Toshiba R series has always been targeted at the business professional who places a premium on portability, but also requires a built-in optical drive. While its predecessors sport a 12.1-inch display, the latest Portege R700 has increases the panel to 13.3 inches without adding significantly to the bulk or size. Moreover, despite the weight and appearance of an ultrathin, the R700 sports a full-power processor and optical drive under the hood.
Toshiba Portege ultraportable laptops are not only a demonstration of Toshiba superior engineering and craftsmanship, but our ability to innovate to meet the demands of businesses,said Carl Pinto, vice president of product development, Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc.,Digital Products Division. The Portege R700 delivers the ultimate mobile experience at breakthrough prices that businesses have been waiting for, providing both performanceand battery life within an extremely thin and light, yet durable form factor without compromising key features such as an integrated DVD drive.
While it may not have the latest USB 3.0 port, the Portege R700 has sufficient connectivity options. Besides the expected USB 2.0, we also found an eSATA/USB combo port, VGA as well as an HDMI output. The USB ports are sleep-and-charge enabled, which allows the user to power their USB devices even when the notebook is turned off.
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Toshiba Corp. (Toshiba) and Toshiba America Electronic Components, Inc. (TAEC)*, its subsidiary in the Americas, today announced the expansion of their line up of NAND-flash-based solid state drives (SSD) with the industry's first 2.5-inch 512-gigabyte (GB)1 SSD and a broad family of fast read/write SSDs based on 43 nanometer (nm) Multi-Level Cell NAND. The new drives provide a high level of performance and endurance for use in notebook computers, gaming and home entertainment systems, and will be showcased at International CES 2009 in Las Vegas, Nevada from January 8 – 11, 2009.In addition to the 2.5-inch, 512GB drive, the 43nm NAND SSD family also includes capacitiesof 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB, offered in 1.8-inch or 2.5-inch drive enclosures or as SSD Flash Modules. Samples of the new drives will be available in the first quarter (January to March) of 2009, with mass production in the second (April to June) quarter.
Toshiba's second-generation SSDs bring increased capacity and performance for notebook computers. They utilize an advanced MLC controller, which is also compatible with further advanced processes, that achieves higher read/write speeds, parallel data transfers and wear leveling to optimize performance, reliability and endurance. The drives enable improved system responsiveness with a maximum sequential read speed of 240MB per second (MBps)2 and maximum sequential write speed of 200MBps enabling an improvement in overall computing experience, and faster boot and application loading times. The drives also offer AES data encryption to prevent unauthorized data access.
"The solid state drive market is evolving rapidly, with higher performance drives to meet market requirements, and differentiated product families targeted for appropriate applications," said Mr. Kiyoshi Kobayashi, Vice President of Toshiba Corporation's Semiconductor Company. "This new 43nm SSD family balances value/performance characteristics for its targeted consumer applications, through use of MLC NAND and an advanced controller architecture."
Toshiba and many market analysts expect SSDs to begin to gain significant traction in the market in 2009, growing to approximately 10% of the notebook market by 2010, and 25% of the notebook market by 2012. Toshiba expects the value/performance of its MLC NAND-based SSD line-up to help speed the acceptance of solid state storage.
Toshiba will continue to promote innovations that widen the horizons of the NAND Flash market and support its continued leadership in that market. The company will spur demand for SSDs in notebook PCs, netbooks, laptops and digital consumer products by enhancing its lineup, offering products with different densities and interfaces in a range of packages, while advancing device performance. For more information on Toshiba SSDs, please visit ssd.toshiba.com.
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Toshiba will halt chip production at two plants for nine days due to weak demand, in its first output break in seven years, broadcaster NHK reported on Friday.According to Toshiba, the company is looking at its operating schedule for the year-end and considering suspending some chip-making lines, adding that this would not be a rare move.
Toshiba on Wednesday said that it would speed up restructuring to cut costs at its loss-making chip operations, faced with faster-than-expected price falls since October and weakeningeconomies around the world.
The NHK report said Toshiba, which competes with Samsung Electronics and Hynix Semiconductor , will halt output at the two plants between December 27 and January 4, the first semiconductor plant shutdown since 2001.
