Toshiba's Satellite T31 arrives with Vista, Windows XP in box

Tired of fretting about which flavor of Windows will work best for you? Toshiba's apparently feeling your pain, and is looking to remedy said quandary by tossing in both operating systems with its new 15.4-inch Dynabook Satellite T31. Apparently, the unit includes Vista Business and XP Professional recovery discs, giving the buyer the option when they finally get it home. Specs wise, you'll be looking at a 2GHz Core 2 Duo T7250 on the high side (with a 1.86GHz Celeron 540 on the low-end), as well as optional WiFi, a WXGA (1,280 x 800) resolution panel, 512MB of RAM, an 80GB hard drive, DVD burner and a rechargeable Li-ion good for around 1.3 hours. Additionally, the unit touts four USB 2.0 sockets, Ethernet, PCMCIA, a multicard reader, VGA / S-Video outputs and a FireWire port to boot. Check it out right now for between ¥175,350 ($1,573) and ¥206,850 ($1,856).

[Via AkihabaraNews]

[bob sakamano @ Dec 11th 2007 9:22AM]

wowwww a 1.3 hour battery.

aren't movies typically ninety minutes long standard?!?! you gotta skip some parts! better be careful! you could miss something important!

[Justin @ Dec 11th 2007 9:26AM]

Yeah, that's kind of weak. I'd understand if it were a desktop replacement type of laptop, but this doesn't seem to be built with that in mind.

[mike @ Dec 11th 2007 9:38AM]

"Check it out right now for between ¥175,350 ($1,573) and ¥206,850 ($1,856)"
Wow, thats a nice price tag for a piece of sh*t..

[Ivand @ Dec 11th 2007 10:05AM]

Thats probably the price of the two windows licenses

[ethana2 @ Dec 11th 2007 2:17PM]

Choice of operating system? Yaayy....

Oh wait. Nevermind. That doesn't really count.

[Flashpoint @ Dec 11th 2007 9:40AM]

Wifi should be STANDARD on ALL laptops -just as Ethernet is on mid-large sized models.

A 1.3 hour battery is a joke.

512 MB of RAM isn't even going to touch Vista and an 80GB Hard Drive is so 3 years ago.

I don't see myself EVER buying a Toshiba laptop - and for $1800? - that's CRAZY !. I just took my girlfriend out and she got an HP from Circuit City for $800 with Vista, 2 Mb Ram and a 120 GB HDD.

[rndmnme @ Dec 11th 2007 9:41AM]

2mb of RAM? That thing sounds like a powerhouse!

[Byzil Mystwing @ Dec 11th 2007 9:47AM]

I got my Toshiba Satellite X205-SLI1 for about that price ($1,700) and it's got S-ATA 120GBx2, GeForce 8600 GT SLI, and a few nice things like an HD-DVD drive and such.. not claiming that it's amazing, but Toshiba can put together some pretty decent systems. However, given that mine's battery lasts about that long, and it's got significantly more power than the one advertised here, I kind of question.. why, Toshiba, why?

[Ed @ Dec 11th 2007 4:19PM]

So? It's still an HP. Toshiba gives you more, as seen in byzil's comment. And their laptops aren't that badly overpriced.

[Luigi193 @ Dec 11th 2007 9:42AM]

wait...no wifi... that sucks.

[Flashpoint @ Dec 11th 2007 10:17AM]

NO device that even professes to connect to the internet should be without Wifi and an Ethernet link (even if it is on a dongle).

Wii and PS3 got it right but Microsoft, trying to be cheap, made us buy that stupid add-on wifi antennae for $100

[Adam @ Dec 11th 2007 12:27PM]

So being forced to pay extra for something most people wont need is better? Laptop/Notebooks, Mobile phones, PDAs etc are MOBILE devices, hence why they need WIFI as standard.

Until I'm carrying my 360 around with me or decide I really need WIFI to connect my devices to the internet (all of which are a matter of feet away from my wired router) I'll save some notes and stick with Ethernet thanks. And I know im not in the minority when it comes to this...

[Ricardo @ Dec 11th 2007 9:45AM]

Wow, that's ugly, slow AND expensive. 3 strikes!

[ferdz @ Dec 11th 2007 11:39AM]

For the same price you can order a Vaio SZ 6x from PortableOne, and configure it for XP downgrade. They will include both XP and Vista recovery disks.

[Ed @ Dec 11th 2007 4:19PM]

Yes, but is this sony's "Craplet"-loaded version of XP or a plain old MS disk?

[Rob @ Dec 11th 2007 9:55AM]

So this is a way for MS to sell you two licenses of Windows. It's a win-win situation for the industry, and a big middle finger for the consumers. Very nice.

[tadghostal @ Dec 11th 2007 10:16AM]

Yeah! More I hate M$ posts! Microsoft is The Man, and Apple is just a warm friend who doesn't want your money. Why, I'll bet M$ is the reason Apple products costs so much - DAMMMM YOU BILL GATES!

[Rob @ Dec 11th 2007 10:30AM]

Where in my post did I mention Apple? And for your own piece of mind, Apple's business tactics are no better than MS, HP, and/or any other big corporation.

Why can't people reply to what's written in someone's post instead of the first nonsense Apple vs MS. Like I always say "Neither Apple nor MS pass me a monthly check. So I don't own them any loyalty."

[mac @ Dec 11th 2007 10:36AM]

Can I save you both the trouble of arguing about completely irrelevant and pointless things that have already been beaten to death since wooden clubs were invented and just call you both Nazis right now?

[ethana2 @ Dec 11th 2007 2:21PM]

It's only fair that they provide the option of not paying for an OS you don't want and won't use.
Even if they won't ship them with Linux, we at least need a no-OS option.

[mike @ Dec 11th 2007 1:19PM]

In related news...

Toshiba invents time machine to offer high-end laptops from 2003 to customers. Get em while they're hot!

[Slavior @ Dec 11th 2007 3:06PM]

Whatever the specs on this machine I wish more manufacturers would do this: I'm shopping for a laptop right now and it's a nightmare looking up XP driver availability for each one I like. Having an XP option right out of the box would make my choice that much easier!

[Nothing more or less @ Dec 11th 2007 6:09PM]

Toshiba is getting good now,my friend is using a Toshiba and she says it is really good