Toshiba Satellite Pro S300/S300M ships w/2yr warranty

Toshiba’s on Monday announced two new Satellite Pro notebooks: both the Satellite Pro S300M and Satellite Pro S300 are value-/entry-level business laptops and now ship with a two-year warranty and port replicator support for (hot) docking. The 14.1-inch laptops include Fingerprint readers, business card reader software, and face recognition software for security by using the integrated webcam to grant/deny access to the laptop as well as fourth-generation EasyGuard Technology with PC Health Monitor, a preventative maintenance utility that continuously checks the performance and functionality of a laptop’s critical hardware components and will alert users when the system is in need of a tune up.

Both models feature the slightly dated 1,066MHz frontside bus, modem, an integrated webcam, microphone, stereo speakers, and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR support as well as Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD and advanced WiFi with 802.11a/g/n support (using Intel Wi-Fi Link 5100AGN chips). In addition, both include WXGA displays with support for 1280x800, DDR2/800MHz RAM, stereo iLink 1394 ("FireWire"), 1-Type II PC Card slot, three (3) USB 2.0 ports, Gigabit Ethernet, a serial port, and a single eSATA/USB (2.0) combo port with Sleep and Charge technology to allow it to charge devices while sleeping.

While the laptops ship with a 2-year standard warranty, Toshiba will only warranty the batteries for a single year. The 9-cell 5,100mA battery is said to deliver nearly 3 hours of computing on S300M model and 4.3 hours on the S300.

The 15.4-inch Satellite Pro S300, which starts at $829 and weights 6.1lbs, includes an Intel Core 2 Duo Processor (P8400), 2GB of RAM, a 160GB 5,400rpm hard drive and a DVD Super Multdrive. It will ship from Toshiba in 1-2 weeks, according to the website.

Meanwhile, the Toshiba Satellite Pro S300M ships with an Intel Core 2 Duo Processor (T5870), 3GB of RAM, a 250GB 5,400 hard drive and DVD burner. Pricing starts at $899 and it weighs just under 5.4lbs.

Both models have options for faster processors, faster 7,200 rpm drives, and larger drives.

Toshiba’s fourth-generation preventative maintenance EasyGuard Technology continuously checks the laptop's hardware components, while PC Health Monitor tracks the status of critical components, such as hard drive status, battery life and CPU temperature and system cooling warnings. In addition, Toshiba also offers a variety of hardware and software enhancements designed to better protect and secure one’s laptop during everyday computing, including a spill-resistant keyboard.

Finally, using the built-in 1.3-megapixel webcam and included Presto! BizCard Reader 5 software, business users can quickly and easily scan business cards and organize them into a convenient and searchable database or export to a contact management software program.

Filed under: computers
Other story tags: Toshiba, notebooks, laptop