Toshiba blitzes laptop market with new releases

Attempting to seize public attention, Toshiba has made several laptop announcements at once. The first is the immediate launch of the Qosmio F45-AV412, a media-centric system. Sized at 15.4 inches, it features an HD DVD/Super Multi drive with HDMI output for TVs, as well as stereo speakers and a built-in subwoofer. It further supports a variety of Dolby sound codecs, including Digital and Pro Logic II. It runs a 1.8GHz Core 2 Duo processor with 2GB of RAM (upgradable to 4), and uses a 250GB hard drive; the disk spins at 4200rpm, however, and the computer is further limited by integrated graphics. Wireless support extends to 802.11a/g/n. At Toshiba's website, the AV412 costs $1,600.

AMD processors figure prominently in the new Satellite A215 laptops. The A215-S4757 uses a Turion 64 X2 TL56, while the A215-S4767 upgrades to a TL64. The same RAM and hard drive capacities are present as in the Qosmio, but several other features have been stripped: the optical drives are merely Super Multi DVD models, and wireless has been limited to 802.11b/g. This is made up for somewhat with video, which uses dedicated Radeon X1200 cards. The S4757 costs $890 and comes with Vista Home Premium, whereas the S4767 comes with Vista Ultimate and costs $1,250.

Finally, the previously-reported Satellite X205 laptops are officially available in the United States. The S9349 is $2,000, and the S9359 is $2,500.