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Toshiba's 320GB hard disk is world's largest 1.8-incher

by Thomas Ricker posted Nov 5th 2009 at 1:35AM

That's the world's largest capacity 1.8-inch hard disk drive right there. A claim met by a list of specs going a little something like this: 3.0Gbps SATA interface, 320GB capacity, 5,400 RPM, 16MB buffer, and 19dB of emitted noise during seeks -- a 4dB cut from Toshiba's previous generation of 5,400 RPM 1.8-inchers. Of course, these 1.8-inch mechanical HDDs are the form factor most commonly found in those netbook-shoving CULV thin-and-light ultraportables now coming onto the market. Look for it in December when the MK3233GSG hits mass production.

Toshiba launches 14.6 megapixel CMOS sensor with backside illumination for cellphones

by Tim Stevens posted Oct 27th 2009 at 9:34AM

Backside illumination may sound like something a proctologist would use in a poorly-lit examining room, but it's actually a re-imagining of the CMOS sensor that brings the photodiodes closer to the action, thus delivering brighter images from smaller packaging. OmniVision and Sony both have their takes on the tech and now Toshiba is putting it into a 14.6 megapixel sensor for cellphones and compact cameras. The company claims light absorption is boosted by 40%, resulting in bright pictures despite the high-density 1/2.3-inch sensor. Early production will begin before the end of the year but manufacturing lines won't start firing en masse until sometime next summer, meaning yet another dark and murky winter of dark and murky pictures.

Hitachi and Toshiba subpoenaed in DOJ optical drive price fixing probe

by Vladislav Savov posted Oct 27th 2009 at 5:31AM

We kinda knew that there couldn't be any antitrust smoke without the fire of market collusion, and sure enough, Sony Optiarc has been joined on the naughty step by Hitachi-LG Data Storage and Toshiba Samsung Storage Technology Corp. As the names should tell you, these are joint ventures involving some of the world's biggest electronics manufacturers, whose American optical drive divisions appear to be under suspicion of fixing prices. We'd have expected Hitachi and LG to wise up after paying out fines for LCD price fixing recently, but when you look at Hitachi's stock trading up after this news -- with traders confident any forthcoming fines will be too small to dent the company's bottom line -- maybe "by hook or by crook" is actually a viable business plan?

Toshiba's BDX2000 Blu-ray deck hits Best Buy for $199, sour grapes also on sale

by Nilay Patel posted Oct 26th 2009 at 8:22PM

Man, poor Toshiba. The company's already sucked up its pride and started putting Blu-ray drives in its laptops, but here's its first stab at a proper standalone player, the BDX2000, on Best Buy shelves a bit early for $199 -- or $50 less than its announced price. Sure, that makes sense given the falling prices of Blu-ray decks as the holidays approach, but even at that price it's not super competitive with the slew of other decks out there that can do Netflix streaming. We'll see if Tosh's next efforts are a little more interesting than this, or if this is just more heartbreak than its worth.

[Thanks, Alex]

Continue reading Toshiba's BDX2000 Blu-ray deck hits Best Buy for $199, sour grapes also on sale

Toshiba Dynario fuel-cell: the battery revolution begins October 29th

by Thomas Ricker posted Oct 22nd 2009 at 1:55AM

We can hardly believe it but the day has finally arrived: Toshiba just launched the first Dynario fuel-cell for portable consumer electronics. That's right, the long promised and highly anticipated direct methanol fuel-cell (DMFC) with dedicated fuel cartridge for on-the-go refueling will go on sale October 29th in Japan for ¥29,800 (about $328) plus another ¥3,150 (about $34) for a set of five, 50ml fuel cartridges. Dynario takes about 20 seconds to fill its 14ml fuel tank with an injection of a concentrated methanol solution at which point it's ready to charge USB-connected devices. Dynario's hybrid structure uses a lithium-ion battery to store enough electricity to charge two typical cellphones, according to Tosh. That works out to be about $1 per recharge, if our calculations are correct, based on the fuel costs alone. We assume the battery can be charged via wall socket power too but this isn't explicitly stated in the press release. The first run consists of only 3,000 units after which Toshiba will gauge consumer reaction before extending the launch outside of Japan. Boy oh boy, a new age in portability has begun.

