.  This is just another example of folks in marketing not looking at their price sheet for components and slapping a price tag on something and calling it premium.  It’s also another example of the fact that if you’re buying a laptop you really need to shop around and even if you’re buying direct from a website try different ways of building a machine and looking for promo codes to get a better deal.