Toshiba Mobile Pentium II Notebooks Break
Performance Barriers With Wide Range of Features
and Pricing to Meet Every Business Need
Business Wire - April 02, 1998 08:17
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IRVINE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 2, 1998--Toshiba America Information
Systems Inc. (TAIS), Computer Systems Division (CSD), the country's leading manufacturer
of portable computers, Thursday announced three notebooks with nine configurations that
bring Mobile Pentium II processing power to a wide range of customers.
Toshiba offers the Mobile Pentium II processor in its new Satellite Pro 490 series and Tecra
780 series, giving customers the power to choose the price point and feature set that best
meets their needs.
Toshiba's Satellite Pro 490 series and Tecra 780 series set the pace for Toshiba's effort to
lead the transition to the Mobile Pentium II processor. Intel's new 266MHz and 233MHz
Mobile Pentium II processors help close the performance gap between desktops and
notebooks. Delivering 31 percent(a) faster performance than previous generations, the new
processors give mobile professionals more power to tackle today's office applications and
support future operating systems.
"As the market leader, Toshiba is able to deliver the industry's fastest performance to the
widest range of customers in both small businesses and large corporations," said Jeffrey
Friederichs, vice president of worldwide marketing, Toshiba Computer Systems Group. "The
breadth of Toshiba's Mobile Pentium II processor notebooks ensures all customers get
power and functionality that will grow with their business."
Satellite Pro 490 Series -- Industry-Leading Price/Performance
Toshiba's Satellite Pro 490 series brings the latest processor technology to the Satellite Pro
family with prices starting near $3,500. Offering the industry's best price/performance ratio,
the Satellite Pro 490 series also incorporates large displays, huge hard drives, ample memory
and fast modems. The notebook of choice for small and medium-sized businesses and
corporate projects, the Satellite Pro 490 series continues Toshiba's tradition of delivering
feature-rich portable solutions at an excellent value.
Available in two configurations, the Satellite Pro series balances exceptional computing
power with affordability. The Satellite Pro 490XCDT offers a 266MHz Mobile Pentium II
processor and a brilliant 13.3-inch active matrix display -- the largest in the Satellite Pro line.
The Satellite Pro 490CDT is equipped with a 233MHz Mobile Pentium II processor and a
bright 12.1-inch active matrix display.
Both systems provide an integrated K56flex voice/video/fax modem, 32MB of EDO
DRAM, 512KB L2 cache and a 4.1 billion byte hard drive to handle the most demanding
computing tasks and storage requirements.
Advanced 64-bit graphics support and S3's ViRGE/MX 3D graphics accelerator improves
2D graphics performance by up to 60 percent. S3's DuoView technology provides advanced
support enabling simultaneous displays at different resolutions. With future operating systems,
this technology will also enable a "virtual desktop" extending the LCD workspace to an
external monitor.
Capable of handling intensive multimedia applications and delivering impressive presentations,
the Satellite Pro 490 series offers a 20X maximum speed CD-ROM, CardBus, Zoomed
Video technology and stereo speakers. A flexible mobile solution, the Satellite Pro 490 series
allows users to customize their notebook with Toshiba's modular SelectBay and enhanced
port replication options.
Tecra 780 Series -- The Pinnacle of Performance
Toshiba's Tecra 780 series offers leading performance, multimedia, manageability and
investment protection to meet the needs of the most advanced corporate customers. A
premier desktop replacement system, the Tecra 780 series combines robust expansion
capabilities with impressive performance. Its leading-edge technology and innovative
feature-set makes it an ideal platform for power users who require the most comprehensive
multimedia and communications solution.
Delivering the industry's fastest processor and largest hard drive for unparalleled computing
power, Toshiba's new Tecra 780 features Intel's new 266MHz Mobile Pentium II processor
and a large 8.1 billion byte or 5.1 billion byte Ultra DMA hard drive. Toshiba's superior
power management enables maximum performance with more than three hours of battery life
in full-power mode.
Combined with 512KB L2 cache and 64MB of built-in high-speed memory, the Tecra 780
series delivers the power to run demanding applications traditionally reserved for desktop
systems. The Tecra 780 is available in two main configurations: the Tecra 780DVD ships
with a DVD-ROM drive while the Tecra 780CDM includes a 20X maximum speed
CD-ROM drive.
Offering the industry's most innovative multimedia capabilities, Toshiba's new Tecra 780
series includes bright 13.3-inch active matrix displays, an impressive 4MB of fast SGRAM
video memory, S3's ViRGE/MX 3D graphics accelerator with DuoView technology, Dolby
AC-3 digital surround sound support, built-in hardware MPEG-2 decoding and the most
integrated DVD solution (780DVD).
With the Tecra 780 series, Toshiba continues its leadership in mobile video applications. The
notebooks come standard with an innovative video capture camera, making it easy for
professionals to use video in combination with their PC. Video capture capabilities allow
customers to video record meetings for e-mail distribution to clients and co-workers, while
software developed by VideoBrush turns the video camera into an image scanning device,
allowing photographs, blueprints or notes on a whiteboard to be easily scanned and digitized
into a high-resolution image.
