Toshiba Introduces New Portege M750 Models
February 25, 2009
Toshiba has introduced three new models in its 12.1-inch Toshiba Portege M750 line. The M750 laptops are “convertibles” the display rotates/swivels around to allow you to convert back and forth between a normal laptop/notebook form factor, and a Tablet PC setup. These three models are new in the United States. If you want to jump up to an actual touchscreen as opposed to using a Digital Pen, it’ll cost you around $400 USD, although you get a bump in the CPU performance as well as an optical DVD writer.
All three models feature:
- LED-Backlit display
- Fingerprint reader
- 2GB RAM
- 160GB HDD (some models feature 7200rpm)
- eSATA/USB Combo Port with Sleep and Charge
- Gigabit Ethernet
- Intel WiFi 5100AGN5 (802.11a/g/n)
- 3 year warranty
These models are targeted at the back-to-school shopping crowd, and they are:
Portégé M750-S7211
- $1,279 (USD)
- 12.1″ Display - supports Digital Pen/Stylus
- Intel Core 2 Duo T6570 (2.1GHz)
Portégé M750-S7212
- $1,699 (USD)
- 12.1″ Display - supports Digital Pen and Touch
- Intel Core 2 Duo P8600 (2.4GHz)
- DVD SuperMulti DL Optical Drive
Portégé M750-S7213
- $1,799 (USD)
- 12.1″ Display - supports Digital Pen and Touch
- Intel Core 2 Duo T9400 (2.53GHz)
- DVD SuperMulti DL Optical Drive
Available: ToshibaDirect.com
Read: SlashGear
Toshiba Picks Up Fujitsu’s HDD Business
February 17, 2009
Fujitsu Limited and Toshiba Corporation have announced today that Fujitsu will be transferring its hard drive (Hard Disk Drive - HDD) business over to Toshiba, through the creation of a new company. Fujitsu will move its HDD-related assets and business into this new company, in which Toshiba will have around 80% ownership (Fujitsu will have less than 20%). It will then fall under the Toshiba Group as a subsidiary of Toshiba. At some point in the future, Toshiba will acquire the remaining 20% and become the sole owner.
The goals are to boost Toshiba’s market share in 2.5″ and 1.8″ HDDs (in the laptop/notebook/netbook market), as well as their enterprise-level storage systems. They also mention that it will help boost Toshiba’s Solid State Drive (SSD) business.
They are working to complete this by the end of the first quarter of fiscal 2009.
Read: Japan’s Corporate News
Ars Technica: The State of the Netbook, Part I
February 4, 2009
Ari Allyn-Feuer over at Ars Technica has put together a comprehensive series that looks at the history and future of netbooks, as well as where they stand these days.
They go all the way back 15 years ago to the mid 1990s when HP rolled out the HP 200LX, a “palmtop” device weighing in at around a pound and with an 8Mhz CPU and a grayscale 640×200 display and running DOS (MS-DOS or PC-DOS) and Windows 3.0. The article mentions that some of these devices had a huge following, but that hardware limitations kept them from selling as fast and as wide as current Intel Atom-based netbooks. They get into the Psion 5 and Psion 7 reviving interest in the segment, and then Toshiba’s Libretto series of laptops which carried the torch for a while (albeit a very expensive torch).
It points out something interesting - the OQO Model 01 as well as Samsung’s Q1 UMPC were on the right track but had some barriers to wide acceptance (namely price and form factor).
Read: Ars Technica
Windows XP Dominates Netbook Market
December 18, 2008
I think many of us saw this coming. Even though netbooks started out with a heavy Linux influence, once Microsoft began relaxing their rules on Windows XP Home and netbooks, it was pretty clear that Windows XP would end up winning the netbook market.
This week, ITWire had a discussion with executies from Acer, Dell, and Toshiba, all of whom told ITWire that Windows XP now holds the clear lead in the netbook market, just as it does with laptops and desktops. Acer and Toshiba in particular indicated that 90% of the netbooks they sell were Windows XP-based offerings.
Asus told ITWire that it came down to consumers going with what they know. They also mentioned that in some areas, 10.2″ netbooks are in the highest demand.
It’s not surprising. People are picking these things up for very specific reasons, usually as a secondary system, they want what they see when they sit down at their normal desktop or laptop. The fact that most people are using netbooks for tasks that could easily be accomplished through Linux is besides the point. Unless XP Home licensing were to go up, I don’t see that changing.
Read: ITWire
Netbooks Boost Notebook Market
December 9, 2008
Netbooks (or Mini-Note as they call it) are hot, (pun intended) and their market is growing. DisplaySearch, a market research company, has released a new report that takes a look at the netbook market (and the notebook market in general).
