Laptop News: Toshiba, Game Laptops and Sony

Toshiba Goes For Bargain Prices

Tech company Toshiba has stepped up its game to meet the rising demand for low budget laptops. Reports state that the company recently announced its intention to launch a new budget friendly line of laptops this month. The timing couldn’t be better too, with Christmas fast approaching. Starting at $300, the company will offer new laptops for the Toshiba Satellite C600, L700, L735D and P700 lines.

Users will have different sizes to choose from, starting at 13.3 inches and going up to 17.3 inches. Even the smallest of the bunch is no lightweight when it comes to features. Both AMD and Intel chips will be offered giving more choice to users. The company is including a notebook in the lineup, the Toshiba Mini MB505 which is also priced at $300.

The Satellite P700 will continue to deliver performance with top of the line processors from Intel. The company is also capitalizing on the demand for more entertainment based options with the ability to add a Blu-ray optical drive. The Satellite P700 comes in ranges ranging from 14 inches to 17.3 inches.

The company’s mid-range option, the L700 will start at 13.3 inches going up to 17.3 inches, with a beginning price of $455. The specs will match those of the C600 which starts at $349, and which will only be offered in 15.6-inch and 17.3-inch sizes.

Company Reveals Its Gaming Laptop Rankings

In a move that reflects the continued evolution of the laptop gaming market FullText Media has issued an updated ranking of hardware in this area. Its BestGamingLaptop.Net will act as a guide for avid gamers who want to buy a gaming laptop or who just want to see where their own machines rank on the list of top gaming computers.
The editors at FullText Media acknowledge the vast nature of the undertaking, and claimed to go to great lengths to fully assess the capabilities of each system. The company will be relying heavily on feedback from the users themselves in addition to in-depth research by the editors. After all their hard work, they are confident they have listed the 10 best gaming laptops on the market today.

The company is also committed to keeping the list up to date as new entrants keep making their way into the market. Reports state that popular gaming laptop Alienware is constantly being challenged by lesser known brands. This indicates that brand name is not the only consideration for users. Of course, the full extent of the capabilities of each system, as well as add-ons and pricing will continue to influence buying decisions.

The Vaio Gets 3D Upgrade

There is no denying that 3D is hot these days, and the technology has moved from the big screen to the smaller screens of televisions and laptops. Now Sony has gotten in on the action with the release of a special attachment for its popular Vaio brand. According to online reports, it will enable the viewing of 3D images without the need for 3D glasses.

The S and the C series will each have their own type of 3D attachment. Sony has also overcome a hurdle typical of some glasses free 3D options, that is, many users complain that if they don’t look at the screen head on, the 3D effect is lost. Sony has overcome this by using the laptop’s camera to monitor the user’s position and the image is then shifted to keep the 3D effect.

The technology utilizes a transparent panel, lenticular device that fits over the screen and transmits a different image to each eye, thus creating the 3D effect. This is not Sony’s first foray into the 3D arena; the company already has the Sony VAIO F 3D laptop on the market. The VAIO F 3D is priced at roughly $1,799 and has won rave reviews from the tech community.

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Review: Toshiba Laptops

Note by editor: Toshiba laptop reviews is a guest review by one of our readers: Jim J. Donalds.

Today we are going to take a look at three popular Toshiba laptops each with a different price point and purpose. Exact model numbers will be listed followed by the most basic but important stats. Also included for comparison purposes is average price from several popular and reputable websites. After a brief review of the pros and cons a recommendation will be made for each model.

Toshiba Satellite C655D-S5043
Price: $400
The Stats: 15.6″ screen, AMD V120 2.2GHz processor, 2gb DDR3 ram, 320GB HDD, ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4250, Windows 7 64 bit
The Facts: It’s a $400 dollar laptop, expecting it to do anything other than basic word processing and surfing the web, email etc. is currently unrealistic. That said this laptop does surprisingly well considering it’s minuscule price tag. 2gb of ram is too little in this day and age, thankfully Toshiba has left one ram expansion slot open so when the buyer gets tired of dealing with the low ram they can easily toss in another 2gb stick and call it a day. One of the more recommended cheap laptops on the market.
Recommended for: Basic email and web surfing.

Toshiba Satellite A505-S6035
Price: $1,000
The Stats: 16″ screen, Intel i7-720 QM 1.60 ghz processor, 4gb DDR3 ram, 500gb HDD, NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M gpu with 1gb vram , Windows 7 64bit
The Facts: Toshiba actually delivers a laptop at the thousand dollar mark that turns out to be a decent gaming laptop. You won’t be able to play the latest and greatest games at max settings but for the price the performance can’t be beat. As a gaming laptop it is of course able to handle any other basic tasks thrown at it with aplomb. At 6.5 lbs it’s hit’s that middle of the road spot for portable laptops. Still with a shorter than usually battery life and 16″ screen while you could use this as a literal laptop I think of it more as a mobile desktop, something to set up at a desk or table at the airport. While Toshiba earns points for making sure the laptop stays cool they get a negative for the amount of bloatware that comes per-installed.
Recommend for: Budget conscious gamers

