14 DAY TRIAL // It really looks like Toshiba is eager to make up for the time and sales it lost during the first quarter, as far as mobile computers go, as its lineup just welcomed three new laptops from the Portege and Tecra series.
It really is starting to look like makers of PCs will be especially avid in their marketing campaigns during the second quarter.
Of course, considering the losses they incurred during the first three-month period of 2011, because of the Intel chipset flaw, this is actually understandable.
That said, Toshiba finished introducing its three latest portable PCs, two from the Tecra series and one from the Portege line.
The Portege R830 has a screen size of 13.3 inches and sells for $1,049, while the Tecra R840 and R850 have starting tags of $899 and $879, respectively
The R830 looks quite similar to the R835 and has all the hardware packed inside a magnesium alloy case, while the Tecra machines boast fiberglass-reinforced casings with a honeycomb rib structure, plus raised tile spill resistant keyboards to boot.
That said, the actual hardware is nothing to be frowned upon either, since second generation Intel Core central processing units are just the basis of their performance.
Toshiba made sure to throw in the possibility of AMD discrete graphics cards, provided the built-in Intel HD is not sufficient.
Additionally, 7,200 RPM HDDs (hard disk drives) are present, or solid state drives (SSDs) of up to 128 GB.
Other specifications include Bluetooth 3.0, ExpressCard slots, Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n WiFi, USB 3.0 and Wireless Display, plus fingerprint readers, multiple level passwords and optional SmartCard readers.
The Tecra R840 and R850 have screen sizes of 14 inches and 15.6 inches, respectively, and are, like the Portege R830, accompanied by three-year warranties.
What remains is to see if the PC supplier manages to completely make up for the period of no Sandy Bridge laptop shipments.