July 1, 2007
John Aebi-Magee

This notebook is under 2.5 pounds. Not only that, Toshiba has announced that in late 2007 the weight will be reduced to 1.7 pounds when they replace the hard drive with a 64GB solid state drive. That beats all other 12 inch notebooks by a long shot. I pulled this article from a press release issued by Toshiba in early June 2007. I have edited the release slightly by removing some of the BS. Here is a LINK to the full release.

IRVINE, Calif. — Toshiba’s Digital Products Division, a division of Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., announced the Portégé® R500 Series ultraportable notebook computer incorporating several world’s first technologies. Toshiba’s Portégé R500 Series is the world’s thinnest notebook series with an integrated optical disk drive; the world’s first notebook to include a 7mm optical drive; the world’s first widescreen 12.1-inch indoor/outdoor transreflective backlit LED screen; and the world’s longest battery life1 in a widescreen 12.1-inch notebook.

The Portégé R500 Series is the world’s thinnest widescreen 12.1-inch notebook with an integrated optical disk drive. It is also the world’s first notebook with an integrated seven millimeter optical disk drive, a feature that helps the system maintain its ultraportable form factor while increasing the system’s overall productivity level. The inclusion of an integrated 7mm DVD-SuperMulti drive into a system measuring as thin as 0.77-inches2 and weighing 2.4-pounds3 eliminates the bulk and inconvenience of carrying external drives and cables, making it Toshiba’s ultimate ultraportable mobile computing solution.

The Portégé R500 Series is the world’s first notebook computer to incorporate a widescreen 12.1-inch indoor/outdoor transreflective LED backlit display. This unique innovation is ideal for usage in virtually any type of lighting condition, including direct sunlight. Indoors, the LED backlit display produces an image, rich in color saturation and superb quality. Outdoors, the transreflective screen uses natural sunlight to bring the display’s colors and images to life. Integrating a transreflective screen enables users to expand their mobile computing boundaries beyond the traditional four walls of their office, home or local coffee shop to include locations with direct sunlight.

Toshiba’s Portégé R500 Series features the world’s longest battery life on a widescreen 12.1-inch notebook1. To achieve this extended computing life, Toshiba subjected all system components to meticulous evaluation to ensure users can experience up to a full work day of normal computing on a single charge.

To achieve this ultracompact foot print, Toshiba utilized its proprietary High Density Mounting Technology process to create a miniature motherboard with dual-sided component mounting. This innovative process allowed Toshiba to drastically reduce the size of the motherboard and enhance its overall functionality by providing enough system real estate for the inclusion of an integrated 7mm optical disk drive.

The Portégé R500 Series incorporates Toshiba’s third generation EasyGuard™ Technology4 for executive durability to provide a more reliable and secure mobile computing experience. EasyGuard Technology features found on the Portégé R500 Series include:

• HDD Protection—Recognizing that the hard disk drive (HDD) is one of the most critical components and that accidentally dropping a notebook rarely occurs in a linear motion, Toshiba implemented the 3D accelerometer, a mechanism which detects acceleration from all directions. The 3D accelerometer helps guard the HDD against awkward accidental drops, including a spinning, falling notebook, by rapidly removing the HDD head from between the HDD platters, better protecting the notebook in all three rotational dimensions of pitch, roll and yaw.
• Spill Resistant Keyboard—The spill resistant keyboard5 helps to protect against accidental spills of liquids, including soda, beer and coffee with cream and sugar, an upgrade from the previous protection against water. This enhanced feature affords users time to save work and shut down the system in the event of an accidental spill—helping to prevent the loss of data.

  A typical configuration demonstrates the various specifications and price options available within the Portégé R500 Series:

  Portégé R500-S5002 Recommended Configuration (ESUP $2,1496)
  • Genuine Windows Vista™ Business (32-bit version)
  • Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor U76007
    • 1.20GHz, 2MB L2, 533MHz FSB with 64-bit8
  • 1024MB PC2-5300 DDR2 SDRAM memory9
    • One memory slot available
  • 120GB (5400 RPM); Serial-ATA hard disk drive10
  • 7mm, 8xDVD-SuperMulti (+/-R Single Layer) drive supporting 9 formats
  • 12.1-inch diagonal widescreen highbrightness display
    • 1280 x 800 (WXGA) – Transreflective backlit LED
  • Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 950 with 64MB11
  • Intel® Wireless13 WiFi Link 4965AGN12 (802.11a/g/n)
  • Bluetooth® 2.0 + EDR
  Portégé R500-S5001X Recommended Configuration (ESUP $1,9996)
  • Genuine Windows® XP Professional
  • Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor U76007
    • 1.2GHz, 2MB L2, 533MHz FSB with 64-bit8
  • 1024MB PC2-5300 DDR2 SDRAM memory9
    • One memory slot occupied
  • 120GB (5400 RPM) Serial-ATA (SATA) hard disk drive10
  • 7mm, 8xDVD-SuperMulti (+/-R Single Layer) drive supporting 9 formats
  • 12.1-inch diagonal widescreen highbrightness display
    • 1280x800 (WXGA) Transreflective backlit LED
  • Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 95011
  • Intel® Wireless13 WiFi Link 4965AGN12 (802.11a/g/n)
  • Bluetooth® 2.0 + EDR

In the third quarter of 2007, Toshiba plans to further reduce the weight of the Portégé R500 Series to 1.72 pounds, effectively creating the world’s lightest widescreen 12.1-inch notebook14. A key feature to achieving this is the adoption of a 64GB solid state drive. Using a solid state drive, users will see improvements in system responsiveness, reliability and durability due to eliminating all moving parts from this select Portégé R500 configuration. Complete product specifications for all models within the Portégé R500 Series are available at www.toshiba.com/R500.

The Portégé R500 Series is available with a three year standard, limited warranty15, which includes carry-in support at Authorized Service Providers throughout the country; or customers may utilize any of the 4,460 UPS Stores and Mail Boxes Etc. locations nationwide for packaging and delivery of the product to a centralized depot for prompt turnaround service. Customers can also choose to upgrade the notebook’s service plans, including up to four years of extended warranty coverage.

All new Toshiba notebooks are RoHS-compatible16, effectively reducing the environmental impact by restricting the use of lead, mercury and certain other hazardous substances. Toshiba also offers a computer trade-in and recycling program to reduce environmental impact and promote efficient utilization of resources. All Toshiba computers qualify for free recycling, while non-Toshiba computers and other consumer electronic products can be recycled for a small fee. For more information please visit: www.reuse.toshiba.com.

For more information on Toshiba products visit www.toshiba.com.