Toshiba updates its Portégé, Satellite, and Tecra lines with new laptops and netbooks

Earlier last week in London, Toshiba announced at an event brand new netbooks and laptop updates to their Portégé, Satellite, and Tecra lines.

First off is the new Portégé R800 series to be available in 13-, 14-, and 15-inch models, which will be thinner and lighter with a battery life of up to eight and a half hours. In addition, the new series will be running the latest Intel processors and up to 8GB of RAM, although more exact specifications were not mentioned. USB 3.0 connectivity will be coming standard as well as its high quality magnesium alloy build and design.

The Satellite series will be updated with the Satellite R830 and R850, the difference being mainly screen size at 13.3-inches and 15.6-inches, respectively. Similar to the new Portégé models, the new Satellite models will run on Intel processors with over eight hours of battery life and USB 3.0 connectivity. According to Toshiba, the Satellite R830 will only weigh 1.5kg and be 18.3mm thick at its thinnest point.

The Tecra line of laptops has always been business oriented, and the new updated Tecra R850 and R840 models will improve upon security features. This includes facial recognition software and an impact sensor to detect sudden movements and impacts, presumably to protect sensitive internals such as the hard drive. Outside of the new security measures, the new models will have Intel processors, an HDMI port and USB 3.0.

A couple of new netbooks were also shown, with the model names NB500 and the NB550D. NB500 will sport an Intel Atom processor, but Expert Reviews is reporting that both models will include special Harman Kardon speakers which are designed to fit in small systems while improving sound quality and decreasing distortion. NB550D, however, will have a 1GHz AMD Fusion C-50 processor with ATI 6250M graphics. The extra power will allow the netbook to support HDMI and possibly high-definition playback on an external display.

Official launch dates and pricing of these new notebooks were not announced, as Toshiba was merely previewing what they have in store for the near future. Additional specifications should be confirmed, however, as we get closer to their launch windows. Hopefully, they will all see a release before the end of the year.

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