Not just any ultrabook, but a work of art, or so Toshiba would want people to think

Apr 17, 2013 12:46 GMT  ·  By

Over the past month we've learned that there is a good chance of ultrabooks dropping to under $500 / €500 in price, but that doesn't mean expensive ones will disappear, as Toshiba has just proven. Much to the dismay of society, ultrabooks started out as very expensive products, which meant they delivered on all the performance and portability promises but were out of the reach of most prospective buyers.

Naturally, this forced concessions, like using plastic cases instead of aluminum and cutting back on the storage and memory, and the CPUs.

The KIRAbook that Toshiba has just introduced is a throwback to those times, one that doesn't care at all about the fact that the $1,599 - $1,999 price range is almost unassailable for most of the populace.

Then again, Toshiba already has its fair share of low-cost laptops on the market, so one could argue that it was about time a high-end one came out.

KIRAbook measures 13.3 inches and has a display with a native resolution of 2560 x 1440 pixels, plus a 10-point Corning Concore touchscreen (optional).

The central processing unit is an Intel Core i7, backed by 8 GB of 1,600 MHz DDr3 RAM (random access memory).

Storage space (up to 256 GB) is brought to the equation by an SSD, ensuring top performance, while 25 GB of cloud storage can be accessed online.

All the hardware is packed inside a magnesium case. Shipments will begin on May 12, but pre-orders will be open on May 3. The product page will be here when it goes live.

"At the core of the KIRA brand are products derived from inspired engineering," said Carl Pinto, vice president of marketing, Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., digital products division.

"Products that will carry the KIRA name will be more than a collection of the latest hardware technologies, but a statement of craftsmanship, fit and finish, and features built for the consumer's benefit, not technology's sake."