Relax. Take a deep breath. That sense of panic at being overwhelmed by the sheer number of new and refreshed notebooks included in Toshiba’s latest press release is completely normal. You can get through this. We can get through this. Just take them one at a time:
The R600: Remember this one? They announced it on the same day as Apple’s MacBook keynote. It’s pretty sexy for a notebook – less than 1kg, available with a 200GB hard drive for $3,300 or a 128GB SSD for $4125.
Next up is the A600: Who comes up with these names? I’m sure there’s a system in place, but how’s a man to know the difference between an A600 and an R600? The $2530 RRP might help, of course,
The Tecra R10: That’s the desktop replacement. $1,879.
The Portege M750 Tablet: Whatever happened to tablet PCs? I guess they were too hard for most people to swallow. Hahaha. Sometimes you make me sick. No, I’m not joking. Why would you write that? Anyway, 12.1-inch tablet for $3850.
M800: We’re almost there. This one comes in Cherry red. You know, for the real professionals. $2090.
Satellite Pro Series: Last one. Wait – what? It’s a series, not an individual model? Dammit! Oh well, they start at $798, which I guess means that this is Toshiba’s current netbook competitor. Hope they release a real netbook one day.
Phew. We made it through the press release. Of course, we only did it by ignoring most of the specs… If you want to read them for yourself, the release is below – I’m not going in there again, it smells like wet dog for some reason.
Toshiba Unleashes Stylish Business Notebooks
Demand for functionality and style heralds a new era for
business notebooksSYDNEY, November 6 2008 – Today’s road warriors can now maximise work productivity and minimise downtime in style with Toshiba (Australia) Information Systems Division’s (Toshiba ISD) new robust yet chic range of business notebooks.
The new range connects style with increased productivity and mobility by incorporating a new slimline silver-alloy casing, Intel® Centrino®2 technology and enhanced graphics. Extending the winning streak of the Portégé family, the range includes the lighter than ever Portégé R600, the ultra-portable and competitively priced Portégé A600, the powerful Portégé M750 tablet together with a Cherry Red colour option for the Portégé M800.
Also announced is the Tecra R10: a powerful desktop replacement offering increased power and advance security for businesses on the go.
Toshiba has also refreshed six business models across the following series: Satellite Pro L300, Satellite Pro A300 and Satellite Pro M300. Across the new line-up, features such as eSATA USB, Eco Mode and Toshiba’s EasyGuard suite have been included to limit power consumption, increase battery life and ensure a more reliable and secure computing experience.
“This launch represents a big step forward in Toshiba’s business range – business users can have ultra-stylish portability at a range of pricepoints. We are seeing continued decline in user segmentation as the lines continue to blur between heavyweight business needs and stylish, lightweight consumer demands,” said Mathew Tumminello, Product Marketing Manager at Toshiba ISD. “Across the board people want increased mobility, maximum storage and ultimately a product that they can be proud to carry around,” he concluded.
Light-weight, heavy on performance: Portégé R600 HDD $3,300 RRP inc. GST SSD $4125 RRP inc. GST
The new Portégé R600 – weighing-in at less than 1kg is a champion in a league of its own, changing the way executives work inside and outside the office. Still the world’s lightest fully-featured notebook, it comes with 3GB of memory, an in-built webcam, expansive connectivity options and up to eight hours battery life.The Portégé R600 offers users a choice of hard drives, a power packed 7200RPM 200GB Hard Disc Drive (HHD) or a 128GB Solid State Drive (SSD) for faster start-up and read times and increased security.
Affordable style, ultra-portable substance: Portégé A600 $2530 RRP inc. GST
The ultra-portable Portégé A600 gives users a non-compromise, affordable yet powerful notebook. Packed with sophisticated features such as Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor, 2GB of RAM and a 250GB HDD, this stylish addition weighs in at less than 1.5kg proving size does not matter. The lightweight Portégé A600 has up to five hours of battery life making it the perfect laptop for the demanding mobile professional.Good looks, solid performance: Tecra R10 from $1879 (incl GST).
Ideal for small to medium businesses, the rugged Tecra R10 offers users a fast and secure mobile computing experience. Encased in a new stylish silver-alloy chassis, the Tecra is stronger and smarter than ever before. Featuring a 14.1 inch wide screen display, up to 4GB of RAM for faster processing and enhanced security and manageability, the Tecra R10 is available with a 7200 RPM high-speed 200GB HDD. Also standard is NVIDIA Quadro® NVS 150M graphics controller with 128MB of dedicated video memory, providing business graphic solutions to SMBs.Technology with a twist: Portégé M750 tablet $3850 RRP inc. GST
The Portégé M750 offers complete flexibility with a 12.1 inch twist-and-type or twist-and-write tablet screen. Powered by Intel® Centrino®2 technology, the Portégé M750 is configured in a 16:10 widescreen, providing nearly 25% increase in onscreen content compared to screens displaying resolutions of 1024 x 768. The Portégé M750 also features up to 4GB of RAM, 7200RPM 200GB hard drive and a Super-Multi double layer optical drive to ensure users are always productive on the go.Deadly desirable: Portégé M800 from $2090 RRP inc. GST
Compact, durable and ideal for any mobile professional or student; the stylish and ultra-portable Portégé M800 is now also available in Cherry Red. Powered by Intel® Centrino®2 technology and featuring 2GB of RAM and a massive 320GB hard drive, the 13.3 inch notebook is a portable powerhouse with no concessions on performance or style.Champion returns: Refreshed Satellite Pro Series from $798 RRP inc. GST
The Satellite Pro series has been redesigned to deliver a faster, more productive work experience. Comprising of six refreshed models, the range incorporates the latest Centrino®2 processors: up to 4GB of RAM and 320GB hard drive and eSATA USB to allow for faster data transfer rates of up to five times than that of traditional USB 2.0. Refreshed models include the Satellite Pro L300 (available in three models), Satellite Pro A300 (available in two models) and the Satellite Pro M300.Availability
The new range is available from November at Toshiba Authorised Resellers.
Please telephone 13 30 70 or visit http://www.isd.toshiba.com.au for more information.