Toshiba made the decision after the global financial crisis and economic downturn dampened demand for gadgets such as digital cameras, Apple's iPod and mobile phones that use Toshiba's flash memory, NHK said.
Toshiba's Yokkaichi memory factory, partly run with production partner SanDisk, has a capacity to make 290,000 300 millimeter-wafers per month.
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Toshiba, has launched of 16GB microSDHC card offering the largest capacity available in the market.The company has also extended its range of memory card solutions by adding ultra fast read/write 8GB and 16GB SDHC cards to its line-up. Mass production of the new SDHC cards will start in December, with production of the new microSDHC slated to start in January 2009.All the new SDHC memory cards comply with the SD memory standard Ver. 2.00, and the two new SDHC cards announced today support class 6 ultra fast read/write speed - a maximum write speed of 20MB per second, delivering high performance for continuous shooting of still images and recording video images. The new microSDHC can be used with an adapter that allows it to be used in SDHC slots.
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Toshiba and Nvidia have teamed up to create Toshiba's most powerful gaming laptop to date featuring the new highly integrated GeForce 9400M graphics processing unit (GPU) along with a pair of Nvidia GeForce 9800M GTS enthusiast-class GPUs. The Toshiba Qosmio X305-Q708 and X305-Q706, the first pair of laptops to incorporate three powerful Nvidia GPUs, gives users a choice between maximum performance and quiet operation.
"We wanted to deliver an extreme-performance gaming machine that gives gamers a complete, non-compromising system in a laptop form factor," said Carl Pinto, vice president of product development, digital products division for Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc. "The combination of the Nvidia GPUs and chipset allowed us to achieve a high level of performance, quality and flexibility that our customers are asking for, at a competitive starting price of $1,999."The design featuring three Nvidia GPUs enables the Qosmio X305-Q708 and X305-Q706 laptops to deliver scorching gaming performance by combining the horsepower of two discrete GeForce 9800M GTS GPUs with Nvidia SLI technology, and allows the option of switching to a quiet operation mode with Nvidia Hybrid SLI technology.
In Hybrid SLI operation, the 9800M GTS GPUs are powered down and graphics operation is transferred to the GeForce 9400M GPU. As a result, Toshiba Qosmio laptops are able to deliver gaming performance at high resolutions, while enabling a quiet state when powering other types of Windows Vista applications.
"The Toshiba Qosmio X305-Q708 is a world-class gaming laptop that uses Nvidia graphics processors to solve real problems and add real value for notebook users," said Rene Haas, general manager of the notebook business unit at Nvidia. "We were thrilled to be able to partner with Toshiba to deliver this ground-breaking new product."
The Qosmio X305-Q708 and X305-Q706 laptops are now available for purchase directly from Toshiba.
"We wanted to deliver an extreme-performance gaming machine that gives gamers a complete, non-compromising system in a laptop form factor," said Carl Pinto, vice president of product development, digital products division for Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc. "The combination of the Nvidia GPUs and chipset allowed us to achieve a high level of performance, quality and flexibility that our customers are asking for, at a competitive starting price of $1,999."The design featuring three Nvidia GPUs enables the Qosmio X305-Q708 and X305-Q706 laptops to deliver scorching gaming performance by combining the horsepower of two discrete GeForce 9800M GTS GPUs with Nvidia SLI technology, and allows the option of switching to a quiet operation mode with Nvidia Hybrid SLI technology.
In Hybrid SLI operation, the 9800M GTS GPUs are powered down and graphics operation is transferred to the GeForce 9400M GPU. As a result, Toshiba Qosmio laptops are able to deliver gaming performance at high resolutions, while enabling a quiet state when powering other types of Windows Vista applications.
"The Toshiba Qosmio X305-Q708 is a world-class gaming laptop that uses Nvidia graphics processors to solve real problems and add real value for notebook users," said Rene Haas, general manager of the notebook business unit at Nvidia. "We were thrilled to be able to partner with Toshiba to deliver this ground-breaking new product."
The Qosmio X305-Q708 and X305-Q706 laptops are now available for purchase directly from Toshiba.
