Toshiba has announced its latest line of laptops, with two of the new Satellite models representing the company's first foray into multi-touch notebooks.
While all models in the new Satellite range will ship with Windows 7 Home Premium, only the M505 and U505 Touch models will offer the touch-screen capabilities available via the new Windows operating system. The other models in the release start with the Satellite U500 series, aimed towards style conscious users and therefore available in four “fashion colors” while still offering dual-core Intel processors.
Next up is the M500 Series, offering “multimedia on the go”, followed by the A500 Series. Pitched at “home users and tech enthusiasts”, the A500 Series features a Blu-ray player, 16 inch HD Edge to Edge display.
The P500 is being marketed as suitable as a “desktop replacement”, featuring Intel Core 2 Duo processors, slot loading DVD drives and an 18.4 inch widescreen Tru-Brite display. At the lower end of the scale sits the L500 Series aimed at students or casual home users.
The most interesting of the bunch are the M505 and U505 Touch models, along with the slim T100 Series. Making the most of Windows Touch enabled functionality, the M505 and U505 Touch come pre-installed with Toshiba LifeSpace, which offers two applications. The first, Bulletin Board, gives users the ability to customize their desktop by dragging photos, documents and the like onto a “corkboard”. The second, ReelTime, looks much like a touch version of “My Recent Documents”, enabling the user to flick through recently accessed files. Toshiba claims that with a simplified, cleaner desktop, users can expect prolonged battery life as a result of the reduction in background activities. The Satellite Touch models are very similar in configuration, with the main differences being screen size and the finish of the outer casing.
Key specs for the Satellite M505 and U505 Touch include:
- 14.0-inch diagonal widescreen HD TruBrite LED Backlit TFT LCD touch-screen display (13.3 inch for the U505)
- Intel Core 2 Duo processor T6600 (2.2GHz)
- Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD
- 4GB DDR2 800MHz RAM
- 500GB HDD3
- Web cam and microphone
- Fusion Finish in Sonic Black (Textured Finish in Luxe Brown for the U505)
- 802.11b/g/n wireless LAN4 and 10/100 Ethernet
- HDMI-CEC
- eSATA/USB combo port with USB Sleep-and-Charge5 and 2 USB 2.0 ports
Meanwhile the ultra light T100 Series notebooks, weighing in at under 4lbs and measuring less than an inch thick, feature Fast Sleep and Resume technology that allow the units to be up and running in a matter of seconds. Toshiba achieved this by tweaking the BIOS, with each configuration reducing wake up time by a fraction of a second.
The two models, the T115 and T135 feature:
- 13.3-inch diagonal widescreen HD TruBrite LED Backlit display (11.6-inch for the T115)
- 802.11b/g/n wireless and 10/100 Ethernet
- Built-in web cam
- DDR3 RAM (T135 only)
- eSATA/USB combo port with USB Sleep-and-Charge
- HDMI port
- Intel Pentium SU4100 processor or Intel Pentium SU2700 processor
- Starting at 250GB (5400 RPM) HDD
Price wise, the Satellite U500 and M500 Series start at around US$700.00, the A500 starts at US$590, and the P500 starts from US$800. The L500 starts at US$500. All models are due to be available on October 22nd.
The Satellite M505 Touch is priced at US$950 and will also be available on October 22, while the U505 Touch will go for US$1050 and is schedule for release on November 1.
The T115 and T135 are priced at US$450 and US$650 respectively and will also be available late October.
Via: Toshiba for more information.