The Portege Z830 is ultra-portable and thin, but it doesn’t leave you wanting for ports and connectivity. Along the sides of the aluminum and magnesium case you’ll find Ethernet, HDMI, VGA, an SD card reader, headphone jack, two USB 2.0 ports and a solitary USB 3.0 connection. The keybaord is also backlit, so you don’t have to worry about trying to work in the dark.

The Toshiba Portege Z830 Ultrabook will start under $1,000

Under this great looking exterior, you’ll have a choice of Intel Core i3, i5 or i7 Sandy Bridge processors, integrated graphics and solid state drives. The entry level model will reportedly start at under $1,000, which is a first for the Ultrabook notebooks. No word on what that notebook will be packing, but I’d venture to guess a Core i3 processor and a 64GB SSD.

The Toshiba Portege Z830 has a 47Whr battery that Toshiba claims can last for up to 8 hours. It will be interesting to see if Toshiba delivers on all of these promises and gives the Macbook Air a run for its money in November.

Toshiba Portege Z830 Front, Closed.

Paul Miller was able to go hands on with the Portege Z830 at IFA in Berlin and had the following to say about the Ultrabook’s design and hinge,

The exterior shell is very high quality and sturdy. It seems like it’ll do a good job of avoiding scratches and dents, and it’s a leap ahead from the flimsy “thin and light” category of yore. Toshiba was talking up the hinge design, and it is indeed rather magical: it takes a feather touch to lift the lid, meaning you don’t have to brace the rest of the laptop when you’re folding out the screen, but in no way does the hinge feel flimsy or cheap as a result.

Head over to The ThisIsMyNext for more impressions and hands on shots, or enjoy the press shots below.

Toshiba Portege Z830 is the Ultrabook You’ve Always Wanted at under $1,000 is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

The new solid state drives are likely from Samsung and offer speedier read and write speeds. Anandtech put the new drives through the paces and found the following speed bumps.

What does this mean for MacBook Air owners and potential MacBook Air buyers? Unfortunately not much. While the speeds are faster, you can’t take your MacBook Air in for an upgrade and as Anandtech points out, when you buy a new MacBook Air you’re going to get whatever you get.

If you do want a faster SSD in your MacBook Air, or more memory than you can order from Apple, check out the OWC Mercury Aura Pro Express SSD upgrade kit which offers larger and faster MacBook Air SSDs. The kits claim to deliver a 68% increase in performance and come in sizes up to 360GB. Unfortunately with prices ranging from $499 to $1,179 you may want to just wait for Apple to offer a faster and larger SSD option or pick up a more affordable external hard drive.

MacBook Air Notebooks Get Faster SSDs, Luck of the Draw is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

Toshiba Qosmio Glasses Free 3D Prototype

We’ve seen a collection of glasses free 3D TVs and glasses free 3D notebooks in person, including the best looking one which uses facial tracking to configure the 3D image relative to your position. Unfortunately, the upcoming Toshiba notebooks appear to be using a lenticular lens sheet to provide a 3D display.

The shift to glasses free 3D displays is a double-edged sword. On one hand, you no longer need to carry and wear a pair fo glasses that are certain to draw stares in public, and glasses free 3D is supposed to reduce eye strain that comes from watching too much 3D content.

On the other side, there can be some background shift in a glasses free 3D setup, which could lead to wobbling in the background which would at the least be distracting and at the most could actually play into eye strain or headaches.

That’s not to say that Toshiba isn’t working on these very issues, but it is a good reminder that we still have a way to go before 3D notebooks and glasses free 3D notebooks enter mainstream. Traditional 3D notebooks, with glasses have hit the market in mass, but Tom’s Hardware reports that, “sales are lackluster at best.”

The Toshiba glasses free 3D notebook is rumored to be on track for a release later this year, but there has been no pricing or images announced.

If you are thinking of waiting, keep in mind that 1st generation technology often comes with a high price and a few sacrifices in terms of use or quality. If you just want to watch 3D movies from time to time or game in 3D at home, you may be better off buying a 3D notebook that is on the market right now and sticking with the glasses.

Toshiba Rumored to Deliver Glasses Free 3D Notebook This Year is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

The Toshiba Portege R800 is expected to come in four models when Toshiba finally brings the new line to the States. The new Portege R800 notebooks start at $889 and use the new Sandy Bridge 2nd Generation Intel Core i processors.

All of the models that appeared on Toshiba included 4GB DDR3 RAM, USB 3.0, a 640GB hard drive and integrated Intel HD graphics to power the 13.3″ display.

Toshiba Portege R800 Models Available in the U.S.:

• Toshiba Portege R835-P50X with Intel Core i3-2310M processor – $889
• Toshiba Portege R835-ST3N01 with Intel Core i3-2310M processor – $899
• Toshiba Portege R835-P55X with Intel Core i5-2410M processor – $929
• Toshiba Portege R835-P56X with Intel Core i5-2410M processor – $929

These notebooks look like they will continue the tradition of the Toshiba Portege R700 series, offering one of the best ultraportable consumer notebook experiences, without a premium pricetag. When you compare the Toshiba R800 notebooks to the Samsung Series 9, they may be a bit thicker, but they offer a very durable body and are almost half the price. You also get an integrated DVD burner, which is not very common on 3.2 pound ultraportable notebooks.

