Toshiba launches new business laptops
Tecra and Satellite Pro models boast Windows 7
By Rosemary Hattersley | PC Advisor | Published: 09:46, 15 February 2010
Toshiba is playing to its strengths in the business market with the announcement of two new models in its Tecra range. The Tecra A11 is a 15in Windows 7 Professional model while the Tecra M11 has a 14in display.
They weigh a fairly chunky 2.5kg and 2.4kg, respectively. This heft comes as a bit of a surprise to those used to dainty proportions of laptops of this size in the ultraportable category.
However, Toshiba knows what it's doing: according to GfK market reports, the Japanese company holds third place overall in the UK for laptop sales (after HP and Acer) but is the biggest vendor or business laptops. Here, says GfK, Toshiba has a commanding lead, accounting for 26.7 percent of all business models sold.
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Furthermore, sales graphs presented to UK journalists by Ken Chan, Toshiba's senior product manager, indicate that margins in business laptops are holding steady. While the sweet spot for laptop sales as a whole is around £400, for business laptops the most popular prices are between £500 and £550 - the same if not better than a year ago. Accordingly, the new Satellite Pro S500 laptop it's just announced with cost £499 and be pitched at the small-to-medium-sized business or corporate user.
The two new Tecra models, meanwhile, are described as "robust and reliable" business laptops. They are offered in a choice of 32bit Windows 7 Professional or Windows XP and have 250GB hard disks, integrated 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, Ethernet and optional 3G modules.
An accelerometer built in to the machines monitors the orientation of the hard disk and, should this suddenly vary, can automatically park the disk heads and help salvage data that may otherwise be lost if the laptop is dropped or bumped.
Toshiba LifeSpace utilities preinstalled on the Tecra models as well as its other laptops give owners a real-time indication of the machine's hard disk health, power consumption and carbon emissions saved by using the machine in Eco Mode.
The Toshiba Tecra is available immediately while the M11 model, which boasts enhanced security features, goes onsale in March.