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Now, wait a minute, and say that again, please. Could it be that three NVIDIA graphics processors are powering one of Toshiba’s portable computer systems? If so, this is happening at a time when most desktop computer systems are basically powered by a single graphics processor, while the majority of portable PCs are featured with integrated graphics. This should be interesting, at least if you are one of those late-night LAN party gamers looking for the very best in terms of computing experience.Toshiba is known for offering some of the most interesting portable computer systems on the market but, this time, the company appears to have really outdone itself, with a bit of help from the Santa Clara, California-based green team. NVIDIA and Toshiba have teamed up to put together two Qosmio portable computer systems, the X305-Q708 and the X305-Q706, which are based on the newly launched GeForce 9400M graphics processing unit. These two models have been featured with an additional pair of NVIDIA GeForce 9800M GTS GPUs to deliver the actual gaming performance required by computer enthusiasts out there.“We wanted to deliver an extreme-performance gaming machine that gives gamers a complete, non-compromising system in a laptop form factor,” said Carl Pinto, vice president of product development, digital products ddivision for Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc. “The combination of the NVIDIA GPUs and chipset allowed us to achieve a high level of performance, quality and flexibility that our customers are asking for, at a competitive starting price of $1,999.”
We might have expected such a power rig to come from one of the two major custom PC makers, Alienware and Voodoo PC, but coming from Toshiba, this product appears all the more revolutionary. Also, it makes one wonder if Voodoo PC is not actually preparing a similar system, given all the recent details about a new, third product to be released by HP’s Voodoo team. However, until such a system becomes available, you can already check out Toshiba’s offer, directly from the company’s website.
As for specifications, the new portable systems also boast a 17-inch WSXGA+ Widescreen display, 4GB of DDR3 1066MHz memory, a Core 2 Duo P8400 processor, a 320GB 7200RPM HDD, and the usual number of connectivity options you will basically need. The higher-priced X305-Q708 comes with a faster QX9300 processor and two storage solutions, one of which is a 128GB SSD, for an even better performance.
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Toshiba was in the news recently regarding there Qosmio gaming laptop. Now they are following that up with the release of there ultra portable laptop called the Portege A605. This new model is based on the Portege R500 and delivers high power computing with sleek and slim design.It is a 12.1 inch notebook that is just 1.18 inches thin and weighs just 3.3 pounds. One of its impressive feature is its battery life which can last for around 6 hours. Despite its slim design, the laptop has a high configuration. It is powered by Intel Core 2 Duo SU9400 processor and has 3 GB DDR2 RAM. Along with a hard disk of 250 GB, the laptop also comes with a DVD optical drive and has Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500. Other features include WiFi, Fingerprint Scanner, USB ports and Webcam. The laptop comes with Windows Vista 32 bit version.
The 12.1 inch ultra portable notebooks has a starting price range of $1399 and is bow available.
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Toshiba, one of the leading manufacturers of computer NAND flash memory devices, has just announced that it plans to launch a new line-up of 43nm Single-Level Cell (SLC) NAND flash memory solutions. The new devices are slated to debut on the market sometime in the first quarter of 2009.The new 43nm-built SLC NAND flash memory will be made available in densities ranging from 512MB to 64GB in no less than 16 versions. The new range includes three products with 16GB, 32GB and 64GB capacities, all of which are built using 43nm monolithic 16GB chips, the highest density SLC NAND chips available. The new devices are set to hit the market in Q1 2009, while lower-capacity products will be made available in the third quarter of next year.
The company has specifically built the new devices to meet the requirements of different applications. Its product offering delivers support for mobile phones, office automation equipment and servers, providing increased read and write speeds as well as high levels of reliability.
Toshiba has been promoting the expansion of the NAND flash memory market by accelerating development of high density MLC chips that can be used for high capacity data storage in memory cards, MP3 players and other storage devices. SLC chips haven't been adopted by Toshiba because of the limitations of its 56nm and 70nm process technologies. However, the new 43nm process technology allows the company to expand its wide range of advanced SLC flash memories designed for high-performance storage applications.Toshiba is one of the leading providers of storage-based and consumer electronics products, which, aside from its range of magnetic hard drives, has also introduced a line of solid state drives for consumers that require a higher-performance storage solution. With the introduction of its 43nm SLC flash memory line-up, the company plans to expand its selection of high-value added products for a wide range of embedded applications.
