14 DAY TRIAL // Toshiba has launched a few new products on the grounds here at IFA 2014, including a super affordable Windows 8.1 tablet (the Encore Mini) and their second-gen Chromebook, a laptop which arrives with a full HD display and a redesigned look.
Both of the above products will appeal to customers on the budget and this appears to be the company’s focus in the upcoming months.
Like ASUS, which launched a cheap, portable Windows notebook in Berlin, Toshiba is aiming to walk the same path.
So say hello to the Toshiba Satellite CL10-B, which is basically a Chromebook spec-wise, but runs Windows 8.1 with Bing not Chrome OS (call it a BingBook if you like).
The CL10-B arrives with the standard 11.6-inch display and brings about the average 1366 x 768 pixel resolution. Under the hood lives an Intel Celeron Pentium Bay Trail chip with Intel HD graphics, coupled with 2GB of RAM and 32GB of eMMC solid state storage.
However, compared to ASUS’ EeeBook X205 (which should sell for $199 / €148), it has a touchscreen, so that might explain why it will sell for a bit more.
Anyway, to wrap up on the specs, the Satellite CL10-B is also equipped with HDMI out, USB 3.0 port, USB 2.0 port, SD Card reader, 802.11n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0.
Like all BingBooks we have seen so far, the notebook is quite light, weighing just 2.4 lbs / 1.08 kg and is 0.8 inches / 20mm thick in profile.
For the time being, Toshiba only announced the availability of the product in Europe, where it will sell for about €260 / $342. It appears that there are no plans of actually launching the device in the US for now.
The device will make it onto the market somewhere in Q4 in 2014, so maybe Toshiba lovers will be lucky enough and will be able to get their hands on them in time for the holiday season.
At this point, when all major brand vendors are rolling out Chromebook competitors with similar specs, making a choice between model A and model B will prove to be quite hard for some. However, for us the answer is quite simple, it all boils down to what brand you prefer or are loyal too.
Anyway, if this BingBook is too low specced for you, and you aren’t a big fan of Windows 8.1 either, we are taking an opportunity to remind you that Toshiba also rolled out its next-gen Chromebook, which arrives with better specs and a neater design.