Toshiba

mobile
April 3, 2013
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Toshiba Camera Technology

New smartphone camera technology allows for better image quality in thinner designs

By on April 3, 2013 at 7:41 PM.

New smartphone camera technology allows for better image quality in thinner designs

Smartphone cameras have improved greatly over the past years, so much so that they have begun to replace traditional point-and-shoot cameras. Image quality has become one of the main selling points for some smartphone vendors, and with each new flagship device comes more megapixels and better image sensors. Toshiba (TOSBF) this week announced the industry’s thinnest CMOS image sensor camera module for next-generation smartphones and tablets. The new sensor is just 4.7 mm in height and will allow mobile vendors to incorporate a high-end 13-megapixel shooter in a ultra-thin frame. More →

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Cameras
December 27, 2012
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Camera module

Toshiba’s new Lytro-like mobile image sensor could revolutionize smartphone photography

By on December 27, 2012 at 1:20 PM.

Toshiba’s new Lytro-like mobile image sensor could revolutionize smartphone photography

Cramming more megapixels into a smartphone with the thickness of a pencil is not the future of mobile picture-taking. Smartphones have hit a threshold where 8-megapixels is more than enough for taking crisp still shots and 1080p HD video. Many smartphones even perform decent under low-light conditions. But according to the Asahi Shimbun, Toshiba (TOSBF) has a new camera module that could change the way we take photos on smartphones anda tablets, forever. More →

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Tablets
December 4, 2012
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Toshiba Excite 10 SE Release Date

Toshiba’s 10-inch Excite 10 SE tablet sells for $349.99, comes with Jelly Bean

By on December 4, 2012 at 8:57 PM.

Toshiba’s 10-inch Excite 10 SE tablet sells for $349.99, comes with Jelly Bean

While every other company is busy chasing the 7-inch tablet market, Toshiba (TOSBF) is keeping its eye on people interested in 10-inch tablets. Its new Excite 10 SE Android tablet is fairly similar to its Excite 10 LE, sporting a 10.1-inch 1280 x 800 resolution display, NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core processor, 16GB of internal storage, 3-megapixel rear camera, HD front camera, microSD card slot and Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. It doesn’t have the iPad’s eye-popping Retina display or the Samsung (005930) Nexus 10′s crisp 2,560 x 1,600 resolution with 300 pixels per inch, but it’s more than adequate for most basic tablet tasks. And at $349.99, it’s not a bad deal for a 10-inch tablet. The Excite 10 SE goes on sale December 6th and will be available from ToshibaDirect.com and select retail stores. Toshiba’s press release follows below. More →

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Tablets
August 14, 2012
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Toshiba scraps plans for a Windows RT tablet

By on August 14, 2012 at 4:05 PM.

Toshiba scraps plans for a Windows RT tablet

Toshiba Windows RT Tablet

Toshiba (TOSBF) has canceled its plans to release a tablet computer based on Microsoft’s (MSFT) Windows RT operating system. The company said its decision has nothing to do with Microsoft’s Surface tablet, rather a delay in getting components. Toshiba initially planned to use Texas Instruments’s (TXN) ARM-based processors for its RT devices, but it will instead concentrate on Windows 8 devices that work on Intel’s (INTC) x86-64 architecture. “Toshiba has decided not to introduce Windows RT models due to delayed components that would make a timely launch impossible,” Eric Paulsen, a company spokesman said a statement to Bloomberg. “For the time being, Toshiba will focus on bringing Windows 8 products to market. We will continue to look into the possibility of Windows RT products in the future while monitoring market conditions.” More →

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TV
July 23, 2012
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Samsung and LG crush rivals in dwindling LCD TV market

By on July 23, 2012 at 8:40 PM.

