ToshibaReviews

(Source: ZDNet)

Joining the ever-expanding family of Toshiba tablet PCs recently is the new, 14.1-inch screened, high security Tecra M7-S7331. This “tough nugget”, as SiliconRepublic.com describes it, is aimed at mobile executives on the move who cringe at the thought of repercussions of leaked/lost company data in the event of a stolen laptop.

Sleek and stylish, it boasts anti-theft security and shock-absorption technologies through “an anti-theft protection timer, fingerprint reader and hard disk drive protection with a 3D accelerometer. It also has magnesium case work, Norton internet security and a Kensington lock”. Powered by Intel® Centrino® Duo Mobile Technology (T2400, 1.83Ghz) and weighing in at 5.9 pounds, it also comes with 1GB of RAM, 100GB hard drive space, and battery life of up to 4.06 hours. All this is yours to enjoy with the exchange of hands of $1,899, of course.

A lower-end version, the Tecra M7-S7311 — priced at $1,599 — only differs from this M7-S7331 by the following: Intel Core Duo T2300E, 1.66GHz, 512MB RAM and 80GB hard disk storage.

All in all, “the Tecra® M7 is the premier high-performance Tablet PC for mobile users that demand the increased productivity of a Tablet PC, bolstered with the Toshiba’s exclusive EasyGuardâ„¢ Technology* feature set that boldly elevates system performance, reliability, and security.”

Read the rest of this entry »

(Source: Reg Hardware)

Ladies and gentlemen, feast your eyes on the world’s first high-definition optical disc recorder based on the HD DVD format. This baby — equipped with an unbelievable 1TB hard drive — went on sale this morning in Tokyo with a heart-stopping price tag of Â¥398,000, or about US$3,400. Yes, cutting edge technology doesn’t come cheap.

The initial launch was to be held a full two weeks before the sun came up this morning, but was postponed as manufacturing difficulties meant that Toshiba might not be able to fulfil the public’s lust for everything state-of-the-art.

As the world’s first consumer-oriented HD DVD player capable of writing to next-generation recordable media, RegHardware states that its stunningly huge hard disk storage is sufficient for 130 hours of HD content and comes with “digital terrestrial and satellite tuners, along with an analogue tuner for back-up and a wide array of digital and analogue video and audio inputs and outputs, including HDMI”. A network port is also included. The player reads all the usual formats, but will only write to DVD-R/RW/RAM, including their dual-layer versions.

Besides it heavy retail price, other reasons that might steer buyers away from the queue line would be its bulky package (the machine records 15.2kg on the scales and measures 45.7 x 40.8 x 15.9cm) and the fact that it will only support MPEG 2-encoded content, not the preferred MPEG 4 AVC or VC1 ie. Windows Media Video 9 codecs.

Those without deep pockets but still dreaming of one should contain their excitement and wait several months (around 3) as prices are expected to fall by a hundred thousand yen or so by then.

Our conclusion: The RD-A1 is simply ass-kicking, although wallet-kicking too!

Read the rest of this entry »

(Source: CNET)

iPod-killer No. 999, but this time this one actually proves its credentials. Not only does the Toshiba Gigabeat S MES30VW gets the thumbs up (a.k.a. Editor’s Choice award), but it also does so with an overall rating of 8.3 out of 10 when reviewed by CNET.

While it’s a pity this portable media player comes with only 12 hours of battery life for audio and 2.5 hours for video, you have to admit its bevy of features trumps the iPod video upside down. Just look at its support for tons of photo, music and video file types, subscription services and digital camera transfers, as well as an FM tuner and the intuitive Portable Media Center operating system.

The verdict on Toshiba’s MED30VW is clear. It’s great. It can be improved, of course, but until then, let CNET’s bottom line enchant you to the purchase queue: “Many prospective MP3/PVP buyers have been waiting patiently for this compact, easy-to-use, one-stop shop for media files–looks like the Toshiba Gigabeat S was worth the wait.”

Read the rest of this entry »

(Source: Toshiba)

Buyers Incorporated Inc. (BLI) recently announced the results of their semi-annual “Pick of the Year” awards, and it appears that three of Toshiba’s e-STUDIO-series multifunction copiers were among the products selected. They are the e-STUDIO282, e-STUDIO352 and e-STUDIO850 - in ascending order of copier speed (pages per minute).

The e-STUDIO282 was awarded a Pick as an Outstanding Multifunctional Imaging System in the Segment 2 category, the e-STUDIO352 in the Segment 3 category and the e-STUDIO850 in the Segment 5 category.

[News via Toshiba]

Read the rest of this entry »

(Source: Crave at CNET)

You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to figure out that smaller and slimmer is (almost) always better when it comes to mobiles. Yes, I’m talking about handphones - an area long devoid of Toshiba’s presence. More specifically, I’m talking about the Toshiba TS608 - a 10mm mobile which Crave at CNET had a chance to look at recently.

And just because it’s slim, don’t write of its feature set. It comes equipped with a 1.3-megapixel camera, Bluetooth, and a microSD slot for up to 512MB expandability. But it seems there were some drawbacks to the TS608. For one, talk time was only at 150 minutes. Secondly, it comes with only dual-band support.

It’ll retail for £80-£100 - that is, when it comes out later this year.

Read the rest of this entry »