Toshiba Debuts World's Lightest 13.3" Ultraportable: Protege R700

Whenever we hear "world's first," we generally have a bit of skepticism. But when it comes to the 25th Anniversary Edition Portégé R700, we tend to believe exactly what Toshiba is touting. The company has revealed a handful of new notebooks today, one of which is the super small, super light 13.3" R700.


The new laptop uses a special airflow cooling technology and honeycomb rib structure to keep things cool and rigid, and unless netbooks that are just barely smaller, this unit has its own internal optical drive. The unit has a starting weight of around two pounds and it's around 1 inch thick, so if you aren't careful, your backpack could swallow it whole without you ever noticing.


It's also no slouch, at least for an ultraportable. Toshiba will make this unit available with a Core i3, Core i5 or Core i7, all housed with a magnesium chassis and accompanied by 4GB of RAM, a 500GB hard drive and a retail price tag of $999 and up. Clumsy users should also take notice, as this machine features an EasyGuard protection system to help from bumps and jolts ruining anything within. Other specifications here include an ExpressCard slot, Windows 7 Professional, an eSATA/USB port, a webcam and a battery good for around 8.5 hours of life. There's also a Port Replicator available for an extra $199 if you're the docking station type, and considering that it adds USB 3.0 support, you may be now.

Toshiba Introduces World's Lightest 13.3-Inch Full-Performance Ultraportable Laptop With Integrated DVD Drive

25th Anniversary Edition Portégé R700 Features New Airflow Cooling Technology and Honeycomb Rib Structure, Allowing for Full-Voltage Processor Performance in Ultraportable Form Factor

IRVINE, Calif. – June 21, 2010 – Building on a long history of industry firsts and ultraportable laptop innovations, Toshiba's Digital Products Division (DPD), a division of Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., today announced the Portégé® R700, the U.S version of the world's lightest 13.3-inch full-performance ultraportable laptop with an integrated DVD drive1. The Portégé R700 provides business users with unprecedented performance and durability in a highly mobile product with prices starting under $1,000.

With a starting weight of just three pounds2 and about one inch thin, the Portégé R700 is able to support the latest Intel® Core™ family of full-powered processors as a result of new Airflow Cooling Technology. This innovative new cooling system co-developed by Toshiba and Intel uses directed streams of fresh air to cool the heat-generating components so business users can get the performance, mobility and longer battery life they need to stay productive on the go.

The Portégé R700 also features a light, yet durable magnesium alloy casing reinforced with a new honeycomb rib design incorporated within the palm rests and base of the laptop. Similar to technology used in aerospace construction, this structural enhancement to the laptop provides increased rigidity and durability.

The laptop also features Toshiba's EasyGuard® Technology, which helps protect the laptop from jolts, spills and theft. This includes added protection around system components, a Hard Drive Impact Sensor and spill-resistant keyboard as well as a host of software that continuously checks the performance and functionality of the system.

"Portégé ultraportable laptops are not only a demonstration of Toshiba's superior engineering and craftsmanship, but our ability to innovate to meet the demands of businesses," said Carl Pinto, vice president of product development, Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., Digital Products Division. "The Portégé R700 delivers the ultimate mobile experience at breakthrough prices that businesses have been waiting for, providing both performance and battery life within an extremely thin and light, yet durable form factor without compromising key features such as an integrated DVD drive."

With an all-new sophisticated design that will turn heads in the boardroom, the Portégé R700 features a 13.3-inch diagonal HD widescreen LED-backlit display3, a premium raised tile keyboard and a wide TouchPad™ with customizable Multi-touch Control that makes typing and navigation easy and comfortable.

Equipped with Windows® 7 Professional, the laptops include a wealth of features and ports required by business users, including spacious hard drives, fast DDR3 RAM, the ability to dock to a port replicator, an ExpressCard™ slot, an eSATA/USB combo port with Sleep-and-Charge4, as well as a built-in DVD SuperMulti drive and Webcam. The Portégé R700 also features a high-capacity six-cell battery with a battery life rating of up to 8.5 hours5. An optional nine-cell battery that can remain on when docked will increase the battery life rating up to 12.5 hours.
A new High-Speed Port Replicator for the Portégé R700 (sold separately for $199.00 MSRP6) provides fast access to a desktop environment and eliminates the hassle of connecting multiple cables. The port replicator features a host of ports, including two ultrafast USB 3.0 ports, four USB 2.0 ports, Gigabit Ethernet as well as Line-In/Line-Out audio ports, HDMI, RGB and Serial connections.

"Business PC buyers want lighter, thinner notebook designs, but our research shows that they aren't willing to compromise on performance and features to get to those smaller sizes," said Bob O'Donnell, vice president, Clients and Displays research at IDC. "Integrating high-performance CPUs and an optical drive, while still maintaining a good price point, are key to making these lighter notebook designs more successful in the marketplace."

The laptop will be available in three configurations: the Portégé R700-S1310 features the Intel Core i3 processor7 and a 500GB8 hard drive for $999.00 MSRP. The Portégé R700-S1320 features the Intel Core i5-520M processor and a high-speed 320GB 7200RPM hard drive for $1,299.00 MSRP. The Portégé R700-S1330 features the powerful Intel Core i7-620M processor and a 128GB solid state drive9 for $1,599.00 MSRP. All three configurations come with 4GB DDR3 memory10 and a Standard Three-Year International Limited Warranty11.

Consumer Model Also Available
Toshiba will also offer a consumer edition of the laptop, the Portégé R705. Sold exclusively at Best Buy for $889.99 MSRP, the laptop will feature a Magnesium Blue cover and will be powered by the Intel Core i3 processor, 4GB of DDR3 memory and a 500GB hard drive. In addition, the Portégé R705 will feature Intel Wireless Display for wirelessly connecting the laptop to a big screen HDTV. The Portégé R705 will not include ExpressCard or docking capabilities.
EPEAT Gold-rated Eco-conscious Design

The Portégé R700 is designed to be environmentally conscious with power-efficient, mercury-free LED backlit display, meets the rigorous requirements of the Energy Star® 5.0 standard and achieved industry-leading Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT®) Gold status. The laptop is also RoHS compatible, effectively reducing the environmental impact by restricting the use of lead, mercury, cadmium and certain other hazardous substances.

Availability
Portégé R700 business laptops will be available today through select Toshiba Preferred Partner Program resellers, e-tailers and directly at toshibadirect.com.

The Portégé R705 will be available at Best Buy stores nationwide on June 27, 2010.
Detailed specifications can be found at laptops.toshiba.com/laptops/portege/R700
Image Gallery: http://bit.ly/PortegeR700

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