Think you’ve heard the last about Android-powered tablets being shown off at IFA? Think again. On the heels of Samsung formally introducing the Galaxy Tab, Toshiba is showing off the Folio 100, a 10.1-inch Tegra 2-powered tab also known as the SmartPad. Other than Tegra 2, its specs are pretty ho-hum: Android 2.1 (the Tab runs version 2.2), a 1.3-MP camera and 16GB of on-board storage. However, it promises 7 hours of battery life, and comes with some useful apps, including an Opera browser, Evernote, Documents to Go, and Fring for video calls.
Like the Libretto W100, that odd, dual-screened tablet we showed you earlier this year, it’s not particularly svelte.В While the W100 was, by Toshiba’s admission, a limited edition device meant for geeky enthusiasts, the Folio 100 seems more geared toward mainstream consumers. And, with a price of 399 Euro ($511.84), it costs about what the entry-level iPad does. If this one’s meant for consumers, though, is this just a me-too device with predictable specs and a forgettable design? Hopefully we can soon handle it outside of its glass casing and decide for ourselves.
The Toshiba Satellite AC100 might not be headed to U.S. shores any time soon, but if you’re up for feeling some gadget envy by proxy, Netbooknews’s Peter Cartwright spent some time with the AC100 and posted some hands-on impressions today.
Cartwright was a fan of the AC100′s hardware, praising the netbook’s build quality in particular. However, his biggest problem came from having Android on a netbook–the article mentions that using a mouse in Android’s touch-friendly user environment was problematic and that the operating system lacked a lot of basic mouse-based functionality.
Toshiba does say that the AC100 should get seven hours of battery life, which puts it at a similar level with the rest of the netbook’s components. Internally, the Ac100 features Android 2.1 and it’s powered by a 1-GHz Intel Atom processor.
Read the full article over at Netbooknews and check out some hands-on video below.
On paper, the Toshiba Satellite AC100 smartbook looks like a pretty impressive machine. It’s only a 10.1-inch smartbook, but sports Tegra graphics processing and is capable of playing 1080p video. Now, if you’re in the U.K., you might be able to get your hands on one soon.
Toshiba’s U.K. site recently tossed up a landing page for the AC100 and the Libretto W100. Besides the Tegra internals, the AC100 sports Android 2.1, a 1-GHz Intel Atom processor and a full-sized keyboard. The reviews haven’t been as stellar so far–per Engadget, Russian site Hi-tech.mail.ru wasn’t impressed by the smartbook’s battery life and browser.
Still, if you’re set on getting one, you might have some more waiting to do. No availability or pricing info is listed yet in the U.K. and Toshiba UK’s Twitter account can’t yet confirm whether or not it’s headed to U.S. shores just yet.
We’ve been fans of Toshiba’s netbooks in the past—every Toshiba netbook that’s been reviewed here has gotten at least 3.5 stars. While the price tag on most of these netbooks has always been a bit of a downside, it helps to make the Toshiba mini NB255 especially appealing by comparison.
The 10.1-inch mini NB255 costs only $299, but features an Atom N455 1.67-GHz CPU, 1GB DDR3 RAM and a six-cell battery. We are fans of the netbook’s slick, fingerprint-proof exterior and performance. Despite the low price, the mini NB255 earned solid marks in many of our benchmark tests.
However, some concessions in design hindered usability. The keyboard layout is overly tight and the battery was equally unimpressive—the battery design has it jutting from the mini NB255′s backside and endurance was poor compared to other similarly built netbooks.
DigiTimes reports that Toshiba plans to release an Android-based tablet this fall. The device is expected to have a 10-inch screen, an Nvidia Tegra 2 chip, and an unspecified version of Android. The tablet’s name hasn’t yet been made public, but it’s expected to hit store shelves between September to October in a global launch.
The Toshiba Libretto W100 may have just gone up for pre-order a few days ago, but it looks like Amazon has already sold out “due to overwhelming demand.” Not bad for a device that costs $1100 and doesn’t have a physical keyboard.
But the Libretto W100 isn’t the only portable computer with a touchscreen display we’re expecting from Toshiba. Last we’d heard, the company was planning to launch an Android tablet sometime this fall. Now DigiTimes is attempting to narrow that launch timeframe a bit, saying the toshiba tablet will hit the streets in September or October.
The tablet is said to have a 10 inch display and an NVIDIA Tegra 2 chispet. It will run Google ANdroid, and toshiba is hoping to ship 40 to 50,000 units by the end of the year, according to DigiTimes.