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If you are a heavy gamer and is planning to get a gaming laptop capable of running all the latest games at high configurations, then Toshiba has launched just the right thing for you - The Qosmio X305-Q708 gaming notebook. It is a 17 inch notebook and has a killer config that can run all the games at high settings.The notebook is powered by Intel Core 2 Duo Extreme Q9300 2.53 GHz processor and has 4 GB DDR3 1066 MHz RAM. It has a 128 GB SSD and 320 GB Hard Disk. Now coming the the graphics card, it has a Dual Nvidia Geforce 9800 M GTS 512 MB SLI GPUs which can run the games in high or ultra settings. Apart from that it has four Harmon Kardon speakers with sub woofer, 1.3 MP camera, Wifi, HDMI and display ports, USB slots. It comes pre loaded with Windows Vista.It weights around 9.04 lbs and uses8 cell battery. The design of the Laptop is pretty cool too. But you have to shell out a lot of money for this rig. It is available for a price of around $4199.
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Toshiba has announced that it is all set to begin mass production of a new 256GB SSD with MLC controller. The company will also be introducing a few small-sized Flash Modules for UMPCs and other mobile devices.The high density NAND-flash-based SSD boasts a maximum read speed of 120MB/sec and maximum write speed of 70MB/sec. On the other hand, the small-sized Flash Modules, which support 8GB, 16 GB and 32 GB densities,are claimed to be capable of a maximum read speed of 80MB/sec and maximum write speed of 50MB/sec. Both drives utilize the SATA-2 interface.
Let us see if Toshiba can pleasantly surprise everyone with cheaper than expected prices.
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Thanks to Toshiba, geeks will soon have reason to try and get on Santa's 'Good' list this holiday shopping season. The company's Storage Device Division (SDD) today announced what it claims is the world's first dual-platter 240GB 1.8-inch hard drive for use in portable media players, camcorders, and other gadgets. Toshiba also introduced a single-platter 120GB model.The two new PATA hard drives take areal density up to an impressive 344 gigabits-per-square-inch. Toshiba said the feat was made possible using its fourth-generation perpendicular magnetic recording technology, which bodes well for future devices utilizing the 1.8-inch form factor.In addition to offering a higher capacity, Toshiba said its 240GB drive comes optimized for power performance and offers a 33 percent overall improvement in energy consumption efficiency when compared to the company's previous generation two-platter 160GB drive.
No word yet on pricing or specific availability, though Toshiba did say its "new 1.8-inch HDDs will be incorporated into CE and mobile PC products shipping this holiday season."
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When 2008 started, everyone hoped to see a conclusion of the next-generation DVD format war between Toshiba's HD DVD and Sony's Blu-ray. In the end, Blu-ray has officially won this "battle," with Toshiba admitting defeat and moving on to other segments of the CE market. However, this victory might be relatively short-lived (compared to the lifespan of the DVD format, for example), at least according to what a Samsung manager has to say.Thus, in an interview for the Pocket-lint website, Andy Griffiths, director of consumer electronics at Samsung UK, stated that the format backed by Sony "has 5 years left," then adding that he "certainly wouldn't give it 10." Nevertheless, the format will most likely enjoy a huge level of success over the course of 2008 and the next 2-3 years, before its possible rivals emerge. Moreover, Samsung seems to be taking a pretty big slice of this pie, the company's standalone players enjoying a considerable level of success.Unfortunately, the Samsung representative doesn't point out any technologies as a possible Blu-ray replacement, and it's quite difficult to place a bet on just what the respective tech will be, especially since there are so many to choose from: flash memory, cloud-like computing environments, holographic storage... who knows, sky's the limit.
OK, so all in all, this might be just the personal opinion of Mr. Griffiths. However, since he's a top-executive of one of the world's largest consumer electronics manufacturers, he might actually be on to something.
Actually, if this prediction turns out to be right, we might witness a very strange situation: the parallel death of both last-gen (DVD) and next-gen (Blu-ray) optical discs, since the DVD will most likely still be around in 5 years. Yes, folks, the future's a very interesting one...
