Toshiba Rolls Out Multi-Touch Tablet and Satellite Laptop

Toshiba was revealed to be working on the Portege M780 convertible tablet at the beginning of the month and the product has finally made its official debut, along with a new model for the company's Satellite laptop series. Both devices are designed with professional use in mind and combine the multi-touch capabilities supported by the Windows 7 OS with the performance capabilities of Intel processors.

The Portege M780 tablet PC is configurable, but its highest capable version comes with an Intel Core i7-620 central processing unit, whose core clock runs at 2.66GHz. The portable PC also features a 12.1-inch, LED-backlit display, up to 4GB of RAM and a 7200RPM hard drive with a storage capacity of 320GB. This device also boasts an eSATA/USB combo port with Sleep and Charge and the Toshiba EasyGuard technology, which includes a PC Health Monitor, a spill resistant keyboard, LCD display protection and a hard drive impact sensor.

“With the digital inking capabilities on the Tablet PC students have been able to access all materials and information without constantly printing out paper — allowing us to become a paperless program,” Cynthia Liotta, assistant professor and program director, said.

The Satellite Pro U500 laptop also boasts multi-touch features and runs on either an Intel Core 2 Duo processor or an Intel Core Chip. This device, like the Portege, has multi-touch capabilities, integrated graphics, 4GB DDR3 and 500GB of storage. Furthermore, the mobile PC runs Windows 7 and boasts the same eSATA/USB combo port with Sleep and Charge. In addition, this laptop comes with a built-in webcam and facial recognition login.

“Today, touch enables business and education professionals to create a more interactive and intimate experience for their core audience, and Toshiba’s new laptops help deliver on that promise,” Carl Pinto, vice president of product development, Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., Digital Products Division, said. “In addition, our new Tablets provide today’s IT professionals with the ability to easily deploy laptops and manage operating systems locally or remotely to ensure content users can access and present data in any environment.”

The two mobile PCs come with Toshiba’s Bulletin Board and ReelTime software, which helps users more easily find and organize needed information. They are already available through WSCA/NASPO resellers, select Toshiba Preferred Partner Program resellers, e-tailers and directly at toshibadirect.com. The Portege M780 has a starting price of $1,279, whereas the Satellite Pro U500 starts at $1,099.