Toshiba's lastest Qosmios take aim at gamers, filmmakers

To appease gamers, filmmakers and users who want a portable notebook, Toshiba introduced three new notebooks in its Digital Products Division (DPD) yesterday.

The Qosmio G55, using the Cell processor currently used in the Sony PlayStation 3, has been designed specifically for multimedia enthusiasts. The notebook is available with up to 500 GB of storage, and is the first Toshiba product to ship with an 18.4-in. screen.

Under the new "Quad Core HD Processor" name, Toshiba, Sony and IBM worked together to create the Cell processor used in the PS3 and several supercomputers.

The Qosmio X305, a gaming notebook, is being promoted as a portable gaming notebook. It has an NVidia GeForce 9800 GTX, can support up to 1GB VRAM, up to 400 GB of storage, and has a red-flamed paint exterior with Toshiba's Fusion finish.

Meanwhile, the Qosmio F55 is a little more cost-conservatie, with NVidia's GeForce 9700 GTS notebook with the 15.4-in. screen, an NVidia GeForce 9700 GTS video card, and most notably integrated GPS and Garmin software. Owners will be able to use the Garmin software and have access to points of interest without the need of an Internet connection.

All three notebooks will have an HDMI port, eSATA port, and integrated multimedia buttons. Toshiba did not mention if the notebooks will ship with Blu-ray players, now that its own HD DVD optical drive was discontinued earlier in the year.

Pricing and additional hardware specifications will be available later this summer. Previously, Toshiba's Qosmio laptop line had just one model, the G45 notebook, which was designed for users interested in multimedia.