Gallery: Toshiba Dynario fuel-cell: the battery revolution begins October 29th

Acer fulfills prophecy, overtakes Dell as number two PC maker worldwide (update)

by Ross Miller posted Oct 14th 2009 at 8:14PM

As if on cue, here's some new data research firm Gartner lending credence to Lanci's boasting. Looks like Acer has leapfrogged over Dell for the number two spot in global market share for the third quarter of 2009, from 12.5 to 15.4 percent of the Big Pie Chart™. Meanwhile Dell is just below at 12.8 percent, and HP is sitting happily atop with a 19.9 percent ownership.

Update: Let us adjust our glasses a bit. According to the charts, Acer is number two in worldwide PC sales, not in US as this previously reported. Stateside, the company is sitting at number three at 13.9 percent, behind HP (25.7 percent) and Dell (26.2 percent). Apologies for the confusion, the person responsible for eyesight has been subsequently sacked, the person responsible for the sacking has been sacked, etc.

Toshiba announces touchscreen notebooks, netbooks for Windows 7 launch

by Joseph L. Flatley posted Oct 14th 2009 at 2:21PM

Toshiba's just announced a couple new lappies -- and a whole host of refreshes -- in anticipation of the Windows 7 launch later this month. The big news here is definitely the touchscreen models: The Satellite U505 (due out November 1) is a 13.3-inch, 5 lb device with an MSRP of $1,049.99, while the Satellite M505 (street date October 22) has 14.4-inches of real estate and an MSRP of $949.99. Both come with the touch-ready LifeSpace software package that includes Bulletin Board (some sort of organizer with to-do lists, calendars and the like), and ReelTime, which apparently "helps you find files based on when they were opened using a visual history." Tosh is promising to ship Windows 7 devices with minimal software running in the background -- which is important if you want to retain performance increases that the new OS might provide over Vista.

Also included in this batch of lappies are new Satellite A500s (optional Blu-ray, Intel Core 2 Duo or AMD Turion II Ultra CPU, discrete graphics options, a 16-inch HD Edge-to-Edge display on select models, starts at $589.99), Satellite L500 Series (displays ranging from 14 to 17.3-inch, Turion II and Athlon II CPU, hard drives up to 500GB, starting prices range from $504.99 to $579.99), Satellite P500 Series (18.4-inch HD TruBrite display, Intel Core 2 Duo or AMD Turion II processors, Blu-ray in some models, starting at $799.99), Satellite L500 Series (up to 17.3-inch display, up to 500GB HDD, and various processor options, starting at $504.99), the Qosmio X505 with an 18.4-inch display and optional 64GB SSD / 320GB HDD dual-drive configuration priced at $1,899.99, and finally the mini NB205, a 10.1-inch netbook with a nine hour battery life, up to 250GB HDD, and five fabulous finishes including Sable Brown, Frost White, Indigo Blue, Posh Pink and Onyx Black (starting at $399.99). PR after the break.

[Via Hot Hardware]

Read - The new Satellite U500 Series
Read - The new Satellite M500 Series
Read - The new Satellite A500 Series
Read - The new Satellite P500 Series
Read - The new Satellite L500 Series
Read - The new Qosmio X500 Series
Read - The new mini NB200 Series

Continue reading Toshiba announces touchscreen notebooks, netbooks for Windows 7 launch

Toshiba rolls out Dynabook MX/43, MX/33 thin-and-lights for Japan

by Donald Melanson posted Oct 13th 2009 at 2:29PM

Toshiba certainly isn't hurting for laptops big or small these days, but it looks like it's nonetheless decided to mix things up a bit further with two new CULV models: the 13.3-inch MX/43 and 11.6-inch MX/33. Of course, both come with a few trade-offs to performance for that added portability, but you'll get a slightly better balance with the MX/43, which packs a Core 2 Duo SU9400 processor, 2GB of RAM (up to 8GB), a 250GB hard drive, a promised 10.5 hours of battery life, and Windows 7 Home Premium for an OS. The MX/33, on the other hand, dials things back with a 1.3GHz Celeron 743 processor and a smaller battery, among other similar specs, although you can get it in you choice of three different colors. No word on a release over here, but folks in Japan will be able to pick this one up on (you guessed it) October 22nd.