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Toshiba tonight upgraded its onboard flash memory with a new, 32GB module destined for smaller portable devices. The storage combines eight 4GB NAND flash chips built using a smaller 43 nanometer manufacturing
process and makes a single package, fitting twice as much capacity into a similar space as before. The design also builds in its own controller to manage its data traffic and would let device makers drop the new package in without reengineering their hardware.The combined storage is explicitly intended for cellphones, portable media players, video cameras, and other devices where a large amount of storage is necessary in one package. Toshiba doesn't name individual customers, but is a key supplier of Apple and through the design would enable a 32GB iPhone as well as a 64GB iPod touch. Toshiba also produces its own electronics, including Gigabeat media players, and frequently sells its memory for competitors and manufacturers of MMC and SD cards.
The Japan-based company will start offering samples of the enhanced memory to its clients in September and will start producing the design in bulk quantities during the fall. Release dates for products based on Toshiba's components will vary by the company but have historically started in the quarter following mass production.
process and makes a single package, fitting twice as much capacity into a similar space as before. The design also builds in its own controller to manage its data traffic and would let device makers drop the new package in without reengineering their hardware.The combined storage is explicitly intended for cellphones, portable media players, video cameras, and other devices where a large amount of storage is necessary in one package. Toshiba doesn't name individual customers, but is a key supplier of Apple and through the design would enable a 32GB iPhone as well as a 64GB iPod touch. Toshiba also produces its own electronics, including Gigabeat media players, and frequently sells its memory for competitors and manufacturers of MMC and SD cards.The Japan-based company will start offering samples of the enhanced memory to its clients in September and will start producing the design in bulk quantities during the fall. Release dates for products based on Toshiba's components will vary by the company but have historically started in the quarter following mass production.
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Toshiba's Digital Products Division today announced the
addition of a 128GB solid state drive (SSD) into the Portégé laptop series. The company says that this move makes its 2.4 pound(2) Portégé R500-S5007V, the world’s lightest laptop with a 128GB SSD and DVD SuperMulti drive and one of the world's thinnest with a SSD and DVD SuperMulti drive.
“With seven world’s first technologies the Portégé R500 series has served as a technology launching pad and redefined the ultraportable marketplace with its world’s first technologies and ‘green’ attributes, such as a transreflective LED backlit indoor/outdoor viewing display, the industry’s highest rated EPEAT Gold laptop and Energy Star 4.0 compliance,” said Jeff Barneygeneral manager and vice president, Digital Products Division, Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc. “First to incorporate a 128GB solid state drive is another major accomplishment for Toshiba and illustrates how the company is committed to delivering solutions that meet the needs of our customers.”
Utilizing the industry’s largest solid state drive capacity of 128GB, Toshiba’s Portégé R500-S5007V provides ample storage space for carrying critical company data and sensitive personal data while traveling. To further reduce the weight and slimness of the laptop, Toshiba has equipped the laptop with a 7mm DVD SuperMulti drive. Furthermore, for enhanced outdoor viewing, the Portégé R500 series incorporates the world’s first widescreen 12.1-inch transreflective LED backlit display, a feature that embraces the variety of lighting scenarios in which laptop computers are used including direct sunlight.
Measuring as thin as 0.77-inches, the Portégé R500 series also uses Toshiba’s proprietary High Density Mounting Technology process to enable dual-sided motherboard component mounting. This technology produces a motherboard that is one-third the size of a mainstream 15.4-inch notebook’s motherboard, while still providing users the same functionality.
For further specifications check out this link here.
Pricing and availability of the laptop is unknown as of right now.
addition of a 128GB solid state drive (SSD) into the Portégé laptop series. The company says that this move makes its 2.4 pound(2) Portégé R500-S5007V, the world’s lightest laptop with a 128GB SSD and DVD SuperMulti drive and one of the world's thinnest with a SSD and DVD SuperMulti drive.“With seven world’s first technologies the Portégé R500 series has served as a technology launching pad and redefined the ultraportable marketplace with its world’s first technologies and ‘green’ attributes, such as a transreflective LED backlit indoor/outdoor viewing display, the industry’s highest rated EPEAT Gold laptop and Energy Star 4.0 compliance,” said Jeff Barneygeneral manager and vice president, Digital Products Division, Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc. “First to incorporate a 128GB solid state drive is another major accomplishment for Toshiba and illustrates how the company is committed to delivering solutions that meet the needs of our customers.”
