Toshiba JournE tablet

Toshiba is making it known that the company ha s no intention of sitting out the tablet PC revolution. You know, if it actually turns out to be a revolution.

Netbooks began to take the world by storm when Asus introduced a consumer oriented low cost mini-laptop in late 2007. It took half a year for HP to introduce the first real competitor for the Eee PC 701, and another few months before the rest of the PC industry really caught up.

Things are moving very differently in the tablet space. Everybody has their eye on the upcoming Apple iPad, but HP, Asus, MSI, Lenovo, and other PC makers have already announced plans to launch their own slates. And now we can add Toshiba to the lineup.

A Toshiba exec tells Fortune Magazine that it will bring out a whole line of slate devices later this year or early next year. No word on what kind of tablets we’re talking about. They could be Windows tablets with x86 processors, or ARM-based tablets running Linux, Google Android, Chrome, or another OS. Or maybe all of the above.

Make sure to check out the Fortune article for a good overall look at the tablet landscape. The Toshiba revelation is just a small part of the article.

via Engadget

Credit: Laptop Magazine

While Intel is without question the dominant chip-maker in the netbook space thanks to its low power Atom chips, the company has a little more competition in the budget thin and light laptop space. Basically these are laptops with 11 to 14 inch displays. They tend to weigh less than 4 pounds, and companies including Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo and toshiba all offer models which fall into this category, many with starting prices around $500 or less.

While Intel’s CULV (Consumer Ultra Low Voltage) line of processors are pretty popular in this space, AMD also offers a line of budget, low power Neo chips.

It’s typically hard to do an apples to apples comparison of a laptop by pitting a laptop with an AMD CPU against one with an Intel chipset… because other hardware tends to vary from system to system. So, for example, it’s hardly fair to compare a Lenovo X100e with an AMD Neo processor to an Asus UL20A with an Intel Core 2 Duo SU7300 CPU because the machines have completely different hardware.

But Toshiba offers two versions of the 13 inch  Satellite T135 — one with an AMD chipset and the other with Intel hardware. A far as I can tell, most of the other specs are pretty similar. And that’s why Laptop Magazine’s comparison of the Toshiba Satellite T135 and the T135D was so interesting. The T135 has a 1.3GHz Pentium SU4100 dual core CPU and GMA 4500MHD graphics while the T135D has an AMD Neo X2 L625 dual core processor and ATI Radeon HD 3200 graphics.

You can find a detailed explanation of the differences between these two systems at Laptop Magazine. But here’s the short version: The Intel version gets about 2 hours of extra battery life, while the AMD version scores higher in graphics tests and in some CPU tests. For day to day use, both laptops are powerful enough for web surfing, watching HD video, or casual gaming. But if you plan to do video editing or other CPU-intensive tasks, the AMD version might be a better bet. If you want all-day computing, the Intel model appears to have the edge.

Of course, this test really only applies to these particular computer models. Intel has other versions of its CULV processors, and AMD has other versions of its low power Neo chips. And they may interact differently with different hardware. But as a general rule, Laptop’s results seem to bear out things I’ve read elsewhere which indicate that AMD’s strength is performance while Intel’s is energy consumption.

A few weeks ago Toshiba introduced a new version of its T115 thin and light 11.6 inch laptop. The new version is available with an AMD Neo processor and ATI Radeon 3200 graphics, while the earlier versions shipped with Intel CULV processors and graphics. Notebook Review forum member Aerows is one of the first people to receive a new Toshiba T115D and she’s posted some initial impressions.

Unfortunately, she had meant to get the dual core version and accidentally wound up with a single core model. But here’s what we know so far:

• The battery on the single core version is good for about 3.5 hours of moderate use (watching a movie, installing applications)
• The laptop gets a little warm, but the fan isn’t loud
• Some of keys (Tab, Alt, Win, and Fn) are smaller than you’d expect

Aerows plans to return the laptop and get the dual core version. If you’re interested in this laptop, you might want to keep following the thread to see how that model compares with the single core version.

via Netbooked

Toshiba’s newest docking station features DVI graphics, 4 USB ports, audio, and Ethernet jcks. And it connects to your computer with just a single USB port, making it easy to connect a printer, mouse, monitor, and other goodies to your netbook or notebook with minimal fuss.

The Dynadock V can handle external displays with rsolutions up to 1920 x 1080. Of course, this ain’t the first docking station from Toshiba, but it’s one of the smallest to date, measuring just 6.13″ x 3″ x 1.31″ and weighing less than 10 ounces.

The dock will be available for $120 starting in February.

via SlashGear

Toshiba’s 10 inch netbooks have always had a few things going for them: large touchpads, comfortable chiclet-style keyboards, and excellent battery life. The latest model, the Toshiba Mini NB305 appears to be no different at first glance. But despite the fact that it uses the new Intel Atom N450 Pine Trail processor which is more energy efficient than the N270 chip found in earlier models, Laptop Magazine found that the new model’s battery life isn’t quite as stellar as the Toshiba NB205’s.

