Everyone with an eye for Toshiba will know just how light the recent addition to the Portégé family, the R600, is – weighing in at under 800 (count em’) grams. But gadgetgue.com has found a rather novel picture displaying that in tangible form – showing that the muscle friendly notebook can be lifted by nothing more than the power of balloon only.

Nice work girls!  

“Need a new laptop for your office work, but don’t want to be stuck with one that looks like it’s out of the Dark Ages?” asks Arutha in his latest product review. And this time it’s the Toshiba U400 that’s caught his eye.

Focusing on Style, and the power this machine packs “under the bonnet”, the reviewer seems heartily impressed with the “glossy black finish look” which means this laptop will look perfect in just about any room (well maybe not a black room)”. Whatsmore, the physical size of the notebook appeals, arutha noting that “this laptop really is as small as I have been going on about”, and “with it weighing in at only 1.97 kg this should be light as a feather to carry”.

And although he suggests that gamers may find this machine a little low-spec, gaj-it.com conclude that “this is an excellent office laptop, offering both design and technology improvements on the usual standard.” Head over here for the full review!

If you love your notebooks “impossibly thin and light”, then Toshiba’s re-working of its 755 gram laptop the Portégé R500 (imaginatively monikered the Portégé R600) should intrigue you – as it has the folk at trustedreviews.com.

Initially somewhat disappointed with its predecessor, they were “were delighted to discover a much improved machine when we got our hands-on on the Portégé R600 at Toshiba’s Mobility Conference in Zurich” – reassuring us that “problems we had seen with its predecessor were largely remedied.”

Whatsmore, according to Andy Vandervell, “nowhere are the improvements more apparent than in the keyboard” – and “the build quality issues of the R500 have been remedied quite comprehensively”. Also, with new batteries on their way (see here for details) – things are only looking up for the world’s trimmest laptop.

So pop over to read the full low-down at trustedrevies.com, and with it the interesting shots of the laptop from all angles – not to mention stripped of its tasty shell!

How many great inventions of this modern world do we take for granted? I for one used to neglect Toshiba laptops and their greatness” begins the post from Coriander Dreams in her post entitled ‘Using this one everyday’ – and what a pleasant beginning to a post it is.

Now although the mysteriously monikered author doesn’t go on to elucidate about exactly what Toshiba she is talking about, she does seem to be extremely happy about the “glossy screen” – of course, not everything is perfect – but while “the only thing I am not that happy about is the screen size”, who can deny that “of course this means it is a lot lighter in weight as well so I should not really complain about it.”

Meanwhile, Colleen from GeekySpeaky has come out, all guns blazing, in support of Microsoft Vista – quite unexpected after she openly admits that she actively sought any other operating system just weeks ago when purchasing a sparkly new Toshiba. All change now though, and she has to admit “I’ve been pleasantly surprised. I haven’t had any of the compatibility issues that I’ve heard others reporting, and if anything, Vista and the way it works to organize things has made my life easier.”

“So yes, I’m willing to take back all of the negative press I gave Vista…but it IS a Microsoft product, so we all know there’s still room for error.” Indeed, but interesting to note that there are bloggers out there who do like the Vista platform.

Meanwhile, Tom Barrett has received his new Toshiba Satellite A300 to review, and has already discovered a nifty feature “Been sent a new Toshba A300 to look at - fancy Harmon Kardon speakers in built” – we hope you enjoy it sir!

Nigel has produced a large review detailing the ins and outs of the Satellite U400. He’s aware that the market is “saturated” with models that will compete at the price point of £480, so the question is how does it do?

After a plethora of pictures and specifications doing exceptional work of conveying what this bit of kit is capable of, Nigel gets down to the crux of the matter. He does admit to a penchant for Toshiba because, “support is excellent, the quality is decent and the performance usually dependable” and as far as he’s concerned the U400 is no different.”

Specific to the U400 though is his praise of it being fast, compact and light. Meaning for Nigel, in terms of a general purpose portable computer, “You can do a lot worse for a lot more money.”

OK – so we all know that Toshiba’s Toshiba Portege R500 weighs less than 2 pounds (1.72 to be precise), and the fact that it’s lighter than the much lauded Apple MacBook. But how does it fare in all other respects?

Well – for those whose eye’s are a touch weary after a long day at the computer, allow the soft visuals and gentle words of our pals at logictv.com take you through the benefits, and otherwise, of this notebook.

This computer “offers the latest bells and whistles in an ultra-portable laptop with lightweight frame”, although there is an Achilles Heel – in terms of performance… To find out more just click ‘play’ below.

Over in the Digital Spy forum, there is praise for the Portégé R500. alanwarwic came up with the ‘walks on Air’ epithet, another in the long list of fans who reckon that Toshiba’s latest beats the new super-thin offering from Apple.

FlatulentBadger (surely the best forum name ever?) looks at a list of the specs for the R500 and says ‘Now that is what the Macbook Air SHOULD have been’. He reckons that Apple have slipped up by not including features that Toshiba packed into the R500 such as the 12.1” screen, and the 7-8 hours battery life on one charge.

vinba has the last word, though, mentioning that the several he has in his office work extremely well, ‘nice machines, very light’. The big plus point for him is the ability to carry the laptops around easily; ‘in terms of portability and design, first class’. That is why he is a Toshiba customer and will continue to provide his staff with Portégés, not Airs.

Les fabricants des LED employées dans les écrans d’ordinateurs portables pour le rétro-éclairage estiment que leur prix baissera de 20% en 2008.La demande en écrans LED BackLight ne fait qu’augmenter et alors que le prix des composants LED a chuté de 30% cette année, la baisse attendue pour 2008 est de l’ordre de 20%.Les fabricants de LED estiment que le prix de
la technologie LED BackLight doit continuer de chuter si l’on souhaite qu’elle soit implantée de façon plus massive dans les ordinateurs portables et remplace à terme les écrans classiques CCFL (Cold-Cathode Fluorescent Lamp). Ils prévoient et espèrent une baisse de 20% du prix des LED pour l’année prochaine, aidée par la demande croissante pour ces composants.

Article paru sur laptopspirit

Sur laptopspirit on nous informe que Selon Fred Huang, le PDG de Coretronic’s BLU business, les écrans LED BackLight seront présents dans 25% des pc portables vendus en 2008.
Coretronic a débuté ses livraisons de dalles LED BLU (BackLight Unit) au mois de juin et indique que ces composants ne devraient pas représenter cette année plus de 5% de ses ventes dans le secteur des ordinateurs portables.Les écrans LED BackLight sont pour l’heure deux à trois fois plus chers que les écrans classiques CCFL (cold cathode fluorescent lamp).Cependant pour Huang, les produits LED deviendront un standard dans l’avenir et le prix de ces unités devront donc progressivement baisser.

The curious noises emanating from Chris’s Portégé seem to signal the end of its working life so Chris is looking for a ‘light, portable and compact’ alternative. Mrbear advised him to stick with Toshiba and it wasn’t long before talk on his Jorune blog turned to the eagerly awaited Portege R500!

Described on CNET.co.uk as the ‘lightest laptop in the world’ (weighing less than a bag of sugar!), the Portégé R500 is understandably making waves before its UK release in late August 2007. By asking explorer David Hempleman-Adams to test it during his hot air ballooning world-record attempt, Toshiba have tested and proven its lightweight but highly durable design in an original and impressive way. Size isn’t everything though, and the R500 can also offer (reportedly) world-record breaking battery life (12.5hrs) and a transflective display to further boost its pioneering reputation.
To find out more about the new R500, follow this link to the CNET.co.uk review.