Utilizing the industry’s largest solid state drive capacity of 128GB, Toshiba’s Portégé R500-S5007V provides ample storage space for carrying critical company data and sensitive personal data while traveling. To further reduce the weight and slimness of the laptop, Toshiba has equipped the laptop with a 7mm DVD SuperMulti drive. Furthermore, for enhanced outdoor viewing, the Portégé R500 series incorporates the world’s first widescreen 12.1-inch transreflective LED backlit display, a feature that embraces the variety of lighting scenarios in which laptop computers are used including direct sunlight.
Measuring as thin as 0.77-inches, the Portégé R500 series also uses Toshiba’s proprietary High Density Mounting Technology process to enable dual-sided motherboard component mounting. This technology produces a motherboard that is one-third the size of a mainstream 15.4-inch notebook’s motherboard, while still providing users the same functionality.
For further specifications check out this link here.
Pricing and availability of the laptop is unknown as of right now.
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At a press launch in Paris this morning, Toshiba has given the masses a couple of new laptop models to gnaw their teeth over indecisively. The Portégé M800, pictured, is unlike their previous Portégé offering (the R500), as it's finished in a pearl-white casing, with silver contrasts and white LEDs.Measuring in at 13.3", it will be released into the wild in Europe, the Middle East and Africa later this year, Q3 to be 'precise', although will be limited edition, according to Toshiba.The touch-pad is accentuated with white LEDs, and the buttons are reportedly 'feather-touch'. Looking inside the machine, it's featuring a DVD SuperMulti drive, 1.3-megapixel webcam with microphone, and has some of that Face Recognition Software they're rolling out across all their notebooks, which we first saw several months ago.
In addition, the Core 2 Duo processor speed of 2GHz, 250GB hard drive, and 1.97kg in weight should all add up to a fine laptop. Expect a hands-on video shortly.
Pricing is as yet unconfirmed.
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The death of Toshiba's HD-DVD high-definition format triggered a series of losses in revenue that are reported to have reached alarming levels. According to Toshiba, the company's profit barely reached a faint 1.25 billion yen, much lower than
the expected 26.17 billion yen achieved an year earlier.
The company estimates that it lost about $461 million in discontinuing the HD-DVD business, such as dealing with leftover inventory as well as shutting down assembly lines or shedding jobs. More than that, Toshiba was already facing significant operational loses for the fiscal year ending March 31, situated at about 60.2 billion yen.
Retail chains such as Wal-Mart and Best Buy tried to keep its customers by offering them either return deals or further discounts for those who had purchased HD-DVD players. However, Toshiba took the greatest blow and saw its profit sink.According to Toshiba, its net profit fell 7.3 percent to 127.4 billion yen ($1.23 billion) during the fiscal year that ended March. Operating profit also went down slipped 7.8 percent to 238.1 billion yen, but revenue rose 7.8 percent to 7.67 trillion yen.
"We saw a deterioration in profit related to the termination of the HD DVD businesses," Toshiba corporate executive vice president Fumio Muraoka said during a news conference. "This impact was a major factor for the bottomline profit decline," Muraoka continued.
The HD-DVD group announced that it would cease its involvement on the high-definition market and allow Sony's Blu-Ray format to become the next industry standard.
However, as Toshiba continues to suffer after the death of its format, it seems like the Brazilian division of the company could be about to launch a hybrid TV tuner, as well as a Blu-Ray and HD DVD player. The new player will be manufacturer by Semp Toshiba in Brazil, and is expected to hit the shelves in early May.
The embedded system will be powered by an Intel Core 2 Duo 6300 and will run Windows Home Premium. More than that, the new player will be able to render both HD-DVD and Blu-Ray disks, along other optical media.
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The format war might be over for Toshiba's HD-DVD, but it seems that the next target on the list of casualties will be the victorious Blu-Ray.
