01/26, 3:00pm
Dell hopes XPS 13 picked first based on design
Dell is trying an unusual strategy to try and steer ultrabook buyers towards the XPS 13 on Thursday. Nicknamed the Ultrabook Challenge, the demo campaign Thursday amounts to a blind taste test for the thin-and-light notebooks. Starting in San Francisco first, those at the corner of Chestnut and Scott, and later at Fisherman's Wharf, are being asked to pick an ultrabook based on "look and feel" with all the branding covered up, ostensibly to avoid bias.
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11/22, 7:55pm
Ultrabooks feature Intel 2nd generation Core CPUs
Toshiba has begun selling its Portege Z830 and Z835 13.3-inch ultrabooks through its online store. The computer builder is offering four pre-configured models as well as a build-your-own option at prices starting at $930. All models run low-voltage Intel Core processors.
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09/05, 11:40pm
Ultrabook shipments below 50K to test field
The first batch of ultrabooks attempting to take on the MacBook Air might be produced with intentionally low production numbers to test the market, notebook industry insiders purported late Monday. Systems like the Acer Aspire S3, Lenovo IdeaPad U300s, and Toshiba Portege Z830 may all ship in early production runs under 50,000. The move Digitimes understood would be for "testing the water" to see if a market exists for non-Mac versions of the ultraportables.
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09/01, 11:00am
Toshiba Z830 claims weight and thinness crowns
Toshiba threw its hat into competition in the ultrabook space with the Portege Z830. By using a mix of aluminum and magnesium alloy, the system manages to be both thinner and much lighter than the MacBook Air at just 2.45 pounds and 0.63 inches at its most. The design has also been carefully shaped to keep more traditional ports alive. It carries a USB 3.0 port, two USB 2.0 ports, Ethernet, and separate HDMI and VGA video outputs along with a card reader and headphone jack.
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04/12, 8:50am
Toshiba Portege R830, Tecra R840 and R850 official
Toshiba on Tuesday brought three new pro notebooks to the US to take advantage of Intel's 2011 Core (Sandy Bridge) hardware. Leading the group is the Portege R830, the latest refresh of its full-speed ultraportable. The inch-thick system now packs a newer, full-power Core i3, i5, or i7 and the much faster Intel graphics while adding a USB 3.0 port and the option of Bluetooth 3.0.
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03/23, 11:25pm
Core i3 and Core i5 options all under $1000
Toshiba's R800-series notebooks, which were detailed in recent reports, have finally been paired with prices and detailed specs. The company's website lists several R835 configurations, including an $889 option with Intel's Sandy Bridge Core i3 processor running at 2.1GHz. Moving up to $929 jumps to a Core i5 processor running at 2.3GHz.
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09/22, 11:30am
Toshiba intros notebooks with WiMAX modems
Toshiba on Wednesday announced the upcoming release of four new notebooks with integrated WiMAX modems. Based on existing products, the 16-inch Satellite A665 and 14-inch Satellite M645, 13.3-inch Portégé R705 and 14-inch Satellite E205 each can connect to Sprint's 4G WiMAX network, which is live in 54 cities across the US. The service gives about 3Mbps to 6Mbps downstream.
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09/02, 12:05pm
Toshiba Folio 100 Android tablet now official
Toshiba after months of teases confirmed its launch into the mobile tablet space through the Folio 100. The 10-inch tablet runs a heavily modified version of Android 2.2 and is one of the first major shipping devices to use NVIDIA's Tegra 2. The dual-core ARM chip is powerful enough to play 1080p over a mini HDMI output but is still efficient enough to give the tablet a meaningful, if short, seven hours of battery life.
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06/21, 10:25am
Toshiba Portege R700 hits 3lbs with optical drive
Continuing on its notebook launches, Toshiba today rolled out wht it says is the lightest full notebook. The Portege R700 weighs just three pounds and measures under 0.7 inches thick but still has full notebook processors, up to and including the dual Core i7. In spite of its weight, it should last for up to 8.5 hours on its stock battery and 12.5 hours with a nine-cell extended pack.
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02/23, 11:30am
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.
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02/02, 1:30pm
Toshiba intros rugged Portégé M780 tablet PC
Toshiba today brought out its rugged Portégé M780 tablet PC in Europe, complete with a 12.1-inch multi-touch screen. Powered by Windows 7, the convertible notebook gets Intel's recent Core i3 and Core i5 CPUs, though exactly which hasn't been detailed. The Portégé range in North America does not yet include plans for the M780.