[Via Engadget Japanese]

Toshiba finally weds SpursEngine and Blu-ray in 18.4-inch Qosmio G60 laptop

by Darren Murph posted Oct 13th 2009 at 1:46PM

Toshiba's beastly Dynabook was last updated in April, but at the time, Toshiba was still walking around with its chin up and refusing to integrate Blu-ray technology into its products. Now, however, the 18.4-inch Qosmio G60 (Dynabook MX in overseas markets) is finally bringing together a Cell-based SpursEngine HD video co-processor with a Blu-ray drive, ensuring oodles of movie watching bliss for those mettlesome enough to lug this thing around. Other specs include a 2.53GHz Core 2 Duo P8700 CPU, NVIDIA GeForce GT 230M GPU, 500GB hard drive, 4GB of RAM, twin TV tuners, Windows 7 Home Premium and a 1080p panel. If all goes well, it'll ship next month (at least in Japan) for around ¥220,000 ($2,457), though your guess is as good as ours on a US release.

[Via Engadget Japanese]

Toshiba 43nm MLC NAND-based SSDs spotted in retail

by Joseph L. Flatley posted Oct 9th 2009 at 12:44AM

If you were lusting after those 43nm drives that Toshiba recently started shipping to OEMs, we found a source for you. If you're in Japan (or comfortable ordering from Japan) ioPLAZA has the 256GB (2.5-inch) SSDs listed for ¥85,800 (about $970). Intrigued? We bet you are. Orders placed now ship later this month. Hit the read link to see for yourself.

Sony and Toshiba demo TransferJet short-range sharing at CEATEC (video)

by Darren Murph posted Oct 8th 2009 at 5:08AM

TransferJet is still solidly in the "fledgling" stage, but it looks as if a few big time industry players have faith that consumers have a desire -- nay, a need -- for short-range, high-speed sharing. Here at CEATEC in Japan, both Sony and Toshiba were on hand with independent TransferJet demonstrations, and while the actual protocol has been in place for awhile now, it's the supporting cast (read: hardware) that has remained elusive. Toshiba was utilizing a snazzy TG01 and Qosmio laptop in order to showcase just how quickly the two could share information over the air, while Sony had us believing that pretty much everything it'll make for the rest of eternity could support device-to-device sharing. Head on past the break for a peek at the demos, but try not to get your hopes up for seeing this stuff in shipping products anytime in the immediate future, okay?

Continue reading Sony and Toshiba demo TransferJet short-range sharing at CEATEC (video)

Toshiba's DMFC fuel cell seen 'powering phones' at CEATEC (video)

by Darren Murph posted Oct 6th 2009 at 5:58PM

Toshiba has been promising the world a healthy dose of fuel cell chargers for what feels like ages now, with its most recent swearing happening just two months ago. Here at CEATEC, the company's wares were being trumpeted by KDDI. We witnessed a standard handset have its stock battery removed and replaced with an admittedly bulky fuel cell container. The booth attendant proudly juiced up the cell, clipped it onto the phone's rear and mashed the power button. Within seconds, the device booted up normally, and a handy level indicator on the charger itself kept us in the know on how much life was left. Or -- you know -- maybe the whole thing was just an elaborate hoax to fool English-speaking media into thinking this stuff was really nearing its commercial release. Have a look at a brief video just beyond the break, but try not to get your hopes up too high. No need in having your heart broken again unnecessarily.

Gallery: Toshiba's DMFC fuel cell seen powering phones at CEATEC

Continue reading Toshiba's DMFC fuel cell seen 'powering phones' at CEATEC (video)

Toshiba Cell Regza 55X1 and Regza Next concepts hands-on (video)

by Ross Miller posted Oct 5th 2009 at 7:56AM

Now that the Cell-powered cat's out the bag, we had a chance to get up close and personal with a number of its 55-inch Cell Regza 55X1 LCD TVs on hand at the CEATEC show floor. It's certainly not the thinnest flat-screen panel, but the screen was crisp and colors bright. The Cell and most of the heavy duty components were housed in a separate Cell Box -- frankly, it was disappointing just how large the box was, out-sizing even the original PlayStation 3. For reasons that weren't quite made clear to us, the 3TB of storage were divided among four separate drives, two 1TB and two 500GB. None of them are accessible, leaving you only an external USB drive as an expansion option. Frankly, the real draw here (at least the multitaskers inside of us) is eight-window display function and hyper-fast channel scrolling, which in our time with the TV worked great without a hitch.

