Toshiba introduced its first HD DVD-equipped notebook computer through its elite Qosmio line.
The Qosmio G-35-AV650 Media Center will ship this month with a $2,999 suggested retail price, $600 more then the currently available Qosmio G35-AV600, said Chris Casper, Toshiba’s product manager. The new Qosmio will not replace the older model, but the two will sell side by side.
Other additions to the new model are a faster Intel Centrino Duo Mobile processor, two 100GB hard drives, 1GB of DDR2 memory, an integrated TV tuner, a 256MB NVIDIA GeForce Go 7600 graphics card, an HDMI output and a 1,920 by 1,200 resolution display. The HD DVD drive will also burn to and play all other DVD and CD media.
While only a handful of HD DVD titles will be available at launch, Casper said about 200 will be on store shelves by the end of this year.
Toshiba uses the Qosmio line as the launch platform for new advances, and Casper said the new technology eventually will be pushed down into the mainstream Satellite notebook line. A rewritable HD DVD drive is not expected to appear in the Qosmio series until later this year when the line is again revamped.
Last month Toshiba’s CE division shipped the entry HD-A1 player, which carries a $499.99 street price, and the step-up HD-XA1 at $799.99.
