Citation

Toshiba's Digital Products Division today announced the Portégé R500 Series ultraportable notebook computer ... the thinnest notebook with an integrated optical disk drive. Toshiba's Portégé R500 Series is the world's first notebook to include a 7mm optical drive, and if that weren't enough it comes with the world's first widescreen 12.1-inch indoor/outdoor transreflective backlit LED screen and impressive battery life.



The integrated 7mm DVD-SuperMulti drive packed into a system measuring as thin as 0.77-inches and weighing 2.4-pounds makes this ultraportable attractive to anyone wanting to eliminate the bulk and inconvenience of carrying external drives and cables. Combine this with what Toshiba claims is "the world's longest battery life on a widescreen 12.1-inch notebook" and you may have found the ultraportable on everyone's Christmas list this year. The Portégé R500 Series incorporates Toshiba's third generation EasyGuard Technology for improved durability including HDD protection and a spill-resistant keyboard. Priced at $2,149, the Portege R500-S5002 is available with:

Genuine Windows Vista Business (32-bit version)
Intel Core 2 Duo Processor U7600
1.20GHz, 2MB L2, 533MHz FSB with 64-bit
1024MB PC2-5300 DDR2 SDRAM memory
One memory slot available
120GB (5400 RPM); Serial-ATA hard disk drive
7mm, 8xDVD-SuperMulti (+/-R Single Layer) drive supporting 9 formats
12.1-inch diagonal widescreen highbrightness display
1280 x 800 (WXGA) - Transreflective backlit LED
Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950 with 64MB
Intel Wireless WiFi Link 4965AGN (802.11a/g/n)
Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR


Additionally, the Portege R500-S5001X ($1,999) is available with:

Genuine Windows XP Professional
Intel Core 2 Duo Processor U7600
1.2GHz, 2MB L2, 533MHz FSB with 64-bit
1024MB PC2-5300 DDR2 SDRAM memory
One memory slot occupied
120GB (5400 RPM) Serial-ATA (SATA) hard disk drive
7mm, 8xDVD-SuperMulti (+/-R Single Layer) drive supporting 9 formats
12.1-inch diagonal widescreen highbrightness display
1280x800 (WXGA) Transreflective backlit LED
Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950
Intel Wireless WiFi Link 4965AGN (802.11a/g/n)
Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR


In the third quarter of 2007, Toshiba plans to further reduce the weight of the Portégé R500 Series to 1.72 pounds by including a 64GB solid state drive, effectively creating the world's lightest widescreen 12.1-inch notebook.

Citation

The Tecra M8-S8011, Toshiba's new 13.3-inch diagonal widescreen notebook incorporates an Intel Centrino Duo processor, optical disk drive and integrated webcam.



Starting at 4.5 pounds, the Tecra M8 integrates a built-in DVD SuperMulti drive enabling mobile users to read and write a wide variety of CD and DVD media formats. The Tecra M8 also includes a 1.3 megapixel webcam and microphone built into the LCD bezel, perfect for video conferencing or staying in touch with colleagues and family members. Optimized for Windows Vista, the Tecra M8 will also include solid graphics performance through the Intel Integrated Graphics Media Accelerator X3100 packed in a silver-metalic case. Thanks to Intel Turbo Memory, the Tecra M8 can boot its Windows Vista Business operating system quickly while improving battery life. The Tecra M8-S8011 ($1,399) is available with the following specifications:

Genuine Windows Vista Business (32-bit version)
Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T7100
1.8GHz, 2MB L2, 800MHz FSB with 64-bit
1024MB PC2-5300 DDR2 SDRAM memory
120GB (5400 RPM) Serial-ATA (SATA) hard disk drive
DVD SuperMulti (+/-R double layer) drive supporting 11 formats
13.3-inch diagonal widescreen TruBrite TFT LCD display
1280x800 native resolution (WXGA)
Mobile Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100 with 8MB (251MB dynamically allocated shared graphics memory)
Intel Wireless WiFi Link 4965AGN (802.11a/g/n)
Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR
Embedded 1.3 megapixel webcam with built-in microphone