Despite the small size and decently powerful processor, the previous R705 notebook didn’t overheat thanks to to an internal honeycomb structure that combines witht he magnesium body to deliver strength but also allows for ventilation to keep things cool.

If you are in the market for a 13″ ultraportable notebook you would be wise to wait a few weeks to see if Toshiba officially unveils these Portege R800 notebooks. The inclusion of the latest Intel processors will let you do much more with multimedia and even some light gaming.

Via CNet

Toshiba Portege R800 Notebooks Get Priced, Worth the Wait is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

The Dell Insipron duo was recently released and features a unique swiveling screen that turns the netbook into a tablet. Users can use the netbook in tablet mode by interacting with the touchscreen using Dell’s interface or with Windows 7 to use their regular programs. The Intel AppUp store can be installed for access to apps like Angry Birds.

Other President’s Day Notebook Deals include:

To take advantage of these savings, act fast since the notebooks are selling out quickly and the sale will end soon. Visit the Microsoft Store President’s Day Notebook Deals page for more info on each notebook.

President’s Day Notebook Deals: Dell Inspiron Duo for $399 and Others $150 off is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

The actual problem isn’t with the Intel 2nd Generation Core i family of processors, but rather a design error in the chipset which can, in 5% of the cases, cause degradation over time in a controller that could, over time, result in poor performance from hard drives and DVD drives.

While the problem was caught before the Sandy Bridge processor made it into the mid-range and low end machines that many customers purchase, individuals who purchased the newest high end notebooks that were just announced at CES will likely need to contact their place of purchase or the manufacturer for a refund or replacement.

The affected systems have Intel Core 15 and Core i7 Second Generation Processors, code named Sandy Bridge by Intel. To get a return or to exchange your affected laptop for a new model, see the table below which has details on the current recalls and refunds.

For more information on the Intel Cougar 6 Chipset recall stay tuned or ask a question in the comments below.

Intel Sandy Bridge Recall Info: HP, Samsung, MSI, Acer, Toshiba, ASUS, Dell & Lenovo is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

The Toshiba NB550D is powered by a dual core AMD C-50 1Ghz processor and can handle up to 4GB RAM which plays well with the included AMD Radeon 6250 GPU. The NB550D unfortunately won’t be coming stateside anytime soon, but you can still get a look at the green and black machine in NetbookNews

In addition to looks it’s interesting to see how the new processor compares to other machines, and if it can handle gaming and HD video. NetbookNews also put the machine to the test with a dull set of benchmarks and more importantly a video showing HD playback and gaming. If you want to see all the benchmarking numbers head over to the NetbookNews AMD Fusion C-50 benchmark post. While it doesn’t look like it will be your next multimedia machine, it can handle HD video in certain situations.

Toshiba NB550D w AMD C-50 APU Unboxed and Benchmarked (video) is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

The Qosmio prototype can display 3D video as long as it can pinpoint the position of a viewer’s eyes. So how does it do that? There’s some custom software that utilizes the notebook’s webcam to continuously track the viewer’s face and adjust the images on the display so that they appear as the 3D producers intend it to. The downside of relying on head tracking to create a 3D effect is that only one viewer can watch at a time.

On the back of the Toshiba Qosmio prototype are a bunch of electronics that makes glasses-free 3D possible. Obviously, this piggy-back unit will not be there when it comes to market, but the display will be thicker than normal displays in order to accomodate the extra components.

Toshiba reps said that they’re still trying to figure out which models will get this 3D feature.

The 3D movie clips looked great on the Toshiba Qosmio and it was a relief to see a 3D demo without having to put on yet another pair of glasses.

Toshiba Demos Glasses-Free 3D Qosmio Notebook is a post by Xavier Lanier from Notebooks.com.

The Satellite L655 will feature the 2nd generation Intel Core i3 and Core i5 dual-core processors. It has a 15.6-inch display and a 650GB hard drive. The memory is 4GB of DDR3 memory. All of these specs mean that it will handle most tasks like office work, Internet surfing, light-duty multimedia consumptions and creation, and even some casual gaming. What really stands out about these models is the wide range of colors including Grey, Black, Red, White and Brown. They will start at $699.99 and be available February.

Toshiba Refreshes the Mid-level Satellite L650 Series is a post by Kevin Purcell from Notebooks.com.

The first 500 customers can get the 15.6″ Toshiba Satellite Core i3 powered notebook, complete with 3GB of RAM and a built in fingerprint reader for $399.

To get the discounted price use the Toshiba coupon code DAY5 when you checkout at Toshiba.com. This deal ends at Midnight tonight, or after 500 purchases.

Toshiba C650 Specs:

• Intel® Core™ i3-370M processor — Free Upgrade!
• Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium
• 3GB memory — Free Upgrade!
• Fingerprint-resistant Trax Texture finish
• Built-in media card reader

Early Black Friday Deal: Toshiba Satellite C650 for $399 w/ Core i3 + Free Upgrades is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.