Toshiba updates Portégé range

Toshiba adds 128GB Flash drive to thin-and-light laptop range

Toshiba has added new models to its thin-and-light Portégé laptop range, including a new version of its ultra-light R500 and the M700 convertible Tablet PC.

Due to ship later in this quarter, the Portégé R500-12S is the world's first laptop with a 128GB Flash-based solid-state disk (SSD), according to Toshiba. Using an SSD instead of a hard drive helps reduce weight, and the new model weighs just 779g – less than half as much as a standard laptop.

Pricing for the R500-12S starts at £1,599 for a model with 2GB memory and Windows Vista Business edition. It is based on a 1.2GHz Core2 Duo U7700 processor and has a 12in display.

The three new Portégé M700 Tablet PC models are all based on Intel's latest 45nm Core 2 Duo mobile chips, clocked at 2.1GHz, and all have a 12in convertible touch-screen. The entry-level M700-13A has 3GB memory and costs £999, while the M700-3G13B adds built-in 3G/HSDPA connectivity for £1,099. A third model, the M700-139, has 3GB memory and a 1.3 megapixel webcam. All will be available later this quarter with Windows Vista or Windows XP.