Toshiba defies gravity with new ultra-light notebook PCs

SINGAPORE — The sky-high perspective we saw through the windows of the 70th floor of the Equinox Bar of the Stamford Swissotel in this picturesque city state seemed especially appropriate when Toshiba Computer Systems let loose its latest ultra-light notebook PC, the Portégé R600, hanging from a cluster of balloons in front of journalists from various Southeast Asian countries.

Weighing just 979 grams (almost 50 percent lighter than Apple’s MacBook Air), the Portégé R600 is the ultimate ultra-portable for style-conscious users who don’t want to compromise functionality.

The new ultra-portable’s silver-gray magnesium case presents a sleek, contemporary minimalist look.

“Designed to respond precisely to individual needs on the move, the Portégé R600 has been created with ultimate portability in mind,” says Wong Wai Meng, senior product marketing manager of Toshiba’s Computer Systems Division.

“But we weren’t satisfied with creating the world’s lightest notebook computer. That’s what Toshiba’s experience in the portable computing world brings: ultra-portability is much more than a question of the size or weight of a notebook computer, it’s the challenge to provide ultra-portability with all the functionality one needs,” he added.

As the successor to the award-winning Portégé R500, the R600 adds new features such as Toshiba’s fourth-generation EasyGuard Technology with PC Health Monitor, an extended life battery, an enhanced LED backlit transflective display and a stronger chassis.

The Portégé R600 boasts a 128GB solid state drive (SSD) which, unlike a hard disk drive, has no moving parts, works silently, and has very low energy consumption.

The Portégé R600 comes with the latest Intel Centrino 2 CPU and a 12.1” LED backlit display offering crystal-clear visibility indoors and outdoors.

This is made possible through the transflective screen, which enables the user to turn off the LED backlight and use a reflecting mirror embedded in the display to avoid light reflection.

Other features include WLAN, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, and Gigabit Ethernet supporting Intel AMT 4.0.

The EasyGuard Technology with PC Health Monitor is a preventative maintenance utility that continuously checks the performance and functionality of a laptop’s critical hardware components and will alert users when the system is in need of a tune-up.

PC Health Monitor tracks the status of critical components, such as hard drive status, battery life and CPU temperature and system cooling warnings.

In addition to the PC Health Monitor, Toshiba’s EasyGuard Technology is a proprietary, value-added series of hardware and software enhancements designed to better protect and secure one’s notebook computer during everyday computing.

Components include HDD Protection, a spill-resistant keyboard, fingerprint reader and Trusted Platform Module (TPM).

The Portégé R600 is fully RoHS-compliant, effectively reducing the environmental impact by restricting the use of lead, mercury and other hazardous substances.

Backlight LEDs in the display, the latest CPUs, and use of SSD as a storage medium also result in low energy consumption and long battery life, further helping to protect the environment.

The second notebook unveiled at the launch was the stylish, new 12.1" Portégé A600 business notebook which weighs a mere 1.46 kg and comes with a choice of two colors — Titanium Silver and Glossy Cosmic Black.

The Portégé A600 reflects the powerful mobile concept of the Portégé R600, including many of its groundbreaking technological advances, and brings it to a broader audience of mobile professionals and consumers. 

“The thin and lightweight Portégé A600 complements Toshiba’s Portégé range by offering high-end, ultra-portable functionality in a minimalist contemporary design at an attractive price,” said Meng.

“With the Portégé A600, Toshiba is bringing ultra-portability to the mid-range device segment, the industry’s broadest audience,” he added.

The A600 is constructed from high-quality, lightweight components and space-saving technologies such as Toshiba’s unique High Density Mounting Technology process.

This innovative process efficiently manages the system’s internal real estate by utilizing a dual-sided motherboard component mounting technique, which provides enough space for the A600 to support its built-in optical drive.

Although very light, the Portégé A600 is also extremely shock-resistant, thanks to hard disk protection triggered by 3D accelerometers.

Further security is provided by the latest EasyGuard features such as multi-level password protection, spill-resistant keyboard and easy logon via fingerprint recognition.

The Portégé A600 comes with a collection of solid standard components such as the latest Intel Centrino 2 Processor technology, 3GB of RAM, and a large 250GB hard drive.

It also features a host of connectivity options such as WLAN, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR and Gigabit Ethernet with Intel AMT 4.0 to make sure that users stay connected wherever they go.

Additional connectivity features include a USB 2.0/eSATA combo interface with Sleep-and-Charge mode, Express Card reader, SD card slot and Slim Port Replicator III. Like the Portégé R600, the A600 is fully RoHS-compatible.

Last but not least was the NB100, a netbook designed to complement the active and social lifestyle of today’s consumers either as a primary or secondary device.

The 8.9” Toshiba NB100 comes with a glossy design and a choice of two colors: Cosmic Black and Champagne Gold.  

“We feel that the time has come to enter the netbook market segment which, according to analysts, is expected to grow strongly within the next three or four years,” said Meng.

“We place great importance on offering the consumer the correct combination of affordability, innovation and quality and will not create any devices which don’t meet the same core values all our products share,” he added.

The Toshiba NB100 can be used as a primary device by those who do not require the processing power or range of functions of a full-size laptop. But it can also be used as a primary PC in a business environment.

It fits the needs of many salespeople and field service engineers in offering a very small platform, which, because of its Linux version, can be integrated very well into corporate databases, significantly reducing the cost of ownership over a regular PC.

The Toshiba NB100 is well positioned as well as a secondary device for experienced users who occasionally require a lightweight device for mobile working. They may not wish to take their primary PC with them everywhere they go for either portability or security reasons and need to have access to their data without wanting to carry a full-blown laptop with them.

The NB100 comes with an 8.9’’ WSVGA 1024 x 600 LCD panel with an LED backlight. It is powered by the latest Intel Atom CPU and comes with Windows XP Home.

The advanced multimedia and communication capabilities prove that a downsized netbook can be ready for business or multimedia applications. It offers entry-level 3D graphics with an internal graphics controller, stereo speakers and full video-playback capability.

This makes it an ideal travel companion with which to pass the time watching videos on the road or in a plane. Thanks to Bluetooth 2.1 with EDR, Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g), and 10/100 Ethernet interfaces, the NB100 easily connects with peripherals or Internet access points.

Three USB ports with Sleep-and-Charge function complete the rich communications functionality of Toshiba’s new netbook.

All Toshiba notebook computers are backed by Toshiba’s extensive service and support. The Portégé R600 and A600 come standard with three-year Carry-in International Limited Warranty (one year for the NB100), inclusive of parts and labor (one year for the battery).

In addition, customers can now call toll-free to the Toshiba Global Support Center that offers an innovative one-stop, seven-day services and support capabilities for their queries on mobile computer products.

The single integrated services platform, with multi-language support services, assists in resolving warranty services and technical support issues.

Toshiba also offers Ask Iris Online, an instant response information service that can alert users to security software patches or provide other information on their products from Toshiba tech support staff.