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11/03, 1:15pm
Toshiba outs updated Windows 7 notebooks
Toshiba released updated Satellite Pro, Tecra and Portégé business notebooks on Tuesday to get its work PCs onboard with Windows 7. The Satellite Pro line features new screen sizes, including traditional 15.6-inch and 17.3-inch displays as well as a 13.3-inch touchscreen. Most of these business-oriented notebooks will ship with Windows XP Professional and Windows 7 Professional on separate DVDs so businesses can upgrade whenever they are ready. The new Satellite Pro U500 Touch has a multi-touch display and ships with Toshiba's touch-ready productivity software, LifeSpace.
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07/09, 11:05am
SSD Notebooks Hurt
The economic crunch is making a major impact on the viability of solid-state drives in notebooks, according to new research from iSuppli. As prices for the NAND flash memory that form the heart of these drives have in some cases more than doubled -- 128 percent for a 2GB chip -- the costs for the SSDs themselves have gone up proportionately, making it difficult or occasionally impossible to offer an SSD option in a given notebook. The jump is the result of a known shortage triggered by the economy, as companies producing memory deliberately cut production to raise prices and save money.
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10/14, 9:35am
New Porteges Tecras in US
Toshiba today quickly followed up its Canada-first notebook launches with their American equivalents. The Portégé lineup gets three updates that include the R600, its ultra-lightweight 12-inch portable that weighs 2.4 pounds while still carrying a 1.2GHz Core 2 Duo, an internal DVD burner and up to a 128GB solid-state drive for storage; the upgrade further boasts a better LED-backlit, transflective display suitable for use outside. Prices start at $2,099.
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10/09, 3:20pm
Toshiba intros notebooks
Toshiba Canada recently bolstered its notebook lineup with four new products, including an all-new Tecra R10 premium notebook meant for business users, which the company is touting as the fastest and most secure Toshiba notebook to date, a Wednesday report reveals. The remaining three include updated ultra portable Portégé-series notebooks with the A600 and an update to the R600, while a new M750 Tablet PC was also introduced.
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09/29, 12:10pm
Toshiba intros DynaBook NX
Toshiba on Monday announced it will soon launch the DynaBook NX notebook, which will be available either with a 128GB solid-state drive or conventional 160GB hard-disk. The 12.1-inch display is LED-backlit and combines with an onboard GMA 4500MHD graphics chipset to drive HD movie playback. Thanks in part to the use of Intel‘s newer 45nm, ultra-low voltage 1.2GHz Core 2 Duo processor, Toshiba rates the SSD-equipped dynabook‘s battery life at 11.5 hours, with the HDD model rated at 10.5 hours. Standard memory is set at 2GB but expandable to 3GB.
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06/17, 9:55am
Toshiba R500 128GB SSD
A second announcement from Toshiba sees the US release of what it says is the first notebook with a 128GB solid-state drive. The Portégé R500-S5007V exploits the company's in-house 128GB drive to double the storage available in a very thin ultraportable while still keeping the incidental benefits of an SSD, such as very quick response times as well as the better battery life and skip-proof nature of flash memory. The system weighs just 2.4 pounds and maintains its earlier thickness of just 0.77 inches while keeping a built-in DVD drive -- the only notebook in the class to do so.
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03/17, 3:10pm
Toshiba 128GB SSD RX1
Toshiba’s Japan-only new Dynabook SS RX1 is the first ever notebook to offer a 128GB solid-state drive (SSD), matching the storage capacity of conventional hard-disk drives with the speeds associated with flash drives. The model will be available about nine months after Toshiba also unveiled the first laptop with a 64GB SSD drive. In North America, the RX1’s equivalent is the Portégé
R500, already a holder of many “world’s first” accolades.
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12/10, 11:35am
Toshiba Portege M700
Toshiba on Monday has capitalized on last-minute holiday sales by announcing the Portégé M700. While a tablet like some earlier models, the new 12.1-inch system is built for a level of speed not often found in the class: a base system starts with a 2GHz Core 2 Duo with an 800MHz bus and optionally scales up to the latest 2.6GHz model. The M700 also distinguishes itself by including both active and passive input, allowing users to press both with their fingers or with a stylus on an anti-glare LED screen the PC builder says is much more useful in outdoor light.
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