Toshiba Portégé R700 slides in with a thin design, Core power and an affordable pricetag

Toshiba's announced more than enough laptops for us in the past week, but the 13.3-inch Portégé R700 is ranking pretty high up there on our favorite list. The ultraportable has gotten a complete redesign at its core -- there's a new magnesium chassis that's been re-engineered with an internal honeycomb metal that aims to dissipate heat, as well as a new chiclet style keyboard. Yet, despite its mostly metal build and onboard optical drive, it measures less than an inch thick and only weighs three pounds -- yep, Toshiba is in fact claiming it's the lightest 13.3-inch laptop ever. Rather unexpectedly, it doesn't chicken out with ultra-low voltage power -- instead there will be Intel Core i3, i5 and i7 versions. And the pricing is really enticing -- the Core i3 version with 4GB of RAM and a 500GB hard drive will retail for $999, the i5 model with a 320GB 7,200rpm drive for $1,299, and an i7 / 128GB SSD combo for $1,599. And there will also be a blue colored Best Buy version with a Core i3 CPU, 4GB of RAM, and a 500GB hard drive for $899. Told you it was rising to the top of our list. These bad boys start shipping today, but if you need some more info before whipping out the plastic, hit the gallery below and the press release after the break. %Gallery-95645% %Gallery-95667%

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Toshiba Introduces World's Lightest 13.3-Inch Full-Performance Ultraportable Laptop With Integrated DVD Drive

25th Anniversary Edition Portégé R700 Features New Airflow Cooling Technology and Honeycomb Rib Structure, Allowing for Full-Voltage Processor Performance in Ultraportable Form Factor

IRVINE, Calif. – June 21, 2010 – Building on a long history of industry firsts and ultraportable laptop innovations, Toshiba's Digital Products Division (DPD), a division of Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., today announced the Portégé® R700, the U.S version of the world's lightest 13.3-inch full-performance ultraportable laptop with an integrated DVD drive1. The Portégé R700 provides business users with unprecedented performance and durability in a highly mobile product with prices starting under $1,000.

With a starting weight of just three pounds2 and about one inch thin, the Portégé R700 is able to support the latest Intel® Core™ family of full-powered processors as a result of new Airflow Cooling Technology. This innovative new cooling system co-developed by Toshiba and Intel uses directed streams of fresh air to cool the heat-generating components so business users can get the performance, mobility and longer battery life they need to stay productive on the go.

The Portégé R700 also features a light, yet durable magnesium alloy casing reinforced with a new honeycomb rib design incorporated within the palm rests and base of the laptop. Similar to technology used in aerospace construction, this structural enhancement to the laptop provides increased rigidity and durability.

The laptop also features Toshiba's EasyGuard® Technology, which helps protect the laptop from jolts, spills and theft. This includes added protection around system components, a Hard Drive Impact Sensor and spill-resistant keyboard as well as a host of software that continuously checks the performance and functionality of the system.

"Portégé ultraportable laptops are not only a demonstration of Toshiba's superior engineering and craftsmanship, but our ability to innovate to meet the demands of businesses," said Carl Pinto, vice president of product development, Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., Digital Products Division. "The Portégé R700 delivers the ultimate mobile experience at breakthrough prices that businesses have been waiting for, providing both performance and battery life within an extremely thin and light, yet durable form factor without compromising key features such as an integrated DVD drive."

With an all-new sophisticated design that will turn heads in the boardroom, the Portégé R700 features a 13.3-inch diagonal HD widescreen LED-backlit display3, a premium raised tile keyboard and a wide TouchPad™ with customizable Multi-touch Control that makes typing and navigation easy and comfortable.

Equipped with Windows® 7 Professional, the laptops include a wealth of features and ports required by business users, including spacious hard drives, fast DDR3 RAM, the ability to dock to a port replicator, an ExpressCard™ slot, an eSATA/USB combo port with Sleep-and-Charge4, as well as a built-in DVD SuperMulti drive and Webcam. The Portégé R700 also features a high-capacity six-cell battery with a battery life rating of up to 8.5 hours5. An optional nine-cell battery that can remain on when docked will increase the battery life rating up to 12.5 hours.
A new High-Speed Port Replicator for the Portégé R700 (sold separately for $199.00 MSRP6) provides fast access to a desktop environment and eliminates the hassle of connecting multiple cables. The port replicator features a host of ports, including two ultrafast USB 3.0 ports, four USB 2.0 ports, Gigabit Ethernet as well as Line-In/Line-Out audio ports, HDMI, RGB and Serial connections.

"Business PC buyers want lighter, thinner notebook designs, but our research shows that they aren't willing to compromise on performance and features to get to those smaller sizes," said Bob O'Donnell, vice president, Clients and Displays research at IDC. "Integrating high-performance CPUs and an optical drive, while still maintaining a good price point, are key to making these lighter notebook designs more successful in the marketplace."

