ToshibaReviews

Does the names Asia Carrera or Jenna Jameson ring any bells? I knew I got your attention. Adult filmmakers are once again grappling with the latest technology — high-definition DVDs. With an estimated $4.3 billion in sales in the US for 2005, the adult film industry has never shied away from new technology. Until now.

Red Herring gives 3 reasons. Reason #1: The format wars. Sony’s Blu-ray standard vs. Toshiba’s HD-DVD technology. “The two companies have been unable to agree on a common standard and are independently forging ahead in hopes they will emerge victorious in the marketplace.” Some studios and electronic makers choose sides, others stay on the fence and play safe by backing both. The porn industry is no less confused.

Reason #2. Creating true high-definition films is a complex and costly process. Duh. Only few production companies can afford the switch, especially with low-budget films by small operators stealing away profits from the leaders. However, the industry’s largest producer, Vivid Entertainment is well prepared and will be releasing its hi-def titles in both formats until a clear leader emerges.

Lastly, #3: Looking towards the future as hi-def becomes the norm, “industry insiders suggest the technology could actually prompt a much-needed shakeout in an industry that has for decades only known robust growth”. A clear threat to every small operator alive.

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(Source: Smart Company)

10.2 pounds, $2,399.99. Whoa, you sure this is a laptop man?! Wait, let’s not be quick to judge — read on.

Introducing the AV650, equiped with Toshiba’s much anticipated HD DVD drive (I know it’s written across the screen, but it’s worth mentioning again). Take that Mr. Sony notebook with built-in Blu-ray disc drive! Aside from the hi-tech drive, this Qosmio is pretty much similar to the AV600, except that this 17-inch TruBrite screened notebook comes with Intel Core Duo T2500 (2.0 GHz), the mighty NVIDIA GeForce Go 7600 for its graphics subsystem, and a 200GB SATA 5400RPM hard-drive. No change to its 1GB of memory (upgradable to 4GB) though.

But from an objective viewpoint, its HD DVD drive is read-only, as opposed to the writable Blu-ray drive the competing Sony VAIO VGN-AR190G has. Further downsides would be the long delay after loading the drive and the fact that the HD DVD is wasted on such a relatively small screen. Hi-def needs a larger display for visual differences to really show. But if your still interested, handy user ratings and reviews are available at Circuit City.

The tests by Smart Company concluded that “the Toshiba Qosmio G35-AV650 is an outstanding Media Center laptop, not an outstanding HD DVD player. If you want the laptop, save yourself $600 and purchase the AV600. HD is better watched on a big-screen TV anyway, and better suited for a set-top box.”

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(Source: Ebay)

2nd place is for losers. Perhaps that’s what the good people of Toshiba Corp. felt when they decided to challenge South Korean tech giant, Samsung in the ever-growing market of flash memory production. Samsung is currently the top-dog in this market while Toshiba follows closely behind in second place.

The former will be building a flash memory plant in Yokkaichi, central Japan costing approximately USD 2.6 billion. TechWhack News reports that production of the chips should hit the road by October 2007 and 12 months later, monthly output of these cute NAND-type silicon wafers is targeted at 67,500. All this to satisfy the growing tech-appetites of customers who use these chips in devices like mobile phones, digital cameras, digital music and video players, etc.

We’ll cap this off with two words — Samsung, beware! Muahaha…

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(Source: Geekzone)

If the past 2 reviews on the U100 was a little too much information and that headache that much more imminent, then here we weigh the pro and cons to cap off this Libretto review trilogy.

What’s awesome: Extreme mobility, super duper lightweight, large storage, excellent connectivity, good battery life, and a fingerprint reader (woohoo…?).

Downside: Cramped keyboard & too small a screen, hard-to-use Bluetooth software, Windows XP HOME Edition, plus VGA out requires dongle.

A little humour from PC Welt: The crisp, bright 1280-by-768-resolution screen supplies a luscious concentration of colors, but fonts and icons were so tiny I needed to put my glasses on — except they were on already.

The keyboard and touch-stick mouse are undeniably too small so thank goodness for the two USB ports on the side. Go dust-off that external mouse of yours, and plug in for a better point-and-click experience.

All in all, if you can look past its negative aspects, you’ll have an otherwise worthy and powerful notebook. So, is your cup halve-full or halve-empty?

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(Source: CNET)

The phrase “What a steal!” quite about sums up most user reviews on the A105-S4074. Those looking for an XP Media Center 2005 experience — on a 15.4-inch wide-screen notebook — but can’t afford the more expensive Dell Inspiron E1505, the Lenovo 3000 N100, and the Micro Express EL80 should pay close attention.

