Filed under: Handsets, Others, Vodafone, GSM
9.9mm might not be close to breaking any records these days, but Toshiba’s TS30 candybar is thin enough to confortably slip into pretty much any nook or cranny you had in mind. With a QVGA display (quickly becoming par for the course in Europe and Asia), music player, MicroSD slot, and FM radio
[Via MobileBurn]
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Filed under: Laptops, Tablet PCs
So apparently Toshiba has a Core Duo-powered update to the Tecra M4 convertible tablet waiting in the wings, and this one gives you a 100GB hard drive, up to 4GB of DDR2 RAM, and especially nice, a dual layer Super Multi drive that handles both flavors of recordable DVDs. Although we haven’t yet seen any pics of the 14.1-inch, WXGA+ Tecra M7, info on Toshiba’s European website seems to indicate that it will look similar to the M4 (pictured), but you’re getting a lot more muscle on the inside with either 1.66GHz or 1.83GHz Core Duo chips. Rounding out the specs are nVidia Quadro NVS 110M graphics, a 6-in-1 memory
[Thanks, Ethan]
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Filed under: HDTV, Laptops, Media PCs
We suppose comparing Toshiba’s HD DVD
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Filed under: Storage
Looks like Intel and Texas Instruments aren’t the only ones with some chip bragging to do, since Toshiba and friends are joining forces to standardise a 45nm manufacturing method, and possibly even share manufacturing plants in the future. The deal marks the end of a plan by Toshiba, Fujitsu, NEC, Renesas to build an independent microchip foundry. The Japanese chip makers scrapped the plan because it supposedly wouldn’t have made any money in the ultra-competitive space, but analysts aren’t so sure this recent cooperative plan will help these smaller manufacturers compete against the big boys like Samsung, Intel and TI. Sony
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Filed under: Misc. Gadgets
You didn’t really think that just because the Computex trade show is going on halfway around the world, we wouldn’t send a crack team of reporters to cover the event, did you? While our US staff neglected to renew their passports in time for their flights, the folks over at Engadget Chinese (traditional or simplified, your choice) were just a hop, skip, and jump away from Taipei, Taiwan, so they’ve graciously stepped up to the plate and provided the coverage necessary to make us feel that we’re right in the thick of it. They’ve already posted a number of booth tours of your favorite companies, like Intel (who’ve apparently rented out an absolutely mind-boggling swath of hall), Sandisk, Toshiba, and, um, A Data, with the latter company’s tour proving that our Asian colleagues have the same unhealthy obsession with cartoon-inspired gadgets as we do. Don’t worry, we’ll keep you apprised of the highlights from this year’s show, but for the full in-your-face Computex experience, chinese.engadget.com is the place to be.
Read- Intel
Read- Sandisk
Read- Toshiba
Read- A Data
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Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video
Boy oh boy, we knew the Toshiba Gigabeat S was good after our initial hands-on at CES, just not this good – according to CNET’s review anyway. See, they just snagged a 30GB model which sports Microsoft’s “super-intuitive” Portable Media Center (PMC) 2.11 software and is almost identical in size, weight, and battery life to the 5G iPod it’s gunning for. The FM tuner and dedicated controls along the side were found to be a bonus and that cross-hair controller was both “tactile and delicate” allowing for “fluid and responsive” navigation even while multitasking. It also comes with a USB-conversion cable for transferring snaps off digital cameras without additional accessories. The only real drawback is due to the Gigabeat S’ support of Microsoft’s Media Transfer Protocol (MTP) over USB Mass Storage — a choice that limits its use to XP systems, only. When the swooning was over, CNET bestowed their Editor’s Choice and an 8.7/10 rating on the S – easily besting the scores of both Apple’s iPod with video and Creative’s Zen Vision:M. But the accolades didn’t stop there. See, according to this CNET review, the introduction of the Gigabeat S in combination with Windows Media Player 11 (now in beta), MTV’s URGE music and the Vongo movie subscription service has “wiped out” any advantage the “iPod/iTunes ecosystem” had over its WMA competition. Maybe, but we’ve seen so-called iPod killers come and go many times before, so we won’t be issuing a deathwatch just yet, dig? Still, if you’re running Windows Media Center Edition (or thinking about it)… what’s keepin’ ya from dropping the $280 or so required to bring this mutha home?Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments
Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video
Yeah, yeah, we’ve been hearing mild rumblings about the impending launch of the Gigabeat S; in our ever vigilant effort to keep our collective ears pressed firmly to the ground we’ve got something for ya. Now, we don’t normally do this, but we were tipped off to a web shop called eTailElectronics apparently located in North Dakota that supposedly has some coveted Toshiba MES60VK 60GB Gigabeat S players — and is selling them for a solid $55 off MSRP markup, no less (weighing in at $345.99 not including T&S&H). It took us a couple days to get someone on the horn, but they confirmed that they had a few dozen players left, they’ve been flying out the door, and yes, they were actually really physically sitting right there, waiting to ship. Being that this was a business call in the name of journalistic research, however, we refrained from buying one. It was rough though, believe you us, rough indeed.
