Following Fujitsu, another Japanese electronics maker is ready to sell color e-book readers: Toshiba announced [JP] the so-called BookPlace DB50 today, a 7-Inch device that comes with direct access to big T’s BookPlace store (which currently offers around 43,000 different Japanese e-books and magazines).
Toshiba says they plan to expand the range of available titles to 100,000 by March this year, the largest in its home market. The store has been available in America since 2010. → Read More
So much excitement. This is my first CES and while MG may be correct to think that some of my fellow tech bloggers find this trip a tad tedious, I’m pink with barely controlled glee just from being here. But I’ve been excited about CES for a few weeks now, ever since I went to meet with Toshiba and get a sneak peek at their latest tablet.
The Excite X10 is now the world’s thinnest 10-inch tablet, measuring in at just .3 inches thick and weighing just 1.2 lbs. A brushed magnesium alloy finish graces its backside, with Corning Gorilla glass up front to prevent any scratching. It’s really a beauty. → Read More
TransferJet is having a hard time going mainstream, but Toshiba hasn’t given up on the close proximity wireless transfer technology yet: after taking the wraps off a small TransferJet LSI back in September last year, the company now announced it’s ready to begin shipping the first samples to electronics manufacturers.
Visitors of the CES 2012 (which kicks off on January 10 in Las Vegas) will be able to see the LSI in action at the Toshiba booth. → Read More
While the 7-inch Toshiba Thrive is much more comfortable in the hand than its 10-inch counterpart, many of the best features in big brother never migrated over to the 7-incher. That said, this still may be the slate for you if gaming and web-surfing take precedence over e-reading. Otherwise, I’d point you to the Amazon Kindle Fire. → Read More
Do you remember that 55-inch monster of a naked-eye 3D TV Toshiba unveiled back in October? The company now announced [JP] a date (December 10) and confirmed the final price (US$11,700) for the device. But there’s a drawback: Toshiba has still to decide if they will release the TV outside Japan, too.
To recap, the TV features 3,840×2,160 pixels resolution in 2D mode (that’s four times the resolution of full HD) and a solid 1,280×720 resolution in 3D mode. Users are not required to use glasses, just with the smaller naked-eye 3D TVs Toshiba started selling in Japan late last year. → Read More
The deal has been in the making for months, but today Sony, Toshiba and Hitachi made the mega merger official. The three companies signed definitive agreements with the Innovation Network Corporation of Japan (INCJ) to integrate their small- and medium-sized display businesses.
Under the deal, semi-public INCJ will hold 70% of Japan Display, Inc., a new company that will run the operations. Sony, Toshiba, and Hitachi will control 10% each when Japan Display starts its business in spring 2012. Japan Display will issue US$2.6 billion in new shares to INCJ through a third-party allocation. → Read More
If you thought the 4.5-Inch LCD screen with 720×1,280 pixels resolution Hitachi showed three weeks ago is cool, think again: Toshiba today took the wraps off a mobile LCD that’s even better. Sized at 6.1 inches, it boasts 2,560×1,600 pixels resolution and 498 pixels-per-inch density.
Needless to say, the direct-view-type screen is the first of its kind. It has a contrast ratio of 1,000:1, displays 16.7 million colors and offers a 176° viewing angle (horizontally and vertically). → Read More
Truth be told, I wasn’t very impressed with what electronics makers showed at the CEATEC 2011 tech exhibition – especially because a lot of the new products were “leaked” to the Japanese press before the event started.
However, here are a total of five of the coolest innovations Japanese companies showed at CEATEC 2011 in video form, delivered from our friends at Diginfo TV (YouTube channel). All the videos were shot directly on location and are in English. → Read More
Toshiba has announced today that three of their new Camileo camcorders will be hitting store shelves this month. There are a handful of features that all three cameras share: they all for example sport a swivelling 3-inch LCD touchscreen, on-screen video trimming, and the traditional barrel design. → Read More
You have an HDD/Blu-ray recorder connected to your TV but never enough space on it? Then Toshiba’s REGZA DBR-M190 might do the trick for you (if you live in Japan, at least). As with most devices at CEATEC 2011, the recorder was pre-announced [JP] by the company just ahead of the exhibition.
The DBR-M190 boasts no less than 5TB of storage: according to Toshiba, 4TB are reserved for the time-shift function, which allows users to simultaneously record up to six six terrestrial digital channels in SD for 15 days (the remaining terabyte can be used to store other programs). → Read More
If you thought Sharp’s 4K TV we’ve shown you last week is impressive, think again. Toshiba today unveiled a 55-inch LCD that boasts the same resolution (3,840×2,160 pixels, 4x full HD) but can also display pictures in 3D – no glasses required. The TV will be shown starting tomorrow during the CEATEC Japan 2011 exhibition near Tokyo.
