We've long since known that the ThinkPad line was one of the most sturdy, solid and well built families in the entire laptop kingdom, but Lenovo's making extra sure you're aware of that fact with a new designation. The ThinkPad X200, X301, X200s, X200 Tablet, T400, T500, R400 and SL300 laptops have all met "a barrage of military specifications tests," which obviously deems them worthy of a "semi-rugged" label. For the record, Lenovo is quite clear that these machines cannot be billed as "ruggedized" at this time, though the bashing that they reportedly took in the testing lab (see above) sort of prove otherwise. In related news, the firm is also adding a new optional 680-nit high brightness panel to the oh-so-popular T400, though there's no indication that said option will ever bleed out to more models. Full release is after the break.

So far, Lenovo's shotgun launch of its new ThinkPad T, SL, W, R, and X-series has been a lesson in retail clumsiness. It started yesterday with that 128GB SSD freebie and culminates (after several missteps in between) into a Canadian $200 for the 14.1-inch ThinkPad R400, uh, Eee PC killer. This is not just a simple typo mind you, the pricing issue is systemic as that baseline price increments as you adjust your options all the way to checkout. There's no guarantee that they'll honor your order of course, in fact they likely won't. But at the very least, they should be paying our readers for doing the quality control they seem incapable of handling themselves.

P.S. While we have your attention Lenovo, how about axing those contrived "Sale" prices. You're not fooling anyone.

[Thanks, Geoffrey A. and Rahul G.]

The Wireless USB packing Toshiba Portege R400 makes an encore performance at CES 2008 in hopes of putting your bandwidth fears to rest. Pushing data at 377Mbps (of a theoretical 480Mbps at 3-meters), you're looking at 1,920 x 1,080 pixel video sourced from the R400 and displayed on a prototype WUSB monitor sitting a few inches away. Not bad, eh?

Toshiba has finally shed the frumpy aesthetics of its Qosmio GXX line of desktop replacements and co-opted the clean white lines of the R400 for the brand new Qosmio G40. There's the "usual" 17-inch 1920 x 1200 screen, dual 200GB hard drives, T7300P Core 2 Duo processor (Santa Rosa), 2GB of RAM and other basic necessities like that, but things get extra interesting with the 512MB GeForce 8600M GT graphics, an HD DVD-R drive and HDMI 1.3. The laptop should be come to at least Europe in June, with an asking price of around 3000 euros (about $4004 US).

[Via Electronista]

Samsung's not the only mega Korean manufacturer with a little bit of hybrid hard drive action to show off this week. Apparently LG is getting into the game as well, as it's stuffed one of those flash-cached, speed-booting, battery-saving and performance-enhancing drives into the new R400, which should be launching at the end of this month. Along with the snappy 120GB drive, the R400 (not to be confused with Toshiba's flagship 12-incher) includes a 128MB ATI Mobility Radeon X2300 graphics card, 14.1-inch LCD, 1.73GHz T5300 Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 1GB of RAM and Bluetooth. The Inquirer mentions a built-in 1.3 megapixel webcam, but we're not spotting the camera in the pic above. The best news is that all of this appears to be going for the perfectly reasonable price of $1,199 Canadian -- about 37 cents in real people money! There's obviously some shadiness here, and we're looking forward to LG's official announcement to confirm the specs and maybe jack up the price a grand or so, but for now we sure are liking to looks of this here R400.

[Via The Inquirer]

If you somehow managed to skim through the CES mayhem and notice this gem, chances are it immediately landed on your wish list, and if you're looking for an ultralight, well-spec'd, EV-DO-equipped convertible tablet, here's your chance. The Portégé R400 was peeked, revealed, cuddled, and reviewed, but now the time has finally come for you to lay claim to your own. Hitting Toshiba's webstore for a (slightly steep) base price of $3,149, this unit packs an energy-efficient 1.2GHz Intel Core Duo U2500 processor, Vista Ultimate, 2GB of RAM, 12.1-inch LED-backlit LCD, XGA resolution, Intel's GMA950 integrated graphics set, WiFi, Bluetooth 2.0+EDR, fingerprint scanner, gigabit Ethernet port, built-in microphone / mono speaker, headphone out, six-cell Li-ion battery, PCMCIA, and a pair of USB 2.0 connectors. You'll also find a bevy of Microsoft and Toshiba software pre-installed, and while it only tips the scales at 3.79-pounds, you'll have to lug around an external optical drive if you need to spin any discs. But hey, at least you've got a tick to think things over, as it looks like even today's orders won't ship "for one to two weeks."

Laptop Magazine had the opportunity to put the new 12-inch, Toshiba Portege R400 through a review. One "especially convenient feature" of the convertible tablet is the ability to receive real-time alerts using Microsoft's Active Notifications and Push Technology. So long as you're connected via WiFi or embedded EV-DO Rev A, the front edge of the R400 can display real-time email and calendar notifications. In notebook mode, the full-size keyboard was comfortable though "a bit springy" and the digitizer (in tablet mode) was "accurate and responsive" even when making the subtlest of moves. Laptop Magazine wasn't too happy about the external DVD multidrive, though we're just fine having it strung from a tether in order to keep the weight down. The LED glossy screen was "bright and vibrant" but a bit "too glossy" resulting in glare and reflection especially in tablet mode. The biggest complaint is performance; pre-loaded with Windows Vista Ultimate, the reviewers noted "sluggish" performance from "some actions" making them wonder if the 1.2-GHz Intel Core Duo processor and integrated Intel GMA 950 graphics were "overmatched by the OS." Hmm, us too. Bottom line, they "like, not love" the R400.

The Toshiba Portege R400 is hot enough on its own, right? Well, what if we told you that Tosh is showing off a prototype version of their Vista SideShow friendly, convertible tablet with an Ultra Wide Band (UWB) wireless dock? Damn straight son, wireless transmission to all your peripherals so you never have to plug your DVI monitor, Ethernet, keyboard, mouse, and other USB peripherals into the laptop when you return to the home or office. Just take a seat and you're in -- simple like pie. The Toshiba Wireless Port Replicator (as it's officially dubbed) will be available in the second quarter of 2007. Check the gallery for a few more pics.

It looks like the surfacing of Vista / SideShow-centric remotes isn't the only news popping up in regard to Microsoft's forthcoming OS, as Toshiba is apparently readying a new convertible tablet for release. According to a blurb in the Windows Vista Partner Stories brochure, the Portege R400 is set to become the company's "signature" laptop, and breaks off the keyboard / design layout from the M400, not to mention its flagship feature: 3G. Designed specifically to function with Windows Vista niceties, the sexy machine sports a 12.1-inch "LED backlit" widescreen display, and is reportedly the "world's first PC that automatically synchronizes your information with Active Notifications." In a bid to make getting connected as easy as possible, Toshiba's ConfigFree setup supposedly makes managing your (Verizon) EV-DO, WiFi, Bluetooth, and gigabit Ethernet connections a breeze, but the real standout of the system is its claim to be the "world's first system with a wireless dock to connect to desktop peripherals," which should prove mighty handy if bandwidth doesn't prove too great a bottleneck. Nevertheless, the still-mysterious R400 should find itself a spec sheet and release date sometime soon, probably close to, say, January 30th?