We’ll start by dishing out its specs: 1.6Hz Core Duo Centrino, 512MB of RAM, 120GB hard disk storage space, 5-in-1 memory card reader, and four USB 2.0 ports, all packed within a standard-looking Satellite exterior. It ships with among others the Microsoft Works 8.5 (productivity), Microsoft OneNote 2003 (taking notes), InterVideo WinDVD Creator 2 Platinum (making DVD videos), and (duh!) XP Media Center. Strong points are its processor (some applause for Toshiba’s superior power management, please), AWESOME value at $799 after some rebate, battery life of 3 hours and 49 minutes, and its 5.95lbs weight (7.1 pounds with adapter). Its low-res screen (native), and its graphics card (Intel GMA 950) disappoints though. No remote control plus only 512MB RAM too, but that’s being picky.

For more user reviews check out CompUSA. CNET has an in-depth one here.

Bottomline: Absolutely worth considering, especially if you don’t need cutting-edge technology.

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(Source: IM Flash Technologies)

Straight from Electronic News: “Toshiba Corp. today said it has brought logical block addressing (LBA) to NAND flash memory in an effort to speed time to market, simplify design and eliminate the need for the host to handle NAND management functions.”

This new technology will benefit consumer devices such as digital audio players and personal media players. Samples of these devices are out this August.

If you haven’t the slightest clue about LBA NAND, Toshiba explained that “NAND flash memory currently uses the physical address access method that defines each physical page of a memory, from the chip to the block, to the page and down to the cell. The logical address access method of LBA assigns each cell a unique address that is not geometry dependent.”

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(Source: Savastore.com)

Lower-end Toshiba notebooks will be getting a boost as the Japanese electronics giant is introducing its EasyGuard™ protection technology to its budget laptops. This attempt to differentiate its mobile line-up from rivals has seen the new Satellite Pro A120 being armed with better protection against shocks and other hazards yet is priced from £369 (price quote from Savastore.com) only.

It seems that even after a fall of 70cm, tests show the laptop should still function well. (Don’t try this at home!) A Toshiba product manager says, “Nobody else offers this level of protection at this price.” The A120 is a 2.8kg 15.4″ screened notebook equipped with 512MB memory, 60GB hard disk, and a 1.46 GHz Celeron M410 processor, further enhanced with a 100cc spill resistant keyboard.

On another note, Toshiba Corp. has also introduced a new Windows Vista-ready Tablet PC with a 14in display — the Tecra M7, a widescreen laptop with a swivel display. IT News has more.

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(Source: Brighthand)

When speaking of the Libretto U100, think microscopic! Measuring only 210mm x 165mm x 29.8mm, the Libretto U100 easily fits in quite about any bag.

Now we know that sometime earlier on, we basked in the U100’s magnificence. BUT, we spoke little with regard to its optical drive (yes, that’s what the image is!). About half an inch in thickness, the likelihood of people carrying the dock around with them all the time comes into question. To make matters worse, Toshiba considers the dock optional, so there goes an additional $342 if a multiformat DVD drive is on your checklist.

To top this off, here’s some material physics by Brighthand - “Case construction is of plastic. Materials snob that I am, this would normally be a problem for me. But I have to admit the U100 is quite solid and squeak free. Perhaps when a device is this small it is less susceptible to torsion/flex. It feels well-constructed.” Make no mistake, this Libretto is a winner in our books!

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(Source: DigitalAdvisor)

For the not-so-hard-core gamers and graphics programmers, meet the P105-S6084 of the Satellite portable line.

Let’s get straight to the point. For $1,499.99, you’ll get a 1.66-GHz Core Duo Centrino laptop with Windows XP Media Center edition (doesn’t require system boot to play), 2 GB of RAM (upgradable to 4 GB), 120-GB Serial ATA hard drive, 5-in-1 bridge media adapter, a Firewire port and four high-speed USB 2.0 ports. Gee, don’t forget the increasingly-common fingerprint reader too. With a 17-inch widescreen, it weighs in rather heavy at 7.1 pounds. Gym time! To paraphrase Yahoo!News, two components disappoint: the video system (integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950) and the optical drive. The drive only writes at a maximum speed of 8x and does not support LightScribe technology.

By the way, the S6084 is very similar to the Satellite P105-S6024 . Just in case you were wondering.

To recap, the S6084 has a capable processor, plenty of fast memory, and a spacious hard drive — characterising a well-balanced notebook and a powerful multimedia, gaming PC.

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(Source: Lancashire Telegraph)

Everyone knows the value of Toshiba notebooks. Even thieves.

55 Toshiba Pro Satellite laptops worth £36,000 were stolen at Ivy Bank Business and Enterprise College, Byron Street. The perpetrators sneaked into its computer suite and filled up two sacks with the Toshiba goodies. Lancashire Telegraph quoted a cabinet member for schools saying “I condemn this theft. The people who took these computers are robbing the children of Burnley and they should be ashamed of themselves. I’m sure the school will be absolutely devastated.”

Can’t blame them though…kidding…seriously, kidding. Never steal. Err…buy original. First-hand, that is.

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