Toshiba Digital Products introduced its back-to-school notebook computer line that includes two new chassis, a 12.1-inch ultra-portable and a widescreen Tablet PC.
Also rolling out are upgraded versions of Toshiba’s M105, A105 and P105 Satellites.
The U205 Series is the company’s first ultra-portable model to sell under its Satellite consumer brand, said Chris Casper, Toshiba’s product marketing group manager. The primary differentiator between the two SKUs in the line, U205-S5002 and U205-S5022, is the first has an Intel Core Duo processor T2300E and a 100GB hard drive and the latter uses the Intel Core Duo T2400 processor and a 120GB hard drive. Both weigh 4.1 pounds and are about 1.3 inches thick. Other shared features include a DVD SuperMulti double-layer drive, Toshiba’s Express Media Player controls and five-in-one media reader, and each can take up to 1GB of DDR2 memory.
Suggested retail prices are $1,199 for the S5002 and $1,349 for the S5022.
The R25- S3503 Tablet PC convertible notebook was equipped with a 14.1-inch widescreen display for the first time to give users, particularly students, a better note-taking platform, said Casper. The unit comes with digitizer pen and handwriting recognition software that will turn notes into text.
General features include Intel Core Duo Processor T2050 and the Microsoft Windows XP Tablet Edition 2005 operating system, a DVD SuperMulti double-layer drive, 100GB hard drive and a $1,349 suggested retail price.
The U205 and R25 incorporate Toshiba’s LifeSmart Technology that improves the unit’s durability. This includes rubber padding around the hard drive and crumple zones on the corners to absorb shock, a spill-resistant keyboard and an accelerometer that recognizes when the unit is falling and shuts down the hard drive to protect data loss, Toshiba said.
The three-unit series has prices ranging of $650, $800 and $1,199. All use a 14.1W-display and a DVD SuperMulti double-layer drive. The line’s value piece is powered by a Celeron M processor with step ups to a Core Solo processor for the mainstream model and a Core Duo processor the multimedia model. The entry- and midpriced models each have 80GB hard drives and 512MB of memory, while the top-end model is equipped with a 120GB drive and 1GB of memory.
The A105 series differs from the M105s by having a 15W-inch display and slightly different versions of the Celeron M, Core Solo and Core Duo processors. Hard drives included are 80GB for the value model and 120GB for the mainstream and multimedia versions. Memory capacity for the top model is boosted to 2GB. Respective prices are $700, $999 and $1,349.
The 105 series, which contains Toshiba’s desktop replacement units with 17W-inch displays, start at $1,199 for the P105-S6024, featuring Core Duo T2050 processor, 1GB of memory, DVD SuperMulti double-layer drive and a 100GB hard drive. The next model up is the S6084 which has a Core Duo T2300E processor and the Media Center operating system. The top model is the S9312. It adds a Core Duo T2500 processor, up to 2GB of memory, a 200GB hard drive and carries a $1,999 price tag.
The latter two P105 SKUs come with an external, USB-connected TV card.