[Thanks, Brian]
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Filed under: Laptops
Got a new ones from Toshiba today, folks: the Satellite AW5 15.4-inch WXGA (1280 x 800) laptop
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Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment, Laptops
We knew Acer was going to be one of the first vendors after Toshiba to roll out an HD DVD-equipped laptop, and now it looks like the company is ready to be one of the first out of the gate (after Sony, of course) with Blu-ray as well. Although Acer is refusing to comment, reports out of Taiwan are that the company will introduce both Blu-ray and HD DVD-equipped portables at the upcoming Computex 2006 trade show. We’re ready to see it happen — though what we really want is one box with both drives in it. Maybe they can follow up with that.Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments
Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video
We know that many of you (and by you, we mean us) have been looking forward to Toshiba’s Gigabeat S PMPs ever since [Via DAPreview]
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Filed under: Handsets, Nokia, Sharp, Vodafone, Symbian, GSM, UMTS
New Softbank property Vodafone K.K. has announced four new 3G handsets -- along with the 2G Toshiba V304T "simplephone" -- that will be released this summer in Japan, including Sharp's 905SH clamshell with a 2 megapixel camera and One Seg digital TV reception. Also seen before was Voda's version of Nokia's N71, dubbed the 804NK, which sports those same multimedia and smartphone features along with obvious addition of bilingual menus. Like the three models mentioned previously, the Toshiba 705T and Sharp 705SH SLIMIA also sport clamshell designs, with the Tosh featuring external music controls and the Sharp (pictured) rocking dual cameras. Additionally, a sixth model, Sharp's 2G V403SH (also a flip phone), was announced as getting a summer makeover, and will now come in your choice of cloth beige or cloth blue.Filed under: Laptops
T’is the season for ultraportables, and now yet another Core Duo-powered model has hit the market, the 12.1-inch Toshiba Tecra M6. Also available with either Celeron or Core Solo processors, the M6 seems like a slimmed-down version of the 14.1-inch M5 we spotted earlier this year, as the $1,059 base configuration only gives you 256MB of RAM, no WiFi, a 40GB hard drive, and that pokey 1.6GHz Celeron M. It costs a little over $1,600 to put together a decent system, which includes a 1.83GHz T2400 Core Duo chip, 1GB of RAM (which also gets you a free Vista-ready logo!), 100GB HDD, 802.11a/b/g, and Bluetooth, but only integrated graphics and no DVD burner. Targeted more towards the light-traveling businessperson than the hardcore gamer, the M6 also sports such security-conscious features as a fingerprint reader, Trusted Platform Module, and a Security Assist Console, as well as hard drive protection, a spill resistant keyboard, and shock absorbing design for turbulent plane rides.
[Via Core Duo News]
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Filed under: Laptops
drive that had made these models so attractive in the first place. Besides these two changes, the specs remain identical to other iterations of the G30, which include a 1.66GHz Core Duo T2300 processor, NVIDIA GeForce 7600 graphics,1GB of RAM, and a hefty 200GB of hard drive space, but only a 1440 x 900 resolution (other versions sport 1920 x 1200). We haven't heard anything regarding price or availability, but it's safe to assume that these will go for significantly less than their $4,000 cousins, and that you probably won't see them at you local Best Buy anytime soon.
