Toshiba shows off two laptop models in the average to low price range, and sporting an 80GB or 120GB HDD, up to 4GB of RAM, an ATI Radeon Xpress 200M graphics chipset, and 802.11a/b/g.

The 13.3-inch SS M40 comes with a Celeron 540 or Core 2 Duo T7100 processor (at 1.8GHz or 1.86GHz, respectively) and the 15-inch J63 has a 1.73GHz Celeron M530.

Japanese prices: the SS M40 ranges from $1531 to $1789 and the J63 sells for $1496 to $1651.

Today, Toshiba rolls out their latest Dynabook, the Santa Rosa-based Satellite WXW. At 8.6-pounds and more than 2-inches thick, this 17.1-incher has 256MB of DirectX 10-capable GeForce 8700M GT graphics, the new top-of-the-line 8M-series GPU from NVIDIA. The display touts a 1,680 x 1,050 pixel resolution with a 2.0GHz Core 2 Duo T7300, ±R dual-layer DVD burner and loads of in-and-outs — even HDMI for a quick digital-out to your new flat panel television. Available starting today in Japan with 1GB DDR2 / 120GB disk configurations starting at Â¥219,800 or about $1,805.

Toshiba today announced a new three dimensional (3D) memory cell structure the squeezes more into less by changing the way the various elements are stacked, in this case, 3D.

Existing 2D technologies stack two-dimensional memory array on top of another, repeating the same set of processes.

In contrast, the 3D increases memory cell density, is easier to fabricate, and does not produce much increase in chip area, as peripheral circuits are shared by several silicon pillars, the company explained.

NAND flash memory functions through batch processing of cells, in large numbers of elements connected in series. Toshiba’s new array increases density without increasing chip dimension, as the number of connected elements increases in direct proportion to stack height (32-layer stack realizes 10 times the integration of a standard chip formed with the same generation of technology)

Toshiba is whetting our gadget appetites with this sleek VARDIA hybrid HD DVD / HDD recorder in Japan. The 600GB RD-A600 and 300GB RD-A300 feature a pair of digital hi-vision HD tuners, Firewire, and HDMI and can write to HD DVD-R and DVD-RAM/R/RW media in addition to their respective hard disks. In fact, the HDD is the only point of divergence between the models. They’ll cost as much as $1,643 for the RD-A600 model when these start shipping later in the year.

Don’t count on a definite date though. Toshiba just released a HD-A2 HD DVD for $199 (after rebate), but their inventory is at zero, while Crutchfield had to increase the price by $100 as backlog orders come pouring in.
source: Impress

Who’s ready for another round of exploding laptop batteries? I’m sure everyone remembers that whole scandal last year where Sony laptop batteries were exploding left and right, leading to recalls and plenty of awkward moments for Sony. Well reports out of Japan suggest that one of the Sony batteries part of the Toshiba’s recall program caught fire back in April. Allegedly this incident isn’t related to the previous battery fires, but instead was caused by some other manufacturing oddity. Still, I bet neither Sony nor Toshiba especially want to be associated with these types of stories anymore.

More problems with SONY batteries… [Akihabaranews.com]