Those of you who are already prepared to toss the Blu-Ray movie titles and jump in the new
format's bandwagon, are advised to wait a little more, as the new format is still in diapers.
The mighty Red-Ray format is a new standard, able to deliver "Beyond-HD" video quality, namely movies at impressive 4096 x 2048 pixels screen resolutions.
Blu-ray players are also marketed as "Beyond-HD" devices, but this labeling is at least misleading, since high-definition specifications say that the HD standard is achieved at 720p (1280 x 720), 1080i (1920 x 1080i), and 1080p (1920 x 1080p) resolutions. The Blu-Ray standard is only able to deliver 1080p, which is in the HD range.The "Beyond-HD" image quality is achieved by increasing the essential specifications of the standard, namely the rendering resolutions. The only format able to support "Beyond-HD" definitions is the one backed by Red. Its playback device is able to display videos running at blaring resolutions of 4K (4096 x 2048), 2K (2048 x 1024) and regular 16:9 4K (3996 × 2160).
The Red One camera is able to record images at Quad-HD resolutions
Enlarge picture
However, the Red-Ray player cannot work with either Blu-Ray or HD-DVD discs, but instead, it allows users to play back video content from SD and Compact Flash memory media. The player is still a work in progress and is expected to hit the market sometime in 2009, just in time to force the transition from the Blu-Ray to another HD standard.
The device already sports a couple of important drawbacks, such as its pretty salty price. The new players will come with a price tag of $1000, and is almost useless, given the fact that there are no movie titles to offer 4K screen resolutions. Actually, such resolutions can only be caught on digital supports using a Red One camera, which is quite expensive ($25,000).
Provided that you have the device and the accompanying movie titles, there's still one question left unanswered. Average HDTV screens are able to work with video content of up to 1080p resolutions, and the only Quad-HD TV sets can run at maximum resolutions of 3840 x 2160 pixels. Such displays are not only hard to find, but they are also expensive.
However, a lot of things could change until 2009. Let's not forget that When Pentium 4 chips hit the market, they cost a fortune, and now they're powering the kitchen toaster.
Those of you who are already prepared to toss the Blu-Ray movie titles and jump in the newformat's bandwagon, are advised to wait a little more, as the new format is still in diapers.
The mighty Red-Ray format is a new standard, able to deliver "Beyond-HD" video quality, namely movies at impressive 4096 x 2048 pixels screen resolutions.
Blu-ray players are also marketed as "Beyond-HD" devices, but this labeling is at least misleading, since high-definition specifications say that the HD standard is achieved at 720p (1280 x 720), 1080i (1920 x 1080i), and 1080p (1920 x 1080p) resolutions. The Blu-Ray standard is only able to deliver 1080p, which is in the HD range.The "Beyond-HD" image quality is achieved by increasing the essential specifications of the standard, namely the rendering resolutions. The only format able to support "Beyond-HD" definitions is the one backed by Red. Its playback device is able to display videos running at blaring resolutions of 4K (4096 x 2048), 2K (2048 x 1024) and regular 16:9 4K (3996 × 2160).
The Red One camera is able to record images at Quad-HD resolutions
Enlarge picture
However, the Red-Ray player cannot work with either Blu-Ray or HD-DVD discs, but instead, it allows users to play back video content from SD and Compact Flash memory media. The player is still a work in progress and is expected to hit the market sometime in 2009, just in time to force the transition from the Blu-Ray to another HD standard.
The device already sports a couple of important drawbacks, such as its pretty salty price. The new players will come with a price tag of $1000, and is almost useless, given the fact that there are no movie titles to offer 4K screen resolutions. Actually, such resolutions can only be caught on digital supports using a Red One camera, which is quite expensive ($25,000).
Provided that you have the device and the accompanying movie titles, there's still one question left unanswered. Average HDTV screens are able to work with video content of up to 1080p resolutions, and the only Quad-HD TV sets can run at maximum resolutions of 3840 x 2160 pixels. Such displays are not only hard to find, but they are also expensive.
However, a lot of things could change until 2009. Let's not forget that When Pentium 4 chips hit the market, they cost a fortune, and now they're powering the kitchen toaster.