It’s about time. Hitachi may be the granddaddy of perpendicular media (if not, they’re certainly the technology’s biggest booster), but the company has been a little slow to shrink its high-capacity drives down to 2.5 inches. But the company is now prepared to follow such competitors as Seagate and Toshiba, with its own 160GB, 2.5-inch drive. The 5400RPM Travelstar 5K160 drive is expected to sell for $270 to OEMs and $300 to consumers. Hitachi plans a 1.8-inch version by the end of the year; they’re playing catchup there as well, since Toshiba’s 1.8-incher is already on the market.Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments
Filed under: HDTV, Laptops, Media PCs
with a built-in HD DVD drive. Toshiba is expected to show off the box at E3 today, and will begin selling it on its web site later this week for about $3,000. In addition to its HD DVD player, the G35 includes a 2GHz Core Duo processor, two 100GB drives, 1GB RAM and an Nvidia GeForce Go 7600 with 256MB. The 10-pound portable features a 17-inch display, and comes with Windows XP Media Center Edition.Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video
We've been waiting for a chance to pick up a Toshiba Gigabeat S media player since we first got a chance to
check it out at CES in January. And
now it looks like the wait may soon be over. While Toshiba has yet to officially announce a US rollout, Engadget reader
One.Person pointed us to HIDEF Lifestyle, which has the model available for preorder, with a ship date of May 15th. Of
course, it could just be a ploy to bring in pre-orders, and we should point out that Amazon -- which is usually a
pretty accurate source -- has the Gigabeat S listed with a May 30th ship date. Hey, after waiting since January, either
date is fine with us, though we wouldn't mind getting our hands on this before Memorial Day, so we can break it out as
soon as we open the Engadget beach house.Filed under: Misc. Gadgets
It may be a few days post-Earth Day, but
it's still worth noting that yesterday, Toshiba TEC Europe became the first retail and industrial automation solutions
provider to announce full compliance with Europe's Directive on Waste management of Electrical and Electronic Equipment
-- or WEEE as people close to er, waste (and gaming) prefer. The WEEE Directive,
while not (yet) law, does set targets related to waste production, management, and collection in the EU. From 1 July
2006, lead, mercury, cadmium and 6-chrome will no longer be found in new Toshiba products, nor will RoHS halogenated
flame retardants by used in their polymers. We commend you Toshiba, on your dedication to WEEE.Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment
Those early adopters who've already picked up a Toshiba HD-A1 but
don't want to buy duplicate copies of each movie for use on their current car and portable DVD players have gotten a
reprieve from Warner Home Video, who just announced that the first hybrid HD-DVD/standard DVD will be available on May
9th. However, folks looking for a Matrix-like title to put their new toy through its paces will probably be
disappointed with Warner's choice: the critically-panned 2005 Kevin Costner/Jennifer Aniston romantic comedy
"Rumor Has It." Plus, don't think that the 480p content on the flip side of the disc is just a bonus, as
these hybrid offerings are debuting for eleven dollars more than their single-copy counterparts. Still, if these discs
enable you to create a backup of the flicks you buy on HD-DVD, even at non-HD resolutions, the extra dough might be
worth it in order to get maximum utility from your purchased content.Filed under: Laptops
src="http://www.engadget.com/media/2006/04/Tosh-Dynabook-FIFA.jpg" />
So you’ve got your FIFA World Cup
you’re still just not feelin’ that World Cup fever? How ‘bout trying on a new, limited edition
Toshiba Dynabook 2006 FIFA Word Cup laptop
base (1.6GHz Core Duo, 15.4-inch WXGA LCD, 80GB disk, 512MB RAM, and Harman & Kardon speakers), lays on a healthy
slathering of gold paint inscribed with the dates and countries of previous World Cup hosts/winners, loads-up a
multitude of soccertastic themes, and then slaps on a serial plate just in case your silicon slab gets mixed-in with
one of the other 600 units produced. Now the ol’ mercury’s rising, eh? Ok, maybe not. Still, they’ll be shipping May 26
for right around $1700 — just in time for some hard posing at the pub or heaving onto the pitch should the
“Hand-of-God” make its return.
