Toshiba

General
November 30, 2011
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More than 50 ultrabooks expected to debut during CES

By on November 30, 2011 at 7:15 AM.

More than 50 ultrabooks expected to debut during CES

Last year more than 100 tablets were unveiled during the Consumer Electronics Show and this year it appears the focus could shift to Intel-powered ultrabooks. Demand for ultrabooks — devices defined as powerful thin and light notebooks with long-lasting battery life — is expected to begin to heat up following the holidays and January’s Consumer Electronics Show. More than 50 new ultrabook models will be displayed during CES and the category is expected to be one of the hottest consumer electronic segments on the show floor, Taiwan Economic News said Tuesday, citing insights from a show organizer. Intel, which invested $300 million in the utltrabook platform, also said that there will be more than 60 different ultrabook models available during 2012, and the chip maker’s upcoming Ivy Bridge processors will power many of them. Initial reports suggested that ultrabooks are off to a slow start, with just 50,000 units shipped so far from Acer, ASUS, Lenovo and Toshiba combined. Additionally, weak sales of the first models from Asus and Acer forced both firms to scale back production by as much as 40%, another report suggested. More →

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Business
September 22, 2011
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Apple finds new memory suppliers for iPhone and iPad, pushing Samsung further away

By on September 22, 2011 at 9:25 AM.

Apple finds new memory suppliers for iPhone and iPad, pushing Samsung further away

As Apple and Samsung continue to battle over patents and product design, Samsung seems to be positioned to take the biggest hit. The South Korea-based electronics giant has already seen sales of its tablet blocked in multiple regions and Apple is digging deeper. Dow Jones reported back in February that Apple was expected to make roughly $7.8 billion in component purchases from Samsung in 2011, but the future of the relationship is now in jeopardy. Reports from this past June that Apple moved away from Samsung for its mobile processors were seemingly confirmed last month, and DigiTimes on Thursday reported that Apple is looking beyond Samsung for its mobile memory chips as well. Read on for more. More →

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Business
September 6, 2011
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Initial Intel Ultrabook shipment volume below 50,000 units, report suggests

By on September 6, 2011 at 10:45 PM.

Initial Intel Ultrabook shipment volume below 50,000 units, report suggests

Fearing the notebook market will not bounce back during the fourth quarter, Intel’s Ultrabook partners Acer, ASUS, Lenovo and Toshiba will initially ship fewer than 50,000 units of the new thin and light notebooks DigiTimes reported on Tuesday. Intel, which will invest $300 million in Ultrabooks during the next three to four years, will also hold a conference on September 14th in an effort to attract new partners to the platform. The new notebooks are manufactured by Quanta Computer and Compal Electronics, and are expected to ship in September for launches in October. Sources speaking to DigiTimes also suggested that the notebook market may not bounce back enough for Intel to achieve its goal of owning 40% of the notebook market with its Ultrabook devices. More →

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Tablets
September 2, 2011
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Toshiba unveils AT200, the thinnest Android tablet yet

By on September 2, 2011 at 1:45 AM.

Toshiba unveils AT200, the thinnest Android tablet yet

During the IFA trade show in Berlin on Thursday, Toshiba unveiled the AT200, an Android Honeycomb tablet that will no doubt compete directly Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1. It measures just 7.7mm thick, .9mm thinner than the Galaxy Tab 10.1, which should make it the thinnest Android tablet when it hits store shelves. The AT200 is equipped with a 10.1-inch display with a 1280 x 800-pixel resolution, a microUSB port, a microSD slot, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, a micro-HDMI port, a dual-core 1.2GHz processor, a 5-megapixel camera and a two-megapixel front-facing camera for video chats. Toshiba has yet to announce a release date or pricing for the AT200. Read on for the full press release. More →

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Tablets
August 12, 2011
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Android steals 20% of tablet market from iPad over past year

By on August 12, 2011 at 10:00 AM.

Android steals 20% of tablet market from iPad over past year

Android-powered tablets have taken 20% of the global tablet market from Apple’s iPad over the past 12 months according to new data from ABI Research. While Android tablets have collectively managed to make a sizable dent in the iPad’s global market share, ABI says no single tablet vendor has managed to “mount a significant challenge” against the iPad at this point. “Many vendors have introduced media tablets, but none are separating themselves from the pack to pose a serious threat to Apple,” ABI Research mobile devices group director Jeff Orr said in a statement. ”In fact, most have introduced products at prices higher than similarly-configured iPads. Apple, never a company to be waiting for others, has introduced its second-generation iPad media tablet while keeping product pricing unchanged.” Orr continued, “De-featured, low-cost media tablets are being introduced by more than fifty vendors in 2011. This will certainly help bolster year-over-year growth for the category, but it also creates a negative perception in the minds of the mass consumer audience about the readiness of media tablets to be fully functional within the next several years. Good user experiences and product response are needed to propel this market beyond the ‘early adopter’ stage.” ABI Reseach’s full press release follows below. More →

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mobile
July 28, 2011
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Toshiba-Fujitsu announces world’s first ‘Mango’ phone in Japan

By on July 28, 2011 at 4:05 AM.

