News Bits: New Portege Business Notebooks, Nvidia issues Strike Apple, MSI Wind U120

Toshiba introduces newPortégés, new Tecra

Toshiba this week introduced four new ultraportable Portégé notebooks to its lineup, as well as a new Tecra business class notebook. At the moment, they are only available in Canada.

All of the new Portégé notebooks are based on the Intel Centrino 2 platform and feature Intel GMA X4500 graphics. They have titanium silver chassis, DVD Super-Multi drives, and Windows Vista Business.

Tecra R10

The Tecra R10 has a 14.1-inch WXGA display. It featues a Core 2 Duo SP9400 running at 2.4GHz, 4GB of RAM, a 200GB 7200RPM hard drive, and Nvidia Quadro NVS 150M 128MB dedicated graphics. Its 6-cell, 4000mAh battery is good for four hours of life, and the R10 weighs a shade less than four pounds. Toshiba calls the R10 "the fastest and most secure Toshiba laptop ever." Its retails for $1,999.99.

R10 Product Page

M750 Tablet PC

The M750 is a convertible tablet featuring similar specifications as the Tecra R10. It has an LED-backlit 12.1-inch display with a WXGA resolution. Toshiba claims its 6-cell, 4700mAh battery lasts 4.30 hours. The M750 weighs in at 4.4 pounds.

M750 Product Page

R600

The 12.1-inch R600 packs a Core 2 Duo Ultra Low Voltage (ULV) processor, 160GB 5400RPM hard drive or 128GB SSD, a 6-cell, 5800mAh battery good for 9.0 hours, all in a 2.4 lb chassis. The R600 retail price ranges from $2,399.99 - $3,299.99.

R600 Product Page

A600

The A600 is a more affordable version of the R600, retailing for a lesser $1,499.99. It is not currently available with an SSD, and weighs a shade over three pounds.

A600 Product Page

• Full Story (MarketNews.ca)
• Via (Engadget.com)

Apple not immune to faulty Nvidia video cards

An Apple Support article details that certain MacBook Pro notebooks are affected by faulty Nvidia video cards. Apple lists the following on their support page:

What to look for:

• Distorted or scrambled video on the computer screen
• No video on the computer screen(or external display) even though the computer is on

Specific products affected:

• MacBook Pro 15-inch and 17-inch models with NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT graphics processors
  
  • MacBook Pro (17-Inch, 2.4GHz)
  • MacBook Pro (15-Inch, 2.4/2.2GHz)
  • MacBook Pro (Early 2008)
• These computers were manufactured between approximately May 2007 and September 2008

Customers with issues described above are advised to take their notebook to an Apple Retail store or Apple Authorized Service Provider.

Apple Support Article
Via (Engadget.com)

MSI Wind U120 unveiled

Fudzilla has found images of MSI's upcoming Wind U120, or Wind 2, netbook. It features a 10-inch screen and targets business users. It will come with specifications similar to the orignal Wind. What sets the Wind 2 apart is its 802.11n wireless and 3.5G modem that accepts a SIM card. It should be available in December for less than $600.

Full Story (Fudzilla.com)

ASUS Eee PC to get touchscreen, dual-core Atom

According to a DigiTimes report, ASUS is planning to launch a touch-screen version of its popular Eee PC netbook next year. ASUS will launch dual-core versions of the Eee PC once Intel begins shipping the processors. A sub-$300 Eee PC is also expected.

Full Story (DigiTimes.com)

Toshiba Satellite U405 gets WiMAX

Toshiba has added WiMAX support to its 13.3-inch Satellite U405 notebook. It features the all-new codenamed "Echo Peak" Intel WiMAX/Wi-Fi Link 5050 series card.

There is no word on pricing, but the WiMAX-enabled U405-ST550W will be available exclusively through ToshibaDirect.com.

• Toshiba Press Release (BusinessWire.com)
• NotebookReview.com review for the Satellite U405

 

Upssss....Finally Apple start taking about chips !

 

Well SOME company is doing the honorable thing, while it isn't really their fault at all. Now for Nvidia.... =(

 

dual core netbooks.... nice...

 

The R10 looks amazing (the nicest looking laptop I've seen in a while), but it's really too expensive. In comparison, the Lenovo T400 with the same specs cost a full $400 less than the R10. The T400 gets a Radeon Mobility 3470 too a GPU twice as fast as the NVS 150M on the R10. What's more, the R10 does not have DDR3 memory option, something the T400 comes standard with. An LED backlit screen should've been a given for a $1999 business laptop, but for some inexplicable reason, Toshiba chose to stick with CCFL. What's up with that? And only a 4000 mAh battery? Granted the T400 isn't half as nice in the looks the looks department, I'd say it's by far the better deal.

 

Wow toshiba really looks like they want to make a comeback they fell off for quite a while this should give them a boost the portege line has always been popular.

 

It honestly doesn't look like they're trying hard enough to me.

 

Hm...
I highly doubt that even Asus will ever bring back the sub-$300 netbook...
I think those times are gone, and that people are willing to pay the extra $100-$200 for something much more worth their while.

Just my $0.02...

 

How so?????

 

The Toshiba R60 looks good it is a shame though that Toshiba did not add in more wireless options seeing as though this laptop is aimed at business users. To not have HSDPA built in or some other option is not great. Maybe some other models might offer this later.
The weight is incredible really for a 12.1 notebook and it is even lighter than the TZ/TT 11.1" range of notebooks.

As for the R10 i think that the specs are ok and for most business users the specs are more than enough. This is one of the lightest 14.1" notebooks out there right now. It is not entirely fair to compare a notebook under 4lbs to one over 5lbs when it comes to specs. The graphics card that they went with has got a very low power draw.
They should have put a higher capacity battery in there though. Toshiba seem to be a bit stingy with battery capacities these days.
They should have also maybe used an LED screen but still i am not sure about the actual value if any that LED screens actually give.

 

I see the A600 is a bit thicker than the R600. I suspect the latter may inherit the R500's very small and noisy fan while the A600 should have space for a bigger and quieter cooling system. The A600 doesn't have the transflective display.

The product descriptions for both the R600 and A600 say they have black keyboards although the photos suggest silver keyboards. I found, with the R500, that although the transflective display is usable in the sunshine, the glare from the silver keyboard was a major distraction.

John

 

I'd say you're right on for the most part. The LED screen adds 20+ min (or so I've heard) and is overall brighter than CCFL. It's not too expensive too - a mere $60 upgrade for the Thinkpad T400.

If you ask me, I think Toshiba needs the R10 to have different configurations. The Core 2 Duo SP9400 is overkill (adding cost to what that is already an expensive computer) for the target business user. Also, an optional "high-capacity" 6-cell battery would be nice.

 

I have had some CCFL displays that were just as bright as some LED displays that i have used.
As for the battery life in the case of the M1330 when owners compared battery life it appeared that those with the LED displays had at the most maybe 10 mins to no advantage over those who had the CCFL display. People want to feel that they are getting value for money though i understand that and people want the newest technology.
I think this whole LED thing is probably a bit blown up though.

 

Thanks for the updated News Bits, Chaz!

hmmm...Touch screen for the ASUS Eee PC, sounds interesting!
And, The MSI Wind U120 looks nice, also!


Cin

 

I almost thought NVIDIA started a campaign called "Strike Apple" when I saw the title.

Capitalisation does matter.

 

Thx for news Chaz!