Toshiba X505-Q890
Price: $1,700
The Stats: 18.4” screen, Intel Core i7 740QM 1.73GHz processor, 6GB DDR3 ram, 500GB HDD, 64 GB SSD HDD, Bluray Combo Drive, NVIDIA GeForce GTS 360 M
The Facts: This is a monster of a computer in laptop form! While you definitely will not be using this beast in your lap for any extended period of time it’s great for setting setting up at your destination and not having to regret leaving a desktop behind. Huge 18” screen will playback your blu-ray movies from the combo drive in full 1080p HD! The 64GB SSD drive will ensure quick boot times and load times of Windows and other essential programs. The NVIDIA GeForce GTS 360 M will allow you to play the newest games on high settings with all the trimmings. Other than the size and possibly the price tag there isn’t anything not to like about this laptop and honestly if your even looking at this model neither of those will come across as a negative.
Recommended for: Gaming and desktop replacement.

There you have it, three very different notebooks on sale from one reputable company. Something for everyone and even if none of the three Toshiba models covered in the article quite meet your needs the reviews can still give you a good place to start from. Decide which model closest meets your needs and then check out other laptops from that model line. Happy shopping!

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Cheap Laptops For Students

Are you getting ready to start going to college soon and are looking at your options when it comes to finding the best laptop? Cheap new laptops are essential for anyone who is currently attending college or who will be attending soon. Sometimes you will have instructors who talk faster than you can write and you will not be able to catch everything that they are saying to write it down fast enough. With a laptop you will be able to type your notes directly into a text document and have them on hand when you are ready to study for a big test. You will also need to do a fair amount of research for some of the papers that you will have to write so you will need to have a good laptop to do your research with. Here you will find some of the best cheap laptops for students.

One of the most popular laptops on sale for students is the Toshiba Satellite. You will find several great features such as the 15.6 inch screen that will help you to have everything that you need for typing notes and doing research. This laptop comes with the latest version of Windows which is Windows 7 and has all of the storage you need for saving your documents that will be important for your classes. You will have 500 Gigabytes of storage which means that you will be able to store four years worth of notes. You will also get a DVD drive, an Intel Core processor, and a great graphics package making this one of the best cheap laptops to study for finals on.

Another great laptop for sale that college students like is the Compaq Presario. You will get many similar features that you will get with the above Toshiba including Windows 7 and a 15.6 inch display, but this laptop has a few different features. One thing you may notice is that it has half of the storage capacity of the Toshiba with a 250 Gigabyte hard drive, but that is still more than enough space to store your notes for the four years you will be in college. Also, instead of just having a DVD player you will get a DVD +/- R burner. That means you can make backup copies of your favorite movies or make presentations for your classes on a DVD disc.

There are a lot of other very cheap laptops that are perfect for college students that you may want to check out, but these two will give you plenty to make it through all of your classes and perform all of the tasks and assignments that you will have. If you are going to be attending college you will need to have a good laptop with you at all times.

Update: One of our long time readers, ‘Rick TLA’ gave us his suggestions for five of the cheapest laptops currently on the market.

1. 7” laptop by Ubisurfer: This 7” screen laptop is a product from Ubisurfer, a UK based company. They are offering free internet with the laptop. School students normally needs laptops for writing, painting and for doing internet browsing. So they don’t need any high quality laptops. The ubisurfer laptop can be used for all the purposes. There is no in built CD/DVD optical drive with the laptop. The specifications are, it comes out with 128MB RAM and 1GB hard drive. The cost of the laptop is just $180.

2. Laptop from Champion brand: This is one of the most cheapest mini laptop. Its been on the store with a one year warranty. Laptop has got a wider screen about 10.2”. the specifications are, N270 Intel Atom processor with 1GB RAM and 250 GB hard disk.Its cost is $328

3. ASUS Eee Pc 1005HA: This laptop has got lot of advanced techniques than the above ones. It has got 6 cell battery, used for playing videos. This laptop also has got 1 year warranty. The specifications are , a N280 processor with 1 GB Ram and 160nGB hard disk space.Its cost is about $383

4. Aspire One Laptop-AOD250: this laptop has got an in built multiple card reader and a wide display 10.1”. The laptop also got a web camera. The specifications are, a N280 Atom processor with a speed of 1.66 GHz and 1 GB RAM and 160GB hard disk space. It costs $428

5. Lenovo Ideapad S10 Laptop: This laptop is available in two colors, black and grey. The major advantage is that it has got 6hrs of battery power. The screen size is 10.1”. The specifications are, a N280 Atom processor, 1Gb RAM and 160GB hard disk space. The operating system installed is windows Vista, which can change according to the user need. The cost of the product is $437.

Reader Question: What is the most inexpensive laptop (brand and model) that you’re bought and were you satisfied with it?  

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