Toshiba goes small with 12.1-inch dynabook SS S30

While not the smallest of ultraportables, Toshiba's new dynabook SS S30 should be plenty portable for most. The 12.1-inch lappy measures 1.1-inch thick, and weighs a mere 2.7 pounds, while managing 7.7 to 9 hours of battery life based on HDD speed selected. The keyboard has a waterproof seal beneath it for extra durability, and the laptop features a fingerprint reader along with SD, PC card and an optional CF card reader. Both configurations of the laptop are based on Core Solo U1300 processors, with 512MB of RAM, Intel 945GM Express graphics, 802.11a/b/g WiFi and gigabit Ethernet. The main difference between the models is the 1.8-inch 4,200rpm 30GB in one (which makes room for the CF slot and all that battery life) and the 2.5-inch 5,400rpm 40 gigger in the other. The S30 should be launching in September for around 252,000 Yen -- about $2,168 USD.

[Via Impress]

[hj @ Aug 24th 2006 2:51PM]

What the hell is the point of these fingerprint readers? Why not the good ol password? Talk about the most useless laptop accessory ever created!

[ragepandora @ Aug 24th 2006 3:00PM]

Where's the DVD Burner Toshiba?

[Joe @ Aug 24th 2006 3:12PM]

hj - fingerprint = password

[hj @ Aug 24th 2006 3:43PM]

I know thats what I'm saying. Why include a fingerprint reader when it just performs the same task as typing in your password? To me it's a useless accessory.

[giorgitd @ Aug 24th 2006 4:25PM]

here's what's useless - a 40 Gb HDD. Huh? One point of carrying this arond is to have your 'stuff' with you - music, photos, etc. I've got 100 Gb HDD in my Tosh laptop (not an ultra) and I'm running out of space!

[otakucode @ Aug 24th 2006 4:41PM]

And I suppose we're supposed to go along believing the ridiculous idea that using smaller LCD panels, less materials in construction, and otherwise regular components is insanely expensive?

Sorry, I don't buy it.

You take the components of a $800 laptop, you cut down the LCD panel size, you cut down the materials used in manufacturing the case, and then you quadruple the price? Screw you, Toshiba.

[Zadillo @ Aug 24th 2006 5:04PM]

Actually otakucode, that's exactly the case. The smaller and lighter the laptop is, the more expensive it is to produce. Just looking at the total volume of material used or something doesn't make much sense, really. You have to look at the engineering and production costs associated with putting together a laptop like this where everything is so tightly packed together but still operates properly. This costs more because with a larger laptop, it is not nearly as difficult to get everything working properly.

This is hardly unique to Toshiba. Just about every laptop manufacturer that makes ultrathin and ultraportable laptops charges a premium for them. Even on a more mainstream level you can see this. I mean, you take a 1" Asus laptop and you'll find that it is more expensive than a 1.5" Asus laptop with otherwise the same specs.

[Zadillo @ Aug 24th 2006 5:06PM]

Regarding fingerprint readers; the idea is that technically they could be more secure and less of a hassle than passwords. In particular, a lot of people tend to use easy to remember passwords, which would make their system less secure if it was stolen. Ideally at least, the idea of a fingerprint reader is that it could only be logged into by someone whose fingerprint was registered in it. This is something probably especially important for business users.

[otakucode @ Aug 24th 2006 5:17PM]

Zadillo: If we were talking about them using custom chipsets or custom processors or ANYTHING custom, I would agree with you. However, Toshiba in these subnotebooks is merely taking off-the-shelf parts and putting them into a smaller box and strapping on a small LCD. I realize other laptop manufacturers do this as well, and I think it is a big swindle. Perhaps in the past, when processors were very power hungry and heat was a major issue, designing a subnotebook like this was an engineering feat. Now, the design is merely common sense and doesn't require any exotic technologies.

The chips used in these subnotebooks are the exact same chips used in Toshibas other larger, and cheaper, notebooks. They are not paying a premium for their materials because they are expecting a limited market as might be the case with things like Palm devices which use low-clocked processors that are general purpose but not widely used.

The only explanation other than simply "we can charge more so we can" that I can think of would be that the R&D for this model, which would be approximately the same as the R&D on any other model at this point as Toshiba has been doing these subnotebook machines for awhile now, is not expected to be substantially recovered because of a smaller perceived market. Much of that smaller market is due to their exorbitant price, I expect. If they were selling this laptop, specd like a $800 notebook save for its size, for $1000 or $1200, it could be understandable. But $2168 as the base price?

They know their market - hospitals and doctors offices - and apparently just don't care to move into a casual consumer market.

[Zadillo @ Aug 24th 2006 6:00PM]

otakucode, I am sorry but that is BS. They aren't just taking the same exact stuff used in larger laptops and putting them in a smaller case with a smaller LCD. Just because they use the same chips (although many of these devices use ULV Core Duo chips), a lot of the other hardware, etc. is specialized and designed for the tight confines.

You need to realize that these are highly specialized devices that require special engineering precisely because they are using some of these same types of chips, optical drives, etc. but cramming them into a much tighter space.

Just as an example, you can get some idea of what the internals of a Sony TR look like here:

http://www.siliconpopculture.com/sonytr/viewtopic.php?t=5486

Just because some of these ultraportables have common components doesn't mean that there also isn't a lot more that inherently makes them more expensive.

They aren't charging more for these things simply because they are a niche product. They charge more because the smaller you make it, the more difficult it is to assemble and get working properly. And there is a lot of specialized hardware here......... not everything in these kinds of laptops is an off-the-shelf part that you'd find in a larger laptop.

Really, by your logic, the Sony UX180p Micro PC should be much cheaper than $1800 because the specs are so low. But of course that isn't true, because the engineering required to cram some of those things into something so small make it a more expensive device.