Toshiba-Fujitsu announces world’s first ‘Mango’ phone in Japan

Immediately following news that Windows Phone 7.5 “Mango” has been released to manufacturers, Toshiba-Fujitsu became the first vendor in the world to announce a Mango phone. The stylish smartphone will launch with a less-than-memorable IS12T moniker in September, and it will be a KDDI exclusive in Japan at that time. Beyond being the first Mango phone announced, the IS12T will also be the first Windows Phone-powered smartphone to launch in Japan. Spec highlights include a 3.7-inch WVGA display, a 1GHz Snapdragon processor, 32GB of storage and a 13.2-megapixel camera. Toshiba-Fujitsu’s announcement is the first in what we hope will be a long line of new smartphone announcements from Microsoft’s Windows Phone partners. New devices are expected later this year from vendors including Samsung, HTC, Dell and of course Nokia. More →

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Computers
July 14, 2011
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Global PC market shows growth in Q2; Lenovo wins globally, Apple wins in U.S.

By on July 14, 2011 at 7:55 PM.

Global PC market shows growth in Q2; Lenovo wins globally, Apple wins in U.S.

Market research firms Gartner and IDC have both released preliminary data for global PC sales in the second quarter of 2011, and the reports paint a much improved picture compared to the first quarter of the year. Lenovo was the biggest winner globally in terms of growth according to Gartner, having shipped 10.23 million PCs for a 12% share of the market. The China-based vendor’s PC market share grew a whopping 22.5% compared to the same quarter a year prior, and Lenovo now finds itself in the No. 3 spot globally. HP was still the top vendor with shipments totaling 14.89 million units, and Dell remained in the No. 2 spot with 10.62 million units shipped. Acer and ASUS rounded out the top-5 with 9.30 million units and 4.47 million units, respectively. Though Apple’s operating system share continued to climb last month, the firm still doesn’t sell enough units to bump it from the “Others” category on Gartner’s global table. In the U.S., however, Apple showed the biggest market share gains last quarter with 8.5% growth over the same quarter last year. While IDC’s numbers vary compared to Gartner’s, the end results are the same. IDC has Lenovo’s global growth pegged at 22.9% over the second quarter last year, and it shows that Apple grew even faster than Gartner estimates with 14.7% growth in the U.S. compared to the same quarter a year prior. The two firms agree that Acer was the biggest loser globally. Acer’s share of the worldwide PC market was down 20.4% from the second quarter of 2010 according to Gartner, and down a less alarming 10.1% according to IDC. Taiwan-based Acer was the biggest loser in the U.S. as well, as its share was down 22.6% year-over-year according to Gartner and 25.4% according to IDC. Full press releases from both firms follow below. More →

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Business
July 11, 2011
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Apple could ditch Samsung as a parts supplier following patent battle

By on July 11, 2011 at 5:00 PM.

Apple could ditch Samsung as a parts supplier following patent battle

Apple could cut Samsung from its list of part suppliers, an arrangement that is worth as much as $5 billion for Samsung, one analyst has suggested. “They have become more competitors and less partners and so I think Apple will definitely not be looking to Samsung as its go-to partner-of-choice for NAND flash,” Brian Marshall, a Gleacher & Co. analyst told The Globe and Mail. Apple could instead choose to get its NAND flash products from other companies, such as Hynix Semiconductor, Micron, and Toshiba. Similarly, if Apple were to bail on Samsung as a parts provider, the iPhone maker could look to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (TSMC) or Intel for processors, but it would also need to find another provider for LCDs. Samsung and Apple have been locked in multiple legal battles since Apple accused Samsung of creating “copycat” devices and sought to block the import of its products in the United States. More →

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3D
June 15, 2011
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Toshiba intros Satellite P700 series notebooks

By on June 15, 2011 at 2:35 AM.

Toshiba intros Satellite P700 series notebooks

On Tuesday Toshiba took the wraps off of its new Satellite P700 series laptops. The models include the P745, P755/P755 3D, and P775, which sport 14-inch, 15.6-inch, and 17.3-inch displays, respectively. Buyers will have the option to configure their P700-series notebook with an Intel Core i3, Core i5, or Core i7 processor, and models sport either an NVIDIA GeForce GT540M GPU or an AMD A6-3400M chip with discrete Radeon graphics. Other features include HDMI-out, USB 3.0, up to 750GB of storage space, Harman Kardon speakers, support for Intel Wireless Display, and optional 4G WiMAX and Blu-ray players. The P750 3D offers a 15.6-inch stereoscopic 3D display, support for 2D-to-3D DVD conversion, and more. The P745 starts at $699.99, the P7555 begins at $629.99, and the P775 starts at $629.99. The high-end P775 3D will set you back at least $1,199.99. The entire P700 series will be available in major retail outlets beginning June 21st. Hit the jump for the full release. More →

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General
May 18, 2011
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Toshiba showcases 4-inch LCD with 367 pixels per inch

By on May 18, 2011 at 7:46 AM.