Of course, this is all relative. In the Laptop Magazine reviews, the Mini NB305 ran for 8:37 on a charge, while the NB05 ran for 8:51. It’s not a huge difference. And to be fair, I barely managed to squeeze 7 hours out of the NB205 with Windows 7 Starter Edition in my own test. So I’d take all of these battery tests with a grain of salt. But more importantly: Once you pass the 7 or 8 hour mark, do you really care that much about which model has slightly better battery life?

Laptop Magazine also reports that Toshiba has refined the chassis for its new laptop. While the computer still has the same keyboard and touchpad, the battery has been moved from the back to the bottom of the laptop. And the front of the netbook is now thinner than the back, giving the Toshiba Mini NB305 a slimmer appearance when viewed from the front.

For more photos and details, check out the complete review.

Toshiba has bumped up its line of NAND flash based SSDs (PDF link) to include 128GB solid state disks that are designed for netbooks and low profile notebooks. The 128GB drive comes in mSATA and half-slim SSD versions. It can handle sequential write speeds up to 70MB/s and sequential read speeds up to 180MB/s.

The new modules are 1/8th the weight of a standard 2.5 inch SSD and take up 1/7th the space.

Toshiba is also launching a higher end line of HG high performance SSDs. These will be have read speeds up to 250MB/s and write speeds up to 180MB/s. These drives will come in 64GB, 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB flavors. While there’s no word on pricing yet, it’s fair to say these are going to be somewhat more expensive than the 128GB module mentioned above and probably won’t end up in a low priced netbook anytime soon.

via Engadget and Akihabara News

It looks like Toshiba has finally gotten around to introducing its new Atom Pine Trail powered Mini NB305 netbook. Not that there’s much we hadn’t already discovered about this netbook from the FCC or the web retailers that already posted product listings.

But here’s the skinny: The Toshiba NB305 is a 10 inch netbook that sports a 1.66GHz Intel Atom N450 processor and NM10 chipset with GMA 3150 graphics. It gets up to 11 hours of battery life and will come in brown, white, and blue. The NB305 will be available with up to 2GB of RAM, a 250GB hard drive, and optional Bluetooth. It has 802.11b/g/n WiFi, and optional 3G. The netbook runs Windows 7 starter.

The Toshiba Mini NB305 will go on sale January 12th for $350 and up.

Toshiba’s new NB305 laptop will likely be on display at CES this week and I’ll have a chance to check one out in person. But the folks at Laptop Magazine have beaten me to the punch with their own hands-on impressions of the Toshiba Mini NB305.

The new model features a 1.66GHz Intel Atom N450 processor and up to 11 hours of run time with a 6 cell battery. Otherwise, it looks an awful lot like the popular Toshiba NB200 netbook.

Laptop reports that the netbook features the same metal keyboard, wide touchpad, and 10.1 inch backlit display. The new battery sticks out from the bottom of the laptop isntead of th eback. That means the laptop now sits at an angle, but at least it doesn’t have that silly looking growth on the back.

You can find more images plus a hands-on video at Laptop Magazine.

Remember that Toshiba NB300 that showed up at the FCC a few weeks ago? Now a few retailers are showing listings for the netbook, giving us a better idea of the specs. Here’s the picture that’s shaping up:

• Display: 10.1 inch, 1024 x 600 pixels
• CPU: 1.66GHz Intel Atom N450
• Chipset: Intel NM10 Express Mobile
• Graphics: Intel GMA 3150
• OS: Windows 7 Starter (32-bit)
• RAM: 1GB (supports up to 2GB)
• Storage: 250GB hard drive
• Connectivity: 802.11b/g/n WiFi, 10/100 Ethernet, optional Qualcomm GOBI2000 3G modeule
• I/O: 3 USB, mic, headphone, VGA, SD card slot
• Battery: Up to 4 hours, 15 minutes
• Dimensions: 10.5″ x 7.6″ x 1.4″
• Weight: 2.9 pounds

More details at NB Price.ru, Shop Central.nl, and oh yeah, Toshiba’s European web site.

via Netbook News.de

Toshiba NB300/FCC

Did anybody order a next-generation Toshiba netbook with 3G wireless and GPS capabilities? Because it looks like you’re about to get one. Sure, it might not actually ship in time for the holiday season, but the FCC has published documents related to an upcoming Toshiba NB300 mini-laptop and I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s introduced early next year.

The NB300 will have a 10.1 inch display and a Qualcomm Gobi2000 module which supports GPS, EVDO, WCDM/HSPA, CDMA200 and EDGE, meaning the netbook should work on a variety of different mobile networks. At this point, there’s nothing to indicate which, if any mobile providers will carry the Toshiba NB300 at launch.

There’s no information on the specs, because the FCC is only concerned about the wireless capabilities of the device. But I’d be surprised if it didn’t come with a next-generation Intel Atom Pineview chip.

In related news, it looks like Sony is also planning to launch an updated version of the Vaio W 10 inch netbook with a Gobi wireless module. How do we know? Because the FCC says so. Thanks FCC!

via Netbooked and Wireless Goodness