Mighty Gadget Blog: The latest technology news & reviews in the UK

I think quite a while ago we looked at a prototype of a dual screened netbook/slate type computer substituting the keyboard for another touchscreen with a software keyboard for extra screen space. Well now Toshiba have announced the “clamshell” Libretto W100 a similar affair, obviously taking the simplicity of a DS and adding the functionality of a netbook and smartphone.

The two 7” screens run Windows 7 Home Premium, with an Intel Pentium U5400 Processor. Further look at the specs show it’s no simple pushover either. With 2GB of DDR3 RAM, a 62GB SSD storage, N-standard WiFi, SB, microSD and a 1MP webcam the user also has a choice of built in 3G connectivity too. Sadly the downside is the battery life which Tosh claims is a measly 3 and a half hours.

Everybody was looking forward to a Microsof slate after iPad rocked the world but it never surfaced. This is certainly looking promising as a player in the market and certainly will be interesting to see in action. Bad news is we only know it’s getting released sometime over the summer and there’s no price.

As we touch on the portable computing seen quite a bit, you can see an obvious regular trend. If you want a power house of a machine running top spec applications and games then you have to buy a big bulky power hungry (rubbish battery life) laptop. If you want portability with good battery life you have to get an under specced netbook only capable of browsing the net and sending the odd email. Now obviously computer technology improves at quite a vast rate and it may seem obvious that eventually the low end technology will catch up to the high spec, which in turn will advance further etc……anyway Toshiba have developed a laptop that kinda incorporates both……

The Portege R700 is a 13.3” Windows 7 operated laptop that weighs a mere 1.3Kg. The picture we found courtesy of Electricpig shows that it can be held with one hand at one side and the weight distribution is so spread out it doesn’t feel heavier at one side than it does another.

Spec wise you can choose between Core i3, i5 or i7, up to 4GB of DDR3 and a choice of 320GB HDD or 128GB SSD. It also has 3 USB ports and an HDMI out socket. It’s available with built in WiFi like most machines but also comes with optional 3G connectivity. Now whats also interesting for an ultra light, ultra thin laptop like this is that it has an optical DVD drive. Now what is also surprising, with all that spec, Toshiba claims it’ll do 9 hours of use on a full battery charge.

As per we don’t have a release price but we do know it should be with us next month sometime so if you’re after a lightweight, portable but powerful lappy, this could be for you.

If you’re not a gamer, more of a business user chances are you want an ultra portable laptop that doesn’t leave out all the goods required for a useful, fast computer. Toshiba Satellite laptops have always been reliable and do tend to deliver in their field. Now they’ve release two new models to the line, the thinnest Satellite models yet a mere 17.6mm.

Firstly is the T210. Packing a Intel Pentium U5400 processor this 1.48Kg, 11.3” laptop comes with up to 3GB of memory, 250GB of storage and the usual Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity. Bundled with Windows 7 Home Premium and a battery life that Toshiba have said will last 8.5 hours.

The second is the T230. A slightly heftier 1.75Kg this has a 13.3” screen, running an Intel Core i3 processor, up to 4GB of RAM and 500GB of hard storage and again Windows 7 Home Premium. What’s surprising is the battery life for this is exactly the same as its smaller counterpart.

Both the Toshiba Satellite T210 and T230 will be available in July, however no pricing has been confirmed.

StorE TV, the next-generation of media centre , another product recently posted by Toshiba. The little black box will come in various storage sizes, sit under your telly and play all the media you want whether it be movies, music or pictures.

Currently in pre-production, Toshiba outed a first draft if you will of the StorE TV and boy does it look interesting. It will be available in 3 storage sizes, starting at 1TB, 1.5TB and then 2TB. With built in Wi-Fi it can stream media wirelessly to your TV via it’s HDMI out, from a networked PC and other UPnP devices. HD videos, mp3s, jpegs. You name it it’ll show it. Also you can plug in USB sticks, external hard drives even an external DVD drive. It also sports a card reader for image or camcorder playback.