The laptop will be available in three configurations: the Portégé R700-S1310 features the Intel Core i3 processor7 and a 500GB8 hard drive for $999.00 MSRP. The Portégé R700-S1320 features the Intel Core i5-520M processor and a high-speed 320GB 7200RPM hard drive for $1,299.00 MSRP. The Portégé R700-S1330 features the powerful Intel Core i7-620M processor and a 128GB solid state drive9 for $1,599.00 MSRP. All three configurations come with 4GB DDR3 memory10 and a Standard Three-Year International Limited Warranty11.

Consumer Model Also Available
Toshiba will also offer a consumer edition of the laptop, the Portégé R705. Sold exclusively at Best Buy for $889.99 MSRP, the laptop will feature a Magnesium Blue cover and will be powered by the Intel Core i3 processor, 4GB of DDR3 memory and a 500GB hard drive. In addition, the Portégé R705 will feature Intel Wireless Display for wirelessly connecting the laptop to a big screen HDTV. The Portégé R705 will not include ExpressCard or docking capabilities.
EPEAT Gold-rated Eco-conscious Design

The Portégé R700 is designed to be environmentally conscious with power-efficient, mercury-free LED backlit display, meets the rigorous requirements of the Energy Star® 5.0 standard and achieved industry-leading Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT®) Gold status. The laptop is also RoHS compatible, effectively reducing the environmental impact by restricting the use of lead, mercury, cadmium and certain other hazardous substances.

Availability
Portégé R700 business laptops will be available today through select Toshiba Preferred Partner Program resellers, e-tailers and directly at toshibadirect.com.

The Portégé R705 will be available at Best Buy stores nationwide on June 27, 2010.
Detailed specifications can be found at laptops.toshiba.com/laptops/portege/R700
Image Gallery: http://bit.ly/PortegeR700

Connect with Toshiba on Twitter at twitter.com/ToshibaLaptops and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ToshibaLaptopsUS.

About Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc. (TAIS)
Headquartered in Irvine, Calif., TAIS is comprised of four business units: Digital Products Division, Imaging Systems Division, Storage Device Division, and Telecommunication Systems Division. Together, these divisions provide mobile products and solutions, including industry leading portable computers; imaging products for the security, medical and manufacturing markets; storage products for automotive, computer and consumer electronics applications; and telephony equipment and associated applications.

TAIS provides sales, marketing and services for its wide range of information products in the United States and Latin America. TAIS is an independent operating company owned by Toshiba America, Inc., a subsidiary of Toshiba Corporation. Toshiba Corporation is a world leader and innovator in high technology, a diversified manufacturer and marketer of advanced electronic and electrical products. These products span from information & communications systems; digital consumer products; electronic devices and components; as well as power systems including nuclear energy; industrial and social infrastructure systems; and home appliances. Toshiba was founded in 1875, and today operates a global network of more than 740 companies, with 204,000 employees worldwide and annual sales surpassing $68 billion (6.3 Trillion Yen). For more information on Toshiba visit www.toshiba.com.
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© 2010 Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc. All product, service and company names are trademarks, registered trademarks or service marks of their respective owners. Information including without limitation product prices, specifications, availability, content of services, and contact information is subject to change without notice. All rights reserved.
1 As of June 21, 2010.
2 Weight. Weight may vary. See Weight Legal Footnote at www.info.toshiba.com
3 Display. Any small bright dots that may appear on your display are an intrinsic characteristic of the thin film transistors manufacturing technology. See Display Legal Footnote at www.info.toshiba.com
4 The "USB Sleep & Charge function" may not work with certain external devices even if they are compliant with the USB specification. In those cases, turn the power of the computer ON to charge the device.
5 Measured by MobileMark® Productivity 2007 for comparison purposes only. Actual battery life may vary. See Battery Life Rating Legal Footnote at www.info.toshiba.com
6 Price. Reseller prices may vary. MSRP means "Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price."
7 Processor. CPU performance may vary. See Processor Legal Footnote at www.info.toshiba.com
8 Hard Disk Drive Capacity. Hard drive capacity may vary. 1 Gigabyte (GB) means 109 = 1,000,000,000 bytes using powers of 10. See Hard Disk Drive Capacity Legal Footnote at www.info.toshiba.com
9 Solid State Drive Capacity. Drive capacity may vary. One Gigabyte (GB) means 109 = 1,000,000,000 bytes using powers of 10. See Solid State Drive Capacity Legal Footnote at www.info.toshiba.com
10 Memory. Memory size may vary. See Memory Legal Footnote at www.info.toshiba.com
11 Warranty. The terms and conditions of Toshiba's standard limited warranty, and extended warranty and service upgrade plans are available at www.warranty.toshiba.com.