TOSHIBA LAUNCHES WORLD’S FIRST LAPTOP
WITH 128GB SOLID STATE DRIVE

Portégé R500-S5007V Measures 0.77-inches Thin and Weighs 2.4 Pounds
Making it One of the Thinnest and Lightest Laptops

Toshiba’s Digital Products Division, today announced the addition of a 128GB solid state drive (SSD)(1) into the innovative Portégé laptop series.  Toshiba’s 2.4 pound(2) Portégé R500-S5007V is the world’s lightest laptop with a 128GB SSD and DVD SuperMulti drive and one of the world’s thinnest with a SSD and DVD SuperMulti drive.

          “With seven world’s first technologies the Portégé R500 series has served as a technology launching pad and redefined the ultraportable marketplace with its world’s first technologies and ‘green’ attributes, such as a transreflective LED backlit indoor/outdoor viewing display, the industry’s highest rated EPEAT Gold laptop and Energy Star 4.0 compliance,” said Jeff Barney, general manager and vice president, Digital Products Division, Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc. “First to incorporate a 128GB solid state drive is another major accomplishment for Toshiba and illustrates how the company is committed to delivering solutions that meet the needs of our customers.”

          Utilizing the industry’s largest solid state drive capacity of 128GB, Toshiba’s Portégé R500-S5007V provides ample storage space for carrying critical company data and sensitive personal data while traveling.  With no moving parts, SSD technology provides customers with an enhanced level of reliability, durability and system responsiveness. 

To provide added convenience and on-the-go productivity, the Portégé R500 series was the world’s first laptop to ship with a 7mm DVD SuperMulti drive.  The built-in optical drive reduces the Portégé R500-S5007V’s travel weight by providing users with an all-in-one solution, eliminating the bulk and inconvenience of carrying additional drives and cables.

For enhanced outdoor viewing, the Portégé R500 series incorporates the world’s first widescreen 12.1-inch transreflective LED backlit display, a feature that embraces the variety of lighting scenarios in which laptop computers are used including direct sunlight.  Indoors, the LED backlit display produces an image rich in color saturation and superb quality.  Outdoors, the transreflective screen lets the sun’s light pass through and reflects it out to bring the images on the display to life so users can switch off the LED backlighting off while outdoors and decrease overall battery consumption.  This feature also makes the Toshiba Portégé R500 series an ideal choice for environmentally conscious users.  This innovative display technology also enables users to expand their mobile computing boundaries beyond the traditional four walls of their office, home or local coffee shop to include locations with direct sunlight.

Measuring as thin as 0.77-inches, the Portégé R500 series uses Toshiba’s proprietary High Density Mounting Technology process to enable dual-sided motherboard component mounting.  This innovative technology produces a motherboard that is one-third the size of a mainstream 15.4-inch notebook’s motherboard, while still providing users the same functionality.

The more than eight hours of battery life(3) of the Portégé R500-S5007V gives users a full work day of normal computing on a single charge.  To achieve this extended computing life, Toshiba subjected key system components to meticulous energy efficiency evaluation.  Key Portégé R500-S5007V components use low power consumption technology including both the 128GB SSD and an ultra low voltage processor.

For executive durability and security, the Portégé R500-S5007V incorporates Toshiba’s EasyGuard(TM) Technology(4) including advanced encryption, multiple level passwords and a fingerprint reader.  These innovative features help prevent theft, and protect against unauthorized access to the users system, helping keep confidential information secure. In terms of data protection, the elimination of all mechanical moving parts from the hard drive Toshiba has designed a machine that further enhances the level of reliability and durability.

          Additional information about Toshiba’s EasyGuard Technology is available at www.easyguard.toshiba.com

The Portégé R500-S5007V Recommended Configuration (MSRP $2,999)(5)

·         Genuine Windows Vista(TM) Business (32-bit version)

o        Downgrade media for Genuine Windows XP Professional

·         Intel(R) Core(TM) 2 Duo Processor U7700(6)

o        1.33GHz, 2MB L2, 533MHz FSB with 64 bit(7)

·         2048 PC2-5300 DDR2 SDRAM(8)

·         128GB Serial ATA solid state drive(1)

·         12.1-inch diagonal widescreen high brightness display

o        1280 x 800 (WXGA) – Transreflective backlit LED

·         Intel(R) Graphics Media Accelerator 950(9)

·         7mm, 8xDVD-SuperMulti (+/-R Single Layer) drive supporting 9 formats

·         Intel(R) Wireless Wi-Fi Link 4965AGN(10)

·         Intel(R) PRO/1000 - 10/100/1000 Ethernet

·         Bluetooth(R) 2.0 + EDR

·         3-Year Standard Limited Warranty(11)

Complete product specifications for all models within the Portégé R500 Series are available at www.explore.toshiba.com/laptops/portege/R500.

The Portégé R500 Series is available with a three-year standard, limited warranty(11), which includes carry-in support at Authorized Service Providers throughout the country; or customers may utilize any of the 4,460 UPS Stores and Mail Boxes Etc. locations nationwide for packaging and delivery of the product to a centralized depot for prompt turnaround service.  Customers can also choose to upgrade the notebooks’ service plans, including up to four years of extended warranty coverage.

All new Toshiba notebooks are RoHS-compatible(12), effectively reducing the environmental impact by restricting the use of lead, mercury and certain other hazardous substances.  Beginning in the third Quarter of 2008, Toshiba will offer a computer trade-in and recycling program for all manufacturer’s PCs to reduce environmental impact and promote efficient utilization of resources.  To learn more about this free PC recycling program or to find out how to recycle other consumer electronic products, please visit: www.toshiba.eztradein.com/toshiba.

Multimedia: Portege_R500

About Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc. (TAIS)

Headquartered in Irvine, Calif., TAIS is comprised of four business units: Digital Products Division, Imaging Systems Division, Storage Device Division, and Telecommunication Systems Division. Together, these divisions provide mobile products and solutions, including industry leading portable computers; projectors; imaging products for the security, medical and manufacturing markets; storage products for automotive, computer and consumer electronics applications; and telephony equipment and associated applications.

TAIS provides sales, marketing and services for its wide range of information products in the United States and Latin America.  TAIS is an independent operating company owned by Toshiba America, Inc., a subsidiary of Toshiba Corporation, which is a global leader in high technology and integrated manufacturing of electrical and electronic components, products and systems, as well as major infrastructure systems. Toshiba was founded in 1875, and today operates a global network of more than 740 companies, with 198,000 employees worldwide and annual sales surpassing $76 billion.  For more information on Toshiba's leading innovations, visit the company's Web site at www.toshiba.com.