The software running it is still in development stage and therefore doesn’t give the full potential that may be offered by the StorE TV. Suggestions of “internet services” amongst other things could well be on the way so we’ll keep an eye out if things progress and it still looks like a nifty gadget in the future towards release which Toshiba is hoping for the Autumn time of this year.

It took them a while to face the reality of losing the HD format war but eventually Toshiba buckled and decided to make a foray into the Blu-Ray market. Now we have it’s second blu-ray player on the cards the BDX2100KB, a respectable player on the market with a respectable price tag to boot.

As said it’s respectable but not the best blu-ray player on the market. It’s BD Live compatible but without a Wi-Fi connection you’ll just have to make do with the hard reality of wires. As per it does the full 1080p video output at 24fps and does the usual DVD upscaling. Put all this with Dolby True HD and DTS Master Audio which you can output at 7.1. One great feature it does have is MKV support via a USB port which will also play DivX.

On sale in May for £129.99 this will appeal to those who just want a Blu-Ray player a little better than the lowest entries but not “all that”

Toshiba have announced two new model additions to its REGZA line of TVs and also we have a bit more info on the anticipated “Cell” TV we spoke about a few months back.

Firstly Toshiba are unleashing 2 new Freeview HD/LED Backlit series to its REGZA TV lines, the WL and SL series. The lower end SL will feature LED backlit screens for that increased contrast ratio/picture quality, built in Freeview HD receiver, built in DLNA(stream video from a DLNA enabled PC) and a 100Hz refresh rate. It will come in 32”, 40” and 46” and should be available around April. The WL is the more classy affair. Again LED backlit screens, built in Freeview HD(also upscales standard definition pictures using Toshiba’s Resolution+). The DLNA feature with this one isn’t built in but comes with a DLNA wireless dongle. What else makes this better, well it comes in the bigger 40”, 46” and 55” but also has a better 200Hz refresh rate.

Now for the Cell TV. Toshiba Europe has said that we should be seeing the multichannel masterpiece later this year in the Autumn. It will also include Net Resolution+ to improve internet video quality, will also include video calling capabilities. The main new addition which will make this TV truly spectacular is that it will have 3D support.

For those of us that didn’t know, Toshiba helped develop the Cell processor with Sony which powers the PS3. Now Toshiba re taking the tech into its new TV, the “Regza 55X1” LCD TV. The processor improves the quality of the image with better colours, brightness balance and improved picture quality around the edge of the screen.

The Cell chip is actually housed in an external box which also houses a 3TB HDD to save up to a whopping 26 hours from up to 8 simultaneous channels. Yes that’s right 8 simultaneous channels. Just to show off you can show 8 separate channels at one time on the screen. These can then be flicked through without any delay like a standard HDTV.

Throw in 55 inches of LED backlit screen, a 240Hz display and a contrast ratio of 5,000,000:1. A 7 speaker sound bar attached under the screen, network functionality with DLNA support and an Opera based web browser you can see this TV packs just about everything. Now what will it cost?? The TV was on show at CEATEC in Japan where it will be released this December at a cool 1 million Yen. That’s around £7000 to you and me…… Ouch

After licking its wounds from the hi-def format battle which Sony obviously won, Toshiba announced recently they would finally swallow some pride and go into Blu-Ray production. Well here it is the BDX 2000 a fully feature packed Blu-Ray player well worth looking into.

Full Specs :

• Blu-ray playback and DVD upscaling
• DivX HD and AVCHD support (for camcorder footage)
• 24fps True Cinema output
• Support for bitstream audio output via HDMI
• Blu-ray profile 2.0 software
• BonusView features and BD Live
• SD card slot
• HDMI 1.3 with Regza Link

Toshiba have been quoted as saying the BDX2000 will be “available across Europe at the end of this year or beginning of next year, depending on the country.” No price as yet.