World's 'lightest' notebook PC on the way
Cairo – According to the manufacturers, the Portege R500 has been designed to take mobile computing to the next level by re-defining portability, productivity and style.
Built on the previous design credentials of the popular Portege range, Toshiba claims the R500 gives business users a stylish and productive choice to work with, while at the same time securing business data and personal information.
The new notebook PC measures just 19.5/25.5mm in height, making it one of the slimmest notebooks with ODD in the industry, but with a full-size screen and keyboard. The notebook also addresses user demand for longer battery life, providing between 7 and 12.5 hours of battery life, depending on the specifications.
Mobility
“Toshiba continues to build on its reputation as an industry leader in terms of notebook innovation - and the Portege R500 is a perfect example of our leadership in this area. Slim, light and stylish, the Portege series has redefined notebook mobility as we know it,” says Santosh Varghese, Regional General Manager for Toshiba Computer Systems Division Middle East and Africa.
”When designing a truly mobile device, the initial focus is always on weight and size. This is the easy bit. Increasing functionality and maintaining high quality - now that's where the challenge lies. The R500 may be deceptively light and thin, but it has more technology than most notebooks twice its size.”
The new notebook PC is available in single and dual spindle configurations. The single spindle version weighs in at 779 grams and is the company's first notebook to feature a Flash-based Solid State Disc (SSD), making the notebook more resilient to shock and vibration, more power efficient, quieter and with faster boot-up and read times.
No need for extrnal drives, cables
The dual-spindle version also includes the world's first 7mm optical disc drive, a feature that is claimed to help it to maintain its “ultra-portability”, while increasing the system's overall productivity level. The inclusion of an integrated DVD-Super Multi Drive into a system that is 19.5 mm thin eliminates the bulk and inconvenience of carrying external drives and cables, making it Toshiba's ultimate ultra portable mobile computing solution.
Additional features include a hard disc drive with up to 120GB, with built-in shock protection and 3D Accelerometer, which detects acceleration from all directions. The 3D accelerometer helps guard the HDD against accidental falls.
Designed to embrace the diverse usage options that mobility promotes, the new series is also claimed to be the world's first notebook computer to incorporate an indoor/outdoor transflective 12.1 inch diagonal widescreen LED backlit display. This unique innovation is ideal for usage in virtually any type of lighting environment. Indoors, the company says, the LED backlit display produces an image rich in colour and quality. Outdoors, the transflective screen uses natural sunlight to bring the display's colours and images to life. Integrating a transflective screen enables users to expand their mobile computing experience beyond the traditional four walls of their office, home or local coffee shop.
The notebook is available in a silver design with blue illuminated front edge display. Microsoft Windows Vista Premium is standard and the new series is scheduled to be available in Egypt from August.
The R500 is expected to available in South Africa around mid-August and the price – still to be confirmed – is expected to be in the R18,000 range.