Also on hand were the four Cell Regza Next concept models. There's not much to say about the entertainment server and the all-in-one, but we do have to give credit to the 4K2K TV for the expected visual quality. The 3D unit was showing off a hands-only motion-controlled user interface, demonstrated only by a Toshiba rep, that seemed to have a few technical hiccups. As we've said before (Natal, anyone?), waving your arms is a fun concept, but here we're not yet sold on the usefulness over novelty of it -- something Toshi can mull over between now and at whatever point in the future it plans on upgrading it beyond concept phase. Video of the 55X1 and the conceptual 3D UI after the break.

Gallery: Toshiba Cell Regza hands-on

Gallery: Toshiba Cell Regza Next future concepts hands-on

Continue reading Toshiba Cell Regza 55X1 and Regza Next concepts hands-on (video)

Toshiba details Cell Regza LCD TV, coming December to Japan (update: video!)

by Ross Miller posted Oct 5th 2009 at 2:12AM

It's a day before CEATEC officially kicks off, but Toshiba's getting a head start on the news, dishing out all the deets on its Cell-powered Cell Regza LCD TV, now officially due out in Japan in early December. The 55-inch, 240Hz display boasts a mighty impressive 5,000,000:1 contrast ratio, self-congruency technology for improved picture detail on the edges, a peak luminance of 1250cd/m², and LED backlits dividing the screen into 512 distinct areas. A 7-speaker sound bar lies just below the display. Want more? How about eight-window simultaneous multi-display, an Opera-based web browser, DLNA, and a 3TB hard disk drive, 2TB for "time-shift" recording recording up to 26 hours of programs, up to eight channels simultaneously. There's a sizable box on display, too, which seems to be where the Cell hardware is being housed. Curious about price? If we heard correctly, the retail price is expected to be around 1,000,000 yen, or around US $11,140. We just heard their sales target is leaning on the conservative side, about 1,000 units pushed each month.

If that's not forward-thinking enough, Toshi's also outlining its future concepts, dubbed Cell Regza Next. Those four include a 3D set, a 4K2K version that upcoverts 1080p to 3840 x 2160 resolution, a 46-inch model integrating its Cell Box dedicated TV tuner and HDD, and a 37-inch that works as a home network server. It looks like we'll be getting some hands-on time with the 55X1 shortly, but in the meantime, one more pic and video after the break.

Gallery: Toshiba Cell Regza

Continue reading Toshiba details Cell Regza LCD TV, coming December to Japan (update: video!)

Toshiba launches new Satellite netbooks in the US and UK

by Joseph L. Flatley posted Sep 29th 2009 at 2:34PM

We know you love nothing more than a Toshiba Satellite laptop announcement, so listen up: the company has just announced two new CULV ultraportables of the UK and stateside market: The Satellite T135 (or the T130 as it's known overseas) is a 13.3-inch beauty with options including either an Intel Pentium, Celeron single core or Celeron dual-core CPU, up to 3GB of DDR3 RAM, and 250GB harddrive. The Satellite T115 (or T110 in the UK) sports an 11.6-inch display, either an Intel Pentium or Celeron single core CPU, and up to 4GB of RAM and 500GB harddrive. What's more, the kids over at Laptop Mag have given the T135 the old once-over and found it to be a pretty good deal: "for slightly less than the competition," they said of the $709 review unit, you're getting "good performance and a stylish design." Perhaps the single touchpad button and the quiet speakers will be a turn-off to some, but it takes all kinds, right? Look for the T135 and T115 on October 22nd, for $599 and $449 respectively -- their UK counterparts should hit the streets on the same date, priced from £429.
Read - Toshiba Satellite T130/T135 and T110/T115 CULV ultraportables debut
Read - Toshiba Satellite T135 review