News

Toshiba Adds HD DVD to 'Satellite' Line

By Tim Conneally | Published October 1, 2007, 3:16 PM

Toshiba on Monday announced the availability of a new model in the manufacturer's Satellite series of laptops, the A205. This is the fulfillment of a statement the company made in March promising to make HD DVD more widely available in its more popular lines of computers.

The Satellite A205 equipped with HD DVD carries with it a retail price of $1,149.99 USD, approximately 30 percent higher than the Satellite model without the high-definition format, and the two share very similar specs.

An Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T5250 runs the system at 1.50 GHz. It also comes with 2 GB of RAM and a 200 GB, 4200 RPM hard drive. The screen is a 720p high-definition (1280x800 resolution WXGA) 15.4-inch diagonal widescreen display that features Toshiba's patented TruBrite technology.

Toshiba A205 HD DVD LaptopToshiba's initial HD DVD-enabled laptop was the Qosmio AV notebook PC, which was reported to weigh over 10 pounds (4.5 kg) in certain configurations. A bare-bones Satellite weighs just about 6 (2.72 kg) but the replacement of the DVD drive with an HD DVD will cause some weight gain.

Toshiba continues to be one of the biggest proponents of HD DVD. Company representatives were giving away handfuls of free HD DVDs at the Digital Life convention in New York this past weekend, and Toshiba is also offering a special deal with the A205. For a limited time, customers who purchase an HD DVD-enabled laptop also receive a mail-in offer for five free HD DVD titles. The offer is valid until February 28, 2008.

View comments by with a score of at least

A real beta process at work: Mozilla fires up Firefox 3.6 Beta 2

In the clearest sign yet that public input really does help the development process, a flurry of bug detections provoked Mozilla to release Beta 2 of the next Firefox.

Snow Leopard and Windows 7 still can't crack the netbook problem

Apple has killed Atom support in OS X 10.6.2 and Windows 7 Starter Edition is stripped of "basic" functionality.

Microsoft's Top 3 advances in Exchange Server 2010

The latest round of changes launched today will impact how admins deliver services to e-mail recipients, and how much companies will pay along the way.

Firefox turns five: Thanks for giving us a choice

Carmi Levy | Wide Angle Zoom: No longer the phoenix rising from the ashes, Mozilla has carried on more than just Netscape's legacy.

Kindle for PC opens in beta, underwhelms

Amazon has opened the beta of Kindle for PC, a companion to the Kindle, but little else.

European ministers approve watered-down 'neutral net' language

The latest provision in the EU's telecoms regulatory framework would let businesses cancel individuals' Internet access, if they go to court first.

It's the US vs. the EU over Oracle+Sun and the meaning of 'open source'

Now that the EU is a virtual country, the US Justice Dept. is taking a stand in favor of its view -- and against the EC's -- that MySQL will survive under Oracle.

Qualcomm: $1.3 billion Samsung licensing deal unrelated to fair trade violations

Samsung has come to a 15-year licensing deal with Qualcomm over 3G and 4G wireless technology.

Nokia's 'limited number' of recalled chargers exceeds 14 million

Today, the Finnish phone maker has begun a recall of mobile phone chargers that are a shock hazard.

Ubuntu 9.10 upgraders report frustration

For those Wine aficionados out there, beware of the remote possibility that your Linux system could be infected by Windows-seeking malware.

Supreme Court considers patentability of abstract methods today

Can software that executes a formula for a business process qualify for federal patents? An appeals court already said no, and inventors are making their case.