14 DAY TRIAL // Notebook manufacturer Toshiba is reportedly pushing forward the availability date for its SSD-enabled DynaBook SS RX1 value notebook. According to the company, the notebook has been delayed because of a production lag in 128 GB solid-state drives, but the DynaBook will return as soon as the supply issues get fixed.
The news was broken on Friday on Toshiba's Japanese-language Dynabook dedicated website. The company explained that the delay was caused by the limited availability of its 128 GB solid state drive for the SS RX model, but something still does not add up. The Portege R500, the European version of the DynaBook is listed as available and configurable with one of those missing 128 GB SSDs.
The DynaBook model from Toshiba will be only available on the Japanese market, and its most important selling point is the fact that it would come factory-equipped with an 128 GB solid-state drive.
"We deeply apologize to the customer who has already reserved one," reads the company's website. The DynaBook was initially launched in the third quarter of 2007 in a HDD-based configuration, then it was upgraded to an optional SSD late last month.
The Dynabook models come with an Intel Core 2 Duo ULV U7700 processor, 2GB of DDR2 RAM, 12.1-inch backlit LED, as well as a 7-millimeter dual-layer DVD superdrive. The ultra-portable only weighs 780 grams and will hit the Japanese market at an estimative price tag of about $4,000. The hardware configuration is a little too modest for its price, but the SSD offering got buyers interested.
However, more and more notebook manufacturers are planning to release their own versions of SSD-equipped notebook computers, and if Toshiba does not manage to solve its supply issues, it would run late to the SSD party.