Ah yes, we've been expecting you. That Portégé R500-12Q that popped up on a few foreign sites earlier this year seems to be making the trip Stateside, albeit with a slightly different model name. The R500-S5007V claims to be the "world's first laptop with a 128GB SSD" packed within, which is patently untrue, but we digress. The 2.4-pound machine also includes an integrated DVD SuperMulti drive, 12.1-inch transreflective LED-backlit WXGA display, a battery good for 8-hours of use, 1.33GHz Core 2 Duo U7700 CPU, 2GB of DDR2 RAM, GMA950 graphics set, WiFi, Ethernet, Bluetooth 2.0+EDR and a three-year warranty. You better believe that 0.77-inch frame is appealing, but the $2,999 starting price is still mighty tough to swallow.

Sure, you've seen a plethora of R500 shots already, but this ultrathin Portégé has somehow managed to keep its clothes on -- until now. One curious owner just couldn't resist the urge to operate, and after careful dissection, we're left with a handful of snaps showing off the unit's internals. Don't be shy, check out the whole lot in the gallery below.

[Thanks, Jai]

Well, would you cast a keen eye on this? Over on Toshiba's European website (among other regions), an atypical Portégé R500 (the R500-12Q, to be precise) has made an appearance, and while most everything looks to be the standard fare, the included hard drive certainly isn't. Looking past the 12.1-inch LED-backlit display, Core 2 Duo ULV U7700 processor, 2GB of DDR2 RAM and dual-layer DVD writer lies a drool-worthy 128GB SSD, sure to send the flash faithful into a tizzy. There's no pricing information to be immediately found, but those scouting an ultraportable with a solid state disc have likely already come to grips with the lofty premium sure to be attached.

[Thanks, Philippe]

Forget the MacBook Air: those folks seeking the absolute lightest notebooks on the planet know that Windows machines are still the only way to go, and Toshiba has proven that once again with an official 3G upgrade to the already impressive Portege R500. According to Akihabara News (which seems to be a little confused concerning the model number here), two new 12.1-inch, HSDPA-equipped configurations will be available this month: the ultra-lightweight (and ultra-pricey) R500-11J, highlighted by a 64GB SSD drive and impressive 1.72-pound package, and the cheaper, optical drive-packing R500-11I, which features the same 1.20GHz U7600 CPU and 2GB of RAM, but introduces a less appealing 120GB HDD. Pricing should be around €2,500 ($3,658) for the high-end 11J and €2,050 ($3,000 even) for the heavier 11I.

The Toshiba Portege R500, a 12.1-inch ultraportable that we've been telling you about has just gotten a new 3G add-on cleared for takeoff by our favorite government agency, the FCC. The Core 2 Duo-driven laptop, which just hit the market, has been given the a-ok on an HSDPA module, potentially making this a big deal for people who are in dire need of connectivity options (jet-setting suits, we're looking at you). In case you've forgotten, the ultralight, ultrathin laptop starts at a weight of 1.72 lbs, can utilize a 32GB or 64GB SSD drive, and also has 802.11a/b/g/n and Bluetooth. The "world's thinnest" laptop is on sale right now starting at $1,999, but no word on when the 3G is coming, or how much it will cost.

[Via PC Joint, thanks Stasys]

Just after seeing Toshiba's mysterious X200 roaming free in France, it looks like that isn't the only machine from the firm running wild in the land of fragrances and fashion. The ultrathin Portégé R500 was also spotted in Paris recently, and while we wish that NTT's 3D glove contraption was already a reality so we could feel this thing for ourselves, we'll just have to judge from afar for now. Sure looks as thin as advertised to us, but be sure and click through to see (more) for yourself.

Update:More shots from Engadget China.

If you were wondering who's responsible for the super-slim burner that allows Toshiba's waifish Portege R500 sub-notebook to sport an optical drive in such a small enclosure -- and who wasn't, really? -- it seems that Akihabara News has solved this non-mystery by outing Panasonic's seven-millimeter thick DVD writer as the guilty party. At only 99 grams heavy as well, the unnamed spinner reportedly stomps all over the previous record holder for slimmest notebook drive, which measured a relatively-bloated 9.5 millimeters from top to bottom. You'll probably be seeing this model all over the place soon enough; in fact, we wouldn't be surprised (well, maybe we would) if Samsung stuffs one into the first revision of the Q1 Ultra. or Mr. Hawkins employs it to add some value to the critically-panned Foleo.

It's easy to jump to conclusions when you hear a spec like "2.4 pounds" -- things like no disc drive, minuscule screen and a complete lack of horsepower quickly spring to mind -- but Toshiba is really taking things next-gen with its new Portege R500. The new bestest buddy to Tosh's flagship R400 tablet, the R500 packs a first ever 7mm optical drive, 12.1-inch transflective (outdoor readable) LED-backlit screen, and does it all with a mere 0.77-inches of thickness, which Toshiba claims is the thinnest ever to include a disc drive, and that aforementioned 2.4 pound weight. The R500 isn't spec shy either, with a Core 2 duo U7600 1.2GHz processor, Intel GMA 950 graphics, up to 2GB of RAM, a 120GB HDD and a 1280 x 800 screen res. There's even a PCMCIA slot, gigabit Ethernet, Bluetooth and VGA out, just to make the other ultraportables look bad. To top it all off, Toshiba is boasting of the "world's longest" battery life for a 12.1-inch widescreen notebook, but doesn't have any hard numbers other than that. The laptop starts at $2,000 with XP Pro, or $2,150 with Vista Business, but the real fun starts later this year when Toshiba starts shipping 64GB SSD configurations, which once specced to a 3 cell battery and no optical drive will weigh a paltry 1.72 pounds.

[Via Laptoping]

In what the WiMedia Alliance calls a "first of its kind demonstration," DaimlerChrysler Research will roll-out a Mercedes-Benz R500 SUV at CES next week all dolled up in Intel's and Alereon's Ultrawideband (UWB) USB technology. The demonstration will pump high-definition video from a handheld mobile device to an array of factory installed headrest monitors for the middle and third row passengers. Great, let's hope they fare better that we did with the Belkin's CableFree USB Hub which wasn't quite up to the task of streaming HD with a paltry 6.35Mbps measured. Belkin's box packs Freescale the very first implementation of Wisair's UWB, a member of WiMedia, the favored child of the Bluetooth SIG. So let's hope they can demonstrate something a bit closer to the "480Mbps and beyond" transfer speeds they like to boast about. You know, so your kids can someday sit zombied in the backseat watching their videos on a 7.1-inch, 1080p display just as the Good Lorf intended.