Samsung and LG crush rivals in dwindling LCD TV market

Samsung LG LCD TV Sales

Samsung (005930) may be getting most of its attention for smartphones these days, but the South Korean manufacturer is doing pretty well in the LCD TV market, too. According to the latest data from iSuppli, Samsung shipped 8.2 million LCD TVs in the first quarter of 2012, good for 19% of all LCD TV shipments and up from the 18% market share it held in the first quarter last year. Fellow South Korean company LG (066570) shipped the second-most LCD TVs on the quarter as its 5.8 million LCD TVs shipped accounted for 13% of all shipments worldwide in Q1 2012. iSuppli also reports that Samsung and LG were the only two companies to turn a profit from their LCD TV businesses with rivals Sony (SNE), Toshiba (6502) and Sharp (7653) all taking losses on their LCD TV divisions. Overall LCD shipments were down year-over-year, dropping from 44.6 million in Q1 2011 to 44.4 million in Q1 2012. More →

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Legal
July 12, 2012
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Toshiba and LG settle LCD price-fixing scandal for half a billion dollars

By on July 12, 2012 at 9:40 PM.

Toshiba and LG settle LCD price-fixing scandal for half a billion dollars

Toshiba LG Price-Fixing Scandal Settlement

Toshiba, LG and AU Optronics have agreed to pay a combined sum of $571 million to settle a lawsuit over a liquid crystal display price-fixing scandal, Reuters reported. According to San Francisco attorney Joseph Alioto, who was the co-lead counsel for consumers suing the companies, $543.5 million will be awarded to at least 20 million consumers in 24 states, while $27.5 million will be paid as civil penalties to eight state governments. Seven other LCD manufacturers had reached an earlier settlement of $538.5 million. The class action suit alleged that from 1996 through 2006, numerous companies conspired to fix LCD prices, which resulted in higher prices on various electronics such as laptops and television sets. Several companies also pleaded guilty to separate criminal charges and paid undisclosed fines. More →

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Legal
July 3, 2012
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Toshiba hit with $87 million fine over LCD price fixing scandal

By on July 3, 2012 at 11:30 PM.

Toshiba hit with $87 million fine over LCD price fixing scandal

Toshiba LCD Price Fixing Scandal

A Northern California jury on Tuesday found Toshiba guilty of conspiring to fix prices of liquid crystal displays. Customers brought a civil lawsuit against the Japanese company and other LCD providers earlier this year alleging anti-competitive practices. While most other defendants settled the case out of court, Toshiba decided to fight the allegations in a San Francisco federal court. The company will now be forced to return $70 million to consumers who bought various products, and pay $17 million to manufacturers who used its LCD panels. “There was strong evidence that Toshiba participated in the price-fixing conspiracy through communications with other TFT-LCD manufacturers, and that it received future pricing information from its competitors, shared its own future information, and was aware of its wrongdoing,” stated Bruce L. Simon, co-lead counsel for plaintiffs. “We are grateful for the jury’s service. The jury rejected Toshiba’s claim that it had done nothing wrong, and this is one of the few antitrust class actions ever tried to a successful verdict.” Read on for a related press release.

More →

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Tablets
April 10, 2012
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Toshiba announces three new Android tablets

By on April 10, 2012 at 9:35 PM.

Toshiba announces three new Android tablets

Toshiba on Tuesday announced an expansion of its Excite family of Android tablets. The new Excite slates are equipped with thinner and lighter designs, high definition displays and a wide range of ports and features. Toshiba will release a 7.7-inch model, a 10.1-inch model and a 13.3-inch model, and all three slates feature scratch-resistant Corning Gorilla Glass, quad-core NVIDIA Tegra 3 processors, 5-megapixel rear and 2-megapixel front-facing cameras, expandable storage slots, 1GB of RAM and the latest version of Android — Ice Cream Sandwich. The Excite 10 tablet will be available on May 6th starting at $449.99 for the 16GB model, while the Excite 7 and Excite 13 will be available June 10th starting at $499.99 and $649.99 respectively. Read on for Toshiba’s press release. More →

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Tablets
March 21, 2012
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Toshiba unveils its 13.3-inch Android tablet with integrated TV tuner [video]

By on March 21, 2012 at 8:00 PM.

Toshiba unveils its 13.3-inch Android tablet with integrated TV tuner [video]

Toshiba is in Germany this week at the company’s Toshiba World 2012 event, where it is showing off some of its latest smartphones and tablets. During the event, the vendor unveiled a new 13.3-inch Android tablet called the AT330, Techfokus reported on Wednesday. Along with a TV tuner and an antenna, the tablet is equipped with a quad-core Tegra 3 processor, a 5-megapixel rear camera, a 1.3-megapixel front facing, an HDMI port, a full SD card slow, a SIM card slot and Android 4.0.1 Ice Cream Sandwich. Unfortunately, the company has not disclosed any details regarding the device’s availability. Techfokus’s hands-on video can be viewed after the break. More →

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Tablets
March 1, 2012
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Toshiba Excite 10 LE to launch March 6th, a day before iPad 3 event

By on March 1, 2012 at 12:30 AM.