Needless to say, the REGZA 55X3 [JP] is the first TV of its kind. Unfortunately, the resolution stands at “just” 1,280×720 in 3D mode. → Read More
Toshiba’s entrance into the Android tablet market was a pretty good one — Android 3.1 Honeycomb, a wide array of connectivity ports, and interchangeable batteries. But all those ports coupled with a 10-inch form factor made for quite the hefty slate.
Personally, I tend to favor the 7 to 8-inch tablet category, which is why I was so pleased to get a peek at Toshiba’s latest tab: The Thrive 7″. → Read More
If ever there was an audience for a silver and neon green laptop, kids would be it (and also maybe people who like lime green a lot). That said, Toshiba has just launched its updated kid-friendly laptop: the Satellite L735D.
Toshiba and Best Buy worked on this one together, and did quite a bit of research to make sure that the little ones were getting what they wanted. Which was a lot of silver and neon green. → Read More
Close proximity technology TransferJet is evolving. Toshiba has developed an LSI (pictured) that supports TransferJet and is designed specifically for mobile devices. The LSI is sized at just 4.0×4.0× 0.5mm and the smallest of its kind, according to Toshiba.
The company says the LSI achieves a receiving sensitivity of -78dBm, outperforming the value of the TransferJet standard itself (-71dBm) and making data transfer between two TransferJet-equipped devices more stable (it actually boasts the industry’s highest sensitivity). → Read More
At TechCrunch, we don’t just want you to survive, we want you to thrive. That’s why we’re offering one Toshiba Thrive tablet to one lucky commenter. What is a Thrive? It’s a 10-inch Honeycomber with plenty of gusto and it’s waiting to wing its way to your home, office, cloister, or dance hall. Here’s how to win. → Read More
This TV is a beast. It’s called the ZL2, and to be honest it’s the only TV I actually have gadget envy for right now. The rest of the 3D TVs out there rely on end-of-life active shutter glasses or immature polarized 3D, but this monster is going straight to the lenticular lenslets. This technique involves a layer of tiny lenses that direct the light in the direction of the viewer, with a slightly offset to send a different image to each eye. No glasses required.
Oh, and did I mention that this TV has a resolution of 3,840 x 2,160? That’s “quad-HD,” twice the height and width of 1080p and four times the pixels. → Read More
Just like the rumor stated, Toshiba used IFA 2011 to announce its latest Android tablet and it’s just as tiny as it looked. The AT200 packs a 1.2GHz TI OMAP 4430 CPU, up to 64GB of memory, and most of the ports that made the Toshiba Thrive popular: micro-USB, microSD, and micro-HDMI. Toshiba claims that the battery is good for “eight hours of video consumption.”
The Samsung Galaxy Tab suddenly looks a bit thick. The new Toshiba AT200 measures in at just 7.7mm, which is nearly a full millimeter less than both the slender GalTab and the iPad 2. But unlike the Galaxy Tab, the AT200 shouldn’t be mistaken for an Apple tablet. From the port locations, to the rear camera location, to the entire backplate, the AT200 looks nothing like an iPad. In fact, the brushed aluminum back looks wonderful and full dispels any myth created by the fugly Thrive Android tablet that Toshiba doesn’t know how design beautiful products anymore. → Read More
Yesterday, we reported about Sony, Hitachi and Toshiba planning to establish a joint venture for small and mid-size LCD panels in Japan. And today, the three companies, plus major shareholder Innovation Network Corporation of Japan, made the plan official.
As reported, the semi-public organization will control 70% of the venture (to be set up by the end of the year), with the other partners holding a 10% stake each. Tentatively named “Japan Display”, the venture will launch with a cool US$2.6 billion investment and instantly control 21.5% of the world market for small and medium-sized LCDs. → Read More
Quite big news from Sony, Hitachi, and Toshiba today: according to Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun [JP], the three companies today decided to merge their LCD businesses, at least for smaller and mid-sized screens used in smartphones, handheld gaming devices and tablets.
If the report is to be believed, a joint venture will be set up by the end of the year. What’s interesting is that the so-called Innovation Network Corporation of Japan, a semi-public organization, will control a whopping 70% of the newly formed company. The organization is ready to invest a total of US$2.6 billion (and fend off competition from South Korea, Taiwan and other places). → Read More
