Toshiba specs, prices Portégé M780 tablet for US

Toshiba's rugged Portégé M780 tablet notebook introduced earlier this year is now available for sale in the US. The product page reveals previously unknown details about the 12.1-inch PC, which can be dropped from up to 3 feet without its hard drive suffering permanent damage. The US-spec M780 can be had with a 2.13GHz Intel Core i3, 2.4GHz Core i5, or 2.66GHz Core i7 and anywhere from 2GB to 8GB of RAM.

The M780's LED-backlit screen has a 1280x800 resolution and can be viewed in bright outdoor conditions. The standard screen only supports inputs from a digital pen, though an optional overlay brings with it finger touch support. A 250GB, 5,400RPM hard drive is standard, with a 320GB, 7,200RPM unit and a 128GB solid state drive as otions. Either is preloaded with Windows 7 Professional along with a Windows XP Tablet PC Edition disc for those that want to avoid the old OS.

Common features to all include integrated Wi-Fi, Intel HD graphics, a fingerprint reader and Toshiba's USB Sleep-and-Charge ports. A six-cell battery and a dual-layer DVD burner are also part of the standard specs. Bluetooth 2.1 is optional on the base and customizable model, but standard on all others, as is a 1.3-megapixel webcam.

At the same time, the 13.3-inch Satellite Pro U500 notebook with multi-touch capability is also due soon in the US. It ships with either a 2.2GHz or 2.53GHz Intel Core 2 Duo CPU and 2GB or 4GB of RAM. All variations use an Intel GMA 4500MHD graphics chipset for the 1280x800 resolution screen, while hard drives range from 250GB to 400GB units. All also have DVD drives, webcams, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

Pricing for the M780 ranges from $1,399 to $1,799, though users can build their own versions. The base Satellite Pro U500 costs $949, and tops out at $1,099.

Portégé M780

Satellite Pro U500

By Electronista Staff