[Thanks, Roygbiv]
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Filed under: Portable Audio
has
long boasted of its culture of innovation, and how this led to such products as the original Mac and the iPod. However,
it turns out that, at least in the case of the iPod, Apple had a hidden ally: the US government. During a speech at
Tuskegee University, President (and iPod
user) George W. Bush told his audience, "the government funded research in microdrive storage,
electrochemistry and signal compression. They did so for one reason: It turned out that those were the key ingredients
for the development of the iPod." While we have to gratefully acknowledge the efforts of government agencies such
as DARPA in some of the fields mentioned by the President, we also feel obligated to point out the accomplishments of
private companies in the US and abroad, including IBM, Hitachi and Toshiba -- not to mention the Fraunhofer Institute,
which developed the original MP3 codec, and codeveloped (with Sony, AT&T and others) the AAC format used by Apple
in the iPod. Still, we have to bow down before his Steveness; we knew he was well-connected, but until now we had no
idea of his level of influence in the area of government research. Hey, Steve, while you're at it, why not get the
government to resolve the display
problems plaguing the next-gen video iPod? We're sure they'll get their best minds on it and fix it in no time.Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment
is finally available in stores -- and there are
even some discs out to play on it -- reviews are starting to trickle in, mainly from dedicated early adopters, who've
braved confused sales clerks, cumbersome boxes, and a remote with more options than Windows Vista, to try the
player themselves. We saw one of the first such reviews, from The Man Room,
yesterday. Now, we've had a chance to check out a few more (props to PC World's Martyn Williams, who not only got one
of Toshiba's Japanese HD-XA1 players to review, but even checked out the bundled Japanese films "Biohazard"
and "Moonlight Jellyfish"). If there's a consensus opinion, it's that HD DVD may be great for early adopters
and HD connoisseurs, but less discerning viewers may not see what the big deal is. As Ben Drawbaugh puts it on HDBeat:
"Bottom line is that HD-DVD is great, but will you notice? If you can't tell the difference between DVD's and HBO
HD than you might be just as well off with a upconverting DVD player. If you never noticed HBO-HD's cropped movies,
non-dynamic sound and compression artifacts you may be better off sticking with HBO-HD. If you do notice these
annoyances you won't be disappointed with HD-DVD or Blu-Ray."Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment
players finally make their way to stores, The Man Room wasted no time in going out and buying one to test
it out. Well, actually, it looks like the reviewer wasted a little time, since he had to call no fewer than four Best
Buy outlets to find one that actually had a Toshiba HD-A1 in stock -- or even knew what he was talking about (one
clerk's comment was a simple "What is it?"). But by last Friday, when each Best Buy was supposed to have
three of the units in stock, he was able to set out and make the purchase. So, what did he find? Well, besides the
massive player we've already seen, he discovered an equally bulked-up remote, the HDMI cable and a pitch from NetFlix
(hey, you've gotta get those discs somewhere, right?). Of course, all of that is incidental to the real question: how
did the video look? Well, we're not sure we're going to get a straight answer here, since this early reviewer had to
use an adapter to connect the player's HDMI cable to his DVI-based projector. However, since the discs he picked up
weren't hampered by the Image Constraint Token, he was able to get full 720p and 1080i output. That said, the reviewer
still found the output only "a hair sharper" than that he got from upsampled 480p DVDs using a Momitsu
upconverting player. So, is that "hair" worth $500? If you've been waiting for the chance to watch, er,
"The Last Samurai" in true HD, you already know the answer. If not, you've probably already missed your
chance to pick up one of those three HD-A1s from your local Best Buy, so kick back with your over-the-air, cable or
satellite HD, and let someone else fight the format war for you.Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment
Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment
delays; via Slashdot released early; via HD BeatFiled under: Portable Audio
2.0 connection in its
tail, and has a small LCD display in its belly. There's no WMA DRM support or really much of anything, but, well, it's
a whale, so let's cut it some slack.