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SSD’s are rapidly beginning to show up on mainstream laptop from virtually all manufacturers. Now looking to take this rapidly developing market a step further, Toshiba has unveiled a new 12.1 inch ultraportable that offers a 128 GB SSD as part of its specifications.
The model number of this new laptop Dynabook SS RX1 and it comes with a 1.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo U7600 Processor, 2GB RAM, 2.1" widescreen LCD with 1280 × 800 (WXGA) resolution and Windows Vista.
The Toshiba Dynabook SS RX1 will be available in the local Japanese market from April for about $3,960. For more information stay tuned by subscribing in the email.
The model number of this new laptop Dynabook SS RX1 and it comes with a 1.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo U7600 Processor, 2GB RAM, 2.1" widescreen LCD with 1280 × 800 (WXGA) resolution and Windows Vista.The Toshiba Dynabook SS RX1 will be available in the local Japanese market from April for about $3,960. For more information stay tuned by subscribing in the email.
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Mobile computing has come a long way in the last few years. Notebook manufacturers have been squeezing more power and features into ever more portable packages. As technologies have continued to be refined, shrinking in size and power requirements, manufacturers have been able to expand their creative ideas, bring ever more impressive options to market to fit virtually any budget. In recent months, we have seen excellent examples of both ends of the spectrum, from the budget oriented Asus Eee PC to powerful gaming/desktop replacement systems from Dell, Lenovo and Asus. Today, we're happy to add Toshiba to that list with an evaluation of their Satellite X205-SLi4 Notebook.The Toshiba Satellite X205-SLI4 is a feature-rich laptop geared toward mobile gaming, with a potent Core 2 Duo T8100 processor, and gobs of memory and storage, while also sporting SLI ready GeForce 8600M GTs. Loaded with Windows Vista Ultimate and coupled with an HDTV ready Tuner, the X205-SLi4 makes a good impression right out of the box. This is one of the top laptops Toshiba has to offer with a host of premium features to position the Satellite X205-SLI4 near the top of its class. In the pages ahead, we'll spotlight the many features this premium laptop has to offer, then we'll run it through its paces to see how its performance compares to several other laptops in its class.Read d rest...
Watching a Blu-ray movie in all its high-definition glory on your laptop may finally become an affordable prospect this year. Just don't wander too far from a power outlet.With the Sony-backed HD format emerging victorious from a two-year showdown with Toshiba's HD DVD, many laptop manufacturers are now scrambling to add Blu-ray drives in their desktop and notebook lineups. Next month, Dell will even introduce a sub-$1,000 Blu-ray notebook, according to Brian Zucker, a technology strategist for the company.
But the promise of viewing an increasing variety of HD movies on your laptop may be overshadowed by ongoing concerns over the technology's vampiric effect on battery life. Indeed, if the first generation of Blu-ray equipped laptops are any indication, you might not get more than halfway through that movie before running out of juice completely, analysts say.
"Blu-ray battery life is obviously a huge concern," says Yankee Group analyst Josh Martin.
"If you bought an iPhone and you couldn't watch a two-hour movie, which you barely can now, that would be a huge problem," Martin continued.Granted, batteries suck (along with other annoyances like spam filters and plastic packaging). That's largely because there is no Moore's Law for batteries. If battery power capacity improves 1 percent a year, that's considered pretty good. Batteries are more often afterthoughts for an industry obsessed with cramming as many new features into a notebook as possible.
Introducing Blu-ray drives to the mobile mix certainly isn't going to help matters. For now, the laptop manufacturers that have offered Blu-ray drives have also avoided revealing the precise effects of Blu-ray playback on battery life. That's probably for a very good reason, as some claim battery life can top out at one hour in some cases.
"The laser that runs the show [in Blu-ray players] is a very high-power laser," notes Mercury Research analyst Dean McCarron. That laser is one of the main things that conspire to raise power consumption.
The other part of the equation has to do with the process of decoding data from a Blu-ray disc and turning it into moving images on your screen. When Blu-ray was first introduced, this process was all done in software, which is very taxing on the CPU, eating up processing cycles and power.
"Any time you introduce a new technology like this, the initial products tend to be more power-hungry," McCarron says. "Once you get to a certain point, though, the industry usually starts the refinement process."
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