The highly popular 13.3” screen Sony VAIO Z premium laptop has received an early 2012 update this week in the form of a new Carbon Fiber Silver color option and a Verizon Wireless 4G LTE modem on board.   The new model number on Sony.com is the VAIO Z2390X CTO (Configure to Order).  Right now the upgrade to the Verizon LTE modem on Sony.com is free, the regular price is +$ 150.   The new Carbon Fiber Silver is no additional cost if you select that.

With the introduction of the Carbon Fiber Silver the total color options come to four.  Those include Carbon Fiber Black, Carbon Fiber Gold, Premium Carbon Fiber Black and the Silver.  There is no additional cost for any finish, keep in mind that certain colors will be better at hiding fingerprints than others.  Black is notoriously tough to keep smudge free, whereas silver will be easier.  That said, the silver VAIO logo just doesn’t look as nice on top of a silver case compared to black or gold.

Other than the LTE and color upgrades there’s a slight bump in the processor speeds,  a new Intel Core i5-2450m 2.50GHz replaces the i5-2430m 2.40GHz, giving you a 0.1GHz speed upgrade.  Same goes along the line of processors, an extra 0.1GHz for free all the way up to the Core i7.  The same processors are also now in the VAIO Z2290X.  The processor on board is still Intel Sandy Bridge, that can’t change until Intel releases Ivy Bridge in the Spring.  Strangely, Sony right now is also not offering the 1920 x 1080 screen as standard on the Z2390X, you have to pay $ 100 for that upgrade from a 1600 x 900 screen.  Upgrades to the SSD are also much more expensive on on the Z2390X, for instance the 256GB SSD upgrade is $ 150 on the Z2290X but a more expensive $ 300 upgrade on the Z2390X.  Go figure.

If you want LTE and the silver color, then you’ll just have to be willing to pay more for upgrades.  For those who want to wait until the Ivy Bridge VAIO Z3 upgrade you’ll have to wait until around the May / June 2012 time frame.

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