Toshiba's 5.6-Inch Netbook Prototype Detailed

Two days ago, we told you about Toshiba's confirmed plans to enter the netbook market with a product apparently set to impose new standards. Mark Whittard, General Manager of Toshiba Australia, has declared that the company he represents has taken a vivid interest in the netbook market, and that they plan to roll out a product very soon. On the same occasion, Whittard also demonstrated a 5.6-inch touchscreen device, which the guys at PCAuthority had a chance to test out.

Because of its form factor and overall design, the small 5.6-inch computer device could become a better competitor in the UMPC devices segment, than in that of notebooks or netbooks. It's practically a handheld device, with a software keyboard that takes about two-thirds of the screen. According to PCAuthority, the device, which came with a Windows Vista operating system, ran smoothly during their short hands-on experience.

Toshiba hasn't offered too many details on its 5.6-inch prototype, but the few tidbits they did offer indicate that it runs on an Intel Atom processor installed on a motherboard half the size of the one found on the Portege 500 notebook. The device will provide 64GB of storage space with a built-in solid state drive. Even more interesting than this is that Toshiba's prototype comes with GPS support, which makes it rather high on useful features.

"We don't think this [prototype] is commercially viable, it's too small," said Toshiba's Mark Whittard. "Having said that, we will have a ULPC soon."

As we indicated in our previous post, Toshiba might be thinking of a 9-inch product that will not be meant to compete with similar devices from ASUS, Acer and MSI. In fact, Toshiba's upcoming ULPC will be designed to compete with HP's Mini-Note 2133, in the "premium segment" of this market. We can't be certain about what the company is planning to release, but its prototype sure seems to be very promising.