Toshiba Excite 10 LE to launch March 6th, a day before iPad 3 event

Toshiba on Wednesday confirmed that its ultra-slim and light Android tablet, the Excite 10 LE, will be available on March 6th for $529, a day before Apple’s iPad 3 unveiling. The slate, originally called the Excite X10, was announced at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show and is equipped with a Gorilla Glass-covered 10.1-inch HD display with a dual-core TI OMAP 4430 processor clocked at 1.2GHz. The device also features 16GB of internal storage, a microSD slot, a 2-megapixel front-facing camera, a 5-megapixel rear camera and Android 3.2 Honeycomb, with an upgrade to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich promised to be coming in the spring. The Excite 10 LE is also “the world’s thinnest and lightest 10-inch tablet measuring just 0.3 inches (7.7mm) thin and weighing just 1.18 pounds (535g).” Toshiba’s press release follows below. More →

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CES
January 11, 2012
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Toshiba CES 2012 booth tour

By on January 11, 2012 at 8:30 PM.

Toshiba CES 2012 booth tour

Toshiba had a ton of products on display this year at the annual Consumer Electronics Show. The booth was chocked full of stunning new technology and we were blown away by several of the 3D products on display. Toshiba had its new line of Qosmio laptops with glasses-free 3D screens, glasses-free 3D TVs that were more impressive than the models we saw last year, and its Thrive and Excite X10 tablets were on display as well. We even had a chance to play a 3D game on a huge HDTV that was hooked up to a Qosmio laptop, which was a ton of fun. Check out all the highlights from Toshiba’s booth in our gallery below.

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Tablets
January 6, 2012
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Toshiba to unveil affordable 7-inch tablet and world’s thinnest 10-inch tablet at CES

By on January 6, 2012 at 10:15 PM.

Toshiba to unveil affordable 7-inch tablet and world’s thinnest 10-inch tablet at CES

Toshiba’s tablets never took off like the company wanted, but according to Notebook Italia, Toshiba will soon launch an entry-level 7-inch Android tablet that will debut at next week’s Consumer Electronics Show. The black and blue slate features a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, a 1024 x 600-pixel display, a rear camera, a microUSB port and a microSD slot. A leaked image also reveals three capacitive buttons, leading us to believe it will not be running Android 3.2 Honeycomb or Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. With the recent success of the Kindle Fire, numerous low-priced tablets are slated to appear at this CES and Toshiba’s new 7-inch model will be among them. Additionally, according to Toshiba’s Japanese website, the company will be showcasing the “world’s thinnest and lightest 10.1-inch tablet” at CES next week. Toshiba introduced the AT200 tablet last fall, which measured at just 7.7mm thick, however the company never announced a release date. More →

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Computers
December 6, 2011
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Lenovo, Samsung and Toshiba will be major ARM-based Windows 8 partners

By on December 6, 2011 at 7:15 AM.

Lenovo, Samsung and Toshiba will be major ARM-based Windows 8 partners

Microsoft’s next operating system, Windows 8, will be the first Windows desktop OS capable of running on both x86 and ARM-based processors. However, a report from DigiTimes on Monday suggests that major Taiwanese vendors such as ASUS may not have a role in developing the new machines at all. It was originally thought that ASUS may have had plans to release an ARM-powered Windows 8 machine in 2013. Qualcomm, Texas Instruments and NVIDIA, three ARM processor builders, are reportedly allowed to choose two notebook partners each, one major and one minor, DigiTimes explained. Qualcomm will work with Samsung and Sony, Texas Instruments plans to team with Toshiba and Samsung, and NVIDIA apparently said it will build ARM-based machines with Lenovo and Acer. The three major computer partners are Lenovo, Samsung and Toshiba. Pegatron, Winstron, Compal and Quanta have each initiated research and development in an effort to woo big ARM-based Windows 8 contracts from the aforementioned vendors. More →

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