The Toshiba Libretto W100 is an innovative little computer which is either a dual screen tablet or a mini-laptop with a virtual keyboard instead of a physical one, depending on how you look at it. Toshiba plans to offer a limited number of the devices soon, but right now it’s only available in Japan — unless you’re willing to drop $1400 to order a unit from Conics, a retailer that specializes in exporting Asian computers to the West.
The folks at Wow Pow managed to get their hands on a unit from Conics, with the Japanese operating system converted to English. The site has the first unboxing video for the Libretto W100 that I’ve seen. There are also a couple of video overviews of the device. You can check out all the videos after the break.
As a quick refresher, the Toshiba Libretto W100 has two 7 inch capacitive touchscreen displays with resolutions of 1024 x 600 pixels. It has a 1.2GHz Intel Pentium U5400 processor, 2GB of DDR3 memory, and a 62GB solid state disk. The device supports 802.11b/g/n WiFi, WiMAX, and Bluetooth and has a webcam, USB port, microSD card slot, and comes with 2 or 4 hour batteries. It weighs just over 1.5 pounds.
Probably one of the most interesting things Toshiba has done with this device is give it several different virtual keyboards, allowing you to hold it in two hands and type with your thumbs or place it on a tablet and treat it like a traditional laptop. You can see more about the virtual keyboards in my first look video.
The list price is expected to be around $1100, but Conics charges a premium for exporting the tablet from Japan. There’s no word on when the Libretto W100 will officially launch in the US.
The Toshiba Libretto W100 went on sale in Japan recently, and Conics is offering to ship you a Japanese model with the operating system converted to English for about $1400. But if you’re the patient sort, it looks like you can save some money — because Amazon is taking pre-orders for the Toshiba Libretto W100 for just 100.
It’s not clear when Amazon or other US retailers will have the device in stock. And Toshiba is pitching the Libretto W100 as more of a concept device than a consumer device, which means that we don’t really expect a large number of these things to ship — unless they turn out to be surprisingly popular, in which case I’m certain Toshiba would ramp up production (and hopefully lower the price).
The $1100 dual screen device works as a laptop or a tablet. Both 7 inch capacitive touchscreen displays have resolutions of 1024 x 600 pixels. The bottom display can be used as a virtual keyboard — in fact Toshiba gives you 6 different keyboard styles to choose from.
The computer runs Windows 7 Home Premium, has a 1.2GHz Intel Pentium U5400 CPU, 2GB of DDR3 memory, a 62GB SSD, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1, and comes with an 8 cell battery.
While AMD was largely absent from the netbook and thin-and-light laptop space for the past few years, the company is making pretty big inroads this summer. Dell, Acer, HP, Samsung, and other major PC makers have introduced models with AMD’s new Nile-based chips. And the folks at Laptop Magazine have published one of the first reviews of the latest AMD-based ultraportable laptop from Toshiba, the Toshiba Satellite T215D.
I’m still waiting for Toshiba to send me a test unit to review, but according to Laptop Magazine, this budget model with a $469 price tag and a single Core 1.7GHz AMD Athlon II Neo K125 processor offers decent performance and an attractive design. It weighs just 3.3 pounds and has an attractive chrome-style design. But the reviewer thought the keyboard felt cramped and that the touchpad buttons could have been better positioned.
Performance-wise, the notebook is pretty much what we’ve come to expect from a machine with an AMD K125 CPU. It’s far faster than an Intel Atom powered netbook, but not quite as fast as a machine with an Intel Core 2 Duo SU7300 CULV chip. On the other hand, the ATI Radeon HD 4225 graphics are much more powerful than integrated Intel graphics.
You can find more details and photos at Laptop Magazine.
While AMD was largely absent from the netbook and thin-and-light laptop space for the past few years, the company is making pretty big inroads this summer. Dell, Acer, HP, Samsung, and other major PC makers have introduced models with AMD’s new Nile-based chips. And the folks at Laptop Magazine have published one of the first reviews of the latest AMD-based ultraportable laptop from Toshiba, the Toshiba Satellite T215D.
I’m still waiting for Toshiba to send me a test unit to review, but according to Laptop Magazine, this budget model with a $469 price tag and a single Core 1.7GHz AMD Athlon II Neo K125 processor offers decent performance and an attractive design. It weighs just 3.3 pounds and has an attractive chrome-style design. But the reviewer thought the keyboard felt cramped and that the touchpad buttons could have been better positioned.
Performance-wise, the notebook is pretty much what we’ve come to expect from a machine with an AMD K125 CPU. It’s far faster than an Intel Atom powered netbook, but not quite as fast as a machine with an Intel Core 2 Duo SU7300 CULV chip. On the other hand, the ATI Radeon HD 4225 graphics are much more powerful than integrated Intel graphics.
You can find more details and photos at Laptop Magazine.
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