Toshiba showcases 4-inch LCD with 367 pixels per inch

Oh, you haven’t heard? Having a display with 326 pixels per inch (ppi) was so last year. In 2011, 367ppi reigns supreme. At this week’s SID 2011 conference, Japanese company Toshiba showcased a 4-inch LCD display with a 720 x 1280 pixel resolution and an impressive pixel density of 367ppi. The screen, which will come to market sometime this year, has a contrast ratio of 1000:1 and is capable of displaying video in native 720p. Much has been made of screen pixel-density, thanks in part to Apple coining the term “Retina display” with its launch of the iPhone 4. Apple’s latest smartphone features 326 pixels per inch, making the new Toshiba offering — with 41 extra pixels for every inch — better (or at least denser). What handset will be knighted with the new, ultra-crisp screen? We’re not sure, but we can’t wait to find out. More →

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Business
April 14, 2011
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iPad causes U.S. PC market to dive; Apple, Toshiba only winners

By on April 14, 2011 at 10:31 AM.

iPad causes U.S. PC market to dive; Apple, Toshiba only winners

Apple’s iPad has left the traditional PC market in a state of flux and in a painful bit of irony for Apple’s competition, the Cupertino company is also one of the few manufacturers whose traditional PC business managed to grow last quarter. Research firm IDC released its first-quarter figures on Wednesday and detailed bleak times for the bulk of PC makers in the U.S. and globally. Stateside, Apple and Toshiba were the only companies with significant market shares whose shipments grew year-over-year; Apple’s shipments climbed 9.6% to 1.375 million units and Toshiba shipped 1.663 million units for a 10.4% increase. Overall however, the market was down 10.7%, with Dell and Acer having recorded the biggest loses. Dell’s shipments declined 11.8% while Acer’s U.S. PC shipments slid a massive 42.1% year-over-year, from 2.298 million units in the first quarter of 2010 to 1.331 million in the same quarter this year. Globally, Lenovo was the biggest winner as its shipments grew an impressive 16.3% to 8.172 million units. Acer was again the biggest loser, with total shipments dropping 15.8% from 10.733 million units in the first quarter last year to 9.039 million units in the first quarter of 2011. Hit the jump for IDC’s full press release. More →

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Tablets
April 11, 2011
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Intel outs new Atom Z760 processor for tablets

By on April 11, 2011 at 3:00 PM.

Intel outs new Atom Z760 processor for tablets

Intel on Monday officially took the wraps off of its latest Atom Z760 processor, formerly codenamed “Oak Trail.” The Atom Z760 processor promises to provide better performance, specifically with multimedia playback, and it supports 1080p video encoding as well as HDMI-out in a package that’s 60% smaller than previous Atom CPUs. The new processor also supports Windows 7, Android and MeeGo, allowing manufacturers to build tablets that can boot into a variety of operating systems, and Intel says the chip is designed for more portable embedded designs. The Atom Z760 chip — clocked at 1.5GHz – has been shipping to manufacturers for the last few weeks and tablets from OEMs including Lenovo, Toshiba and Fujitsu are expected to hit the market as soon as this May. Intel confirmed with BGR that the “lion’s share” of the Atom Z760 powered tablets will run Windows 7. The chip maker will show devices running the new processor during the Intel Developer Forum, which begins on Tuesday, and it will also tease its next generation “Cedar Trail” chip for netbooks during the forum. Cedar Trail will provide support for Intel Wireless Display, PC Synch, Fast Boot and Intel Wireless Music. Hit the jump for the full release. More →

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Services
March 29, 2011
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Best Buy Connect 4G option now available

By on March 29, 2011 at 5:00 AM.

Best Buy Connect 4G option now available

Best Buy Connect — Best Buy’s mobile broadband arm — on Monday announced that customers can now sign up for 4G service.  The 4G data service, which was launched through a wholesale agreement with Clearwire, is an option for customers purchasing one of Best Buy’s 23 supported laptop models from Asus, Samsung, Dell, HP, Sony and Toshiba, and Best Buy Connect provides all the service and support. Unlimited access to the 4G WiMAX network will set you back $45 each month with a two-year contract or on a month-to-month basis. If you sign up for a two-year contract, however, Best Buy Connect will waive the $35 activation fee, and Best Buy will knock $150 off the price of “select hardware devices.” Best Buy says that users can sign up for the 4G service nationwide, however access to the 4G WiMAX network is only available in the 70 U.S. markets where Clearwire offers it. Just last week Best Buy announced a new agreement to sell LightSquared’s 4G LTE service under its Best Buy Connect brand, although it’s unclear when that network will be offered. Hit the jump for the full release. More →

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