They claim that the netbook market grew more 160% in just the third quarter of 2008 (when many of the major notebook/laptop manufacturers began to make an impact). They consider netbooks to be “one very bright spot” in the PC industry as a whole.
Acer is at the top of the charts, with their one and only 8.9″ Intel-Atom powered Acer Aspire One, beating out Asustek and their Asus Eee PC family, picking up more than 35% of the market.
Top 10 Netbook Makers, according to DisplayResearch:
1) Acer (38%)
2) Asus (30%)
3) HP (5.8%)
4) MSI (5.7%)
5) Dell (2.8%)
6) OLPC/Intel (2.3%)
6) Medion (2.3%)
8) Kohjinsha (1%)
9) Lenovo (0.7%)
10) Toshiba (0.5%)
All Others (9.1%)
They mention Apple as the only major player not in the market - they are leaving out Sony and Fujitsu, but Sony has indicated they are entering the market and Fujitsu may fall into the “All Others” category.
The only major surprise to me is that Dell is higher than I expected, although they have been aggressive in marketing and sales, even including Dell Inspiron Mini 9s when you purchase other Dell systems, and MSI and Lenovo are lower than I expected. I would have expected MSI to be a little higher given that they’ve began selling in North American retail sectors, but we are talking about the third quarter and we are at the end of the fourth. That will be the quarter to watch.
I’m actually not surprised about Asustek. Acer had the perfect timing with the Aspire Ones, and with their storage capacity (using actual 2.5″ Serial ATA HDDs) and pricing. Asustek has been (and still is) in danger of overwhelming and confusing people with too many models and model names, and HP nearly fell into this trap with the 2133 series before coming back with a simplified gameplan with the Mini 1000 (the 2133 had quite a few more options compared to the Mini 1000).
Asustek should take note that Acer is at the top, and they’ve done it with a fairly simplified lineup and one model name.
Read: DisplaySearch
via: LAPTOP Magazine
Toshiba NB100 Review (APC Mag)
November 3, 2008
APC Magazine has reviewed the 8.9″ Toshiba NB100 netbook, and it wasn’t pretty. They felt, among other things, that it was hurried and was a “me too” product, calling it “perhaps the most pedestrian of all the netbooks we’ve seen to date“.
Toshiba gets credit for port placement - they’ve got the VGA/video, ethernet, and A/C sockets on the back - most netbooks have them on the sides, which can be clunky in a confined space. It’s also got easy access so that you can upgrade to 2GB of RAM if needed.
Read:
- APC Magazine
- via liliputing
Toshiba Portege A605 Launches
October 23, 2008
Earlier this week, Toshiba’s Digital Products Division announced the launch of the 12.1″ Toshiba Portege A605, a budget / consumer-oriented version of the R500 / R600 series and part of the Toshiba Portege A600 line.
Among the new features: “USB Sleep and Charge ports” - These powered USB ports allow you to charge USB devices (such as MP3 players), even when the laptop is turned off.
Right now there are two A605 models currently available in the US (link below), the A605-P200 and A605-P201. Both models feature an Intel Core 2 Duo Ultra Low Voltage (ULV) 1.4GHz SU9400 CPU, 3GB of RAM (built-in - there is an additional slot for another 2GB of RAM that allows for a maximum of 5GB of RAM), and a 2.5″ 250GB HDD.
The difference between the two - The P200 features Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium, while the P201 features Windows Vista Ultimate. The P200 starts at $1,399, and the P201 starts at $1,499.
Amazon (US)
- A605-P200 Vista Home Premium
- A605-P201 - Vista Ultimate
Read: Press Release (PRWeb.com)
Toshiba NB100 Hands-On (TR)
October 16, 2008
TrustedReviews has gotten their hands on the upcoming Intel Atom-powered 8.9″ Toshiba Satellite NB100 netbook and have posted several of their impressions of it.
Keep in mind these are engineering / pre-production sample units of the NB100 / NB105.
The NB100 they had access to had the VGA, Power, and ethernet ports on the back of the netbook (instead of the sides like most netbooks do). There are advantages to that. Toshiba has grouped all of the LED status lights together and placed them directly below the touchpad. Speaking of the touchpad, Toshiba made the left button larger than the right, something that’s very nice (the buttons are arranged directly below the touchpad).
The keyboard is sure to generate some discussion (small Enter key, placement of the right Shift key, etc.). It’s got a glossy display - many netbooks don’t. That will generate plenty of discussion as well.
TR mentioned they are due to arrive in both the UK and in worldwide markets towards the end of this month, and a Toshiba represenative told them that the NB100 “will be priced extremely competitively”.
Read: TrustedReviews
