More Toshiba notebooks with DVD. Prior Toshiba DVD notebooks used CUBE for MPEG-2 decoding. Perhaps these do too...........
news.cnet.com
Toshiba, Gateway boast new
notebooks
By Joe Wilcox
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
October 18, 1999, 7:10 a.m. PT
update Toshiba today rolled out a barrage of new
notebooks, featuring more features at the low end and style
and performance at the high end, and Gateway jumped into the low-cost notebook
foray today with a new model in its Solo line, the 2150.
Toshiba's new low-end portables, ranging from $1,199 to $1,699, come as Compaq batters
the company in retail sales. Compaq Presario notebooks took the top three retail sales
positions in August, according to PC Data.
While Compaq and Toshiba have consistently dominated the top five retail sales positions,
Compaq claimed the No. 1 spot during five of the first eight months of the year.
Toshiba's response is notebooks with faster processors at lower prices than offered by its
Texas rival.
The entry-level Satellite 1555CDS starts at $1,199 and features a 380-MHz AMD Mobile
K6-2 processor, 32-MB of RAM, 12.1-inch passive matrix display, 4.3-GB hard drive, 24X
CD-ROM drive, and 56k modem. The 2100CDS, 2105CDS, and 2100CDT feature 400-MHz,
AMD K6-2 processors. The latter two models come with 64MB of RAM and the 2100CDT
with a TFT display.
The 1555CDS is Toshiba's answer to the Compaq Presario 1245, the consistent leader in
retail notebook sales, according to PC Data. The Presario 1245, which sold for an average
of $1,170 in August, features a 333-MHz AMD K6-2 processor, 32MB of RAM, 12.1-inch
passive active matrix screen, 3.2-GB hard drive, 24X CD-ROM drive, and 56k modem.
Toshiba is offering Lotus SmartSuite Millennium Edition on the Satellite 1555CDS and
2105CDS. Both models will be available at retail outlets later this month. Toshiba plans to
sell the 2100CDS and 2100CDT through mail order operations and its computer dealer
network.
Unlike Toshiba and Compaq, which boast compact all-in-one designs, Gateway is taking a
modular approach.
All-in-one notebooks are cheaper to produce, but consumers cannot easily upgrade them
to new technologies or outfit them with other components, such as high-capacity floppy
drives. Consumers pay more up front for the flexibility.
Gateway's Solo 2150 starts at $1,599 with a 400-MHz Celeron processor, 32-MB of RAM,
12.1-inch TFT display, 4-GB hard drive, 24X CD-ROM drive, 2X AGP graphics accelerator
with 4MB of memory, and 56k modem.
Configurable options include a DVD drive and Zip drive, both removable and swappable from
the CD-ROM bay.
Toshiba also unveiled new higher-priced models in a striking blue and metallic design. Both
Satellite notebooks, the 2615DVD and 2655XDVD, offer DVD drives and 3D-sound as
standard fare as well as Lotus SmartSuite Millennium Edition.
The 2615DVD, at $1,999, comes with a 433-MHz Intel Mobile Celeron processor, 64MB of
RAM, 12.1-inch TFT display, 6-GB hard drive, and 56k modem for $1,999. The 2655XDVD
increases the display to 14.1-inches and will sell for $2,399. Both units will be available at
retail later this month.
Toshiba is also pitting the new blue and metallic Satellite notebooks against similar
models from Compaq. The 2615DVD sells for $100 more than Compaq's popular Presario
1685--the No. 3 seller at retail in August according to PC Data--but offers an Intel
processor and Lotus SmartSuite.
Toshiba will offer two free DVD movies for customers buying either model between
November 1 and January 31, 2000.
All models are eligible for a $400 mail-in rebate with a three-year commitment to Prodigy
for Internet access, $250 on a two-year contract, or $100 for a single-year commitment. |