The Tecra 780 series also provides advanced communications capabilities with an integrated
K56flex voice/video/fax modem and Internet-based video conferencing with the Noteworthy
Business Video Phone with ProShare technology.
Toshiba Helps Mobile Customers Reduce Their Total Cost of Ownership
Adding value to customers' existing expansion options, Toshiba continues to provide the
industry's most consistent docking stations and port replicators. The new Tecra 780 series
supports the existing Desk Station V Plus docking station and NoteDock II enhanced port
replicator that have been compatible with all Tecra 700 series products for the last two years.
"As customers make the transition to notebooks with new processor technologies, one of
their primary concerns is investment protection," said Jeffrey Friederichs. "Our record of
providing docking options and accessories that work with multiple generations of Toshiba
product continues with our latest Mobile Pentium II processor offerings."
Toshiba enhances the customer's total computing experience with advanced manageability
features including DMI 2.0 BIOS support, ACPI V1.0 compliance and LANDesk Client
Manager 3.2 (Tecra only) that allow for system diagnostics, remote and local system
monitoring/configuring/updating, asset tagging and advanced power management. The
Satellite Pro and Tecra come standard with Windows 95 and have full pre-installed options
for Windows NT 4.0 Workstation (Tecra 780CDM-NT, Satellite Pro 490CDT-NT and
Satellite Pro 490XCDT-NT). Both notebook families also support Toshiba's unique
SecureSleep function that can be used for remote system administration without
compromising user security.
New Toshiba Enhanced Recovery software reduces on-going computing costs by minimizing
the time required to roll-out new notebook platforms. It simplifies the software system image
build process for corporate customers, significantly reducing the time to build and update
software images.
Giving customers more computing choices, Toshiba's Satellite Pro and Tecra notebooks
provide customization through the flexible SelectBay drive which easily accommodates
high-speed CD-ROM and diskette drives, in addition to options that last for several
generations including second batteries and second hard disk drives.
Flexible Financing and Service Programs
Toshiba also offers flexible financing and leasing programs, as well as comprehensive service
and support and warranty programs to enhance customers' computing experience. Toshiba
Financial Services provides simple and flexible financing and leasing options for large
enterprise customers, small- to medium-sized businesses and education markets. The
program gives customers increased purchasing power, flexible payment options, competitive
rates and a variety of programs designed for their business needs.
A specialized group of Authorized Service Providers (ASPs) furnishes comprehensive
warranty and post warranty service, training, parts and advanced technical support. The
Tecra comes standard with a limited three-year parts and labor warranty (one year on
battery) and the Satellite Pro comes with a limited three-year parts and one-year labor
warranty. For mobile professionals who travel outside the United States, Toshiba provides
one year carry-in warranty coverage in more than 29 countries. The International Traveler
program lets customers receive warranty depot repair from any country in the world within
five business days.
Toshiba also offers a full suite of Toshiba designed and executed service options. The
following service options are available through resellers nationwide:
Toshiba's On.Call Global Network, which provides on-site options
including next-business day response.
Toshiba's On.Deck critical unit program further enhances the
customer's service experience, offering customers next business day
dispatch of replacement notebooks.
Toshiba's Notebook Depot repair program provides international
travelers and U.S. based customers with quick door-to-door
turnaround service regardless of where in the world their business
takes them. Customers have their choice of four-day or 36-hour
repair cycles.
Toshiba also offers an industry leading Automated Online Data
Backup service to further safeguard productivity. This service
allows customers to back-up all of their data securely to a
repository via the Internet regardless of where they are globally.
The Satellite Pro and Tecra notebooks are backed by Toshiba's service and support,
available 24 hours-a-day, seven days-a-week through the InTouch Center. Toshiba also
offers online support for electronic-based interaction via the Web, CompuServe Online
Forum or the Electronic Solutions Bulletin Board.
Pricing and Availability
The Tecra 780 series and Satellite Pro 490 series will be sold through Toshiba's traditional
distribution channels, VARs and mail order partners. Production dates and estimated single
unit prices are as follows:
Model Production Est. Single
Unit Street
Price
Satellite Pro 490CDT April $3,549
Satellite Pro 490XCDT April $3,999
Satellite Pro 490CDT-NT May $3,749
Satellite Pro 490XCDT-NT May $4,199
Tecra 780CDM (5.1 billion byte hard drive) April $5,099
Tecra 780DVD (5.1 billion byte hard drive) April $5,499
Tecra 780CDM-NT (5.1 billion byte hard drive)April $5,299
Tecra 780CDM (8.1 billion byte hard drive) Q3 $5,499
Tecra 780DVD (8.1 billion byte hard drive) Q3 $5,899
About Toshiba America Information Systems Inc. |
