Three laptops could show the future of what Toshiba regards as how tablets and laptops should look, as Toshiba embraces hybrid form-factors with Microsoft’s love for touch in Windows 8.
Most computers made for Windows 8 should support touch. That just seems to be a general rule at the moment, as the latest version of Windows is still very reliant on poking and swiping at the screen, even with the latest update to the operating system which pulls back on this functionality.
Toshiba seems to have picked up on this, and for three new computers heading to stores shortly, touch is here in spades.
The first of these is the least expensive, and is a tablet packing in a 13.3 inch HD (1366×768) screen, quad-core Intel processor (a Pentium, no less!), 500GB hard drive, 4GB RAM, WiFi 802.11a/g/n/ac, Bluetooth, and Windows 8.1, as well as a keyboard dock that looks to borrow a similar design to what Toshiba used on last year’s Z10t.
At $899, Toshiba’s Satellite L30W looks to provide one of Toshiba’s first hybrid tablet laptop attempts for under a grand, and with the Pentium under the hood, we’re not expecting the greatest performance, though it should be enough for people who want the best of both worlds — tablet and laptop — without needing to fork out a lot of dough.
Interestingly, we’re seeing the sound on the L30W provided by Skullcandy here, which isn’t a brand we’ve ever seen associated with computer sound.
Moving on from here is the Satellite P30W, a similar sounding laptop with more grunt and a slightly higher price ($1599).
Once again, there’s a 13.3 inch tablet body connecting to a keyboard section, with an evolution on what Toshiba provided in the Z10t in more than just the form-factor.
Technically classed as an Ultrabook and yet also capable of delivering on the tablet design and build, Toshiba’s P30W brings an Intel Core i5 processor to the table with 4GB RAM, 128GB SSD, WiFi 802.11a/g/n/ac, Bluetooth, with the 13.3 inch screen upgraded to one of Full HD, making it a higher resolution at 1920×1080.
Also different from the L30W and showing its premium design is the sound, which isn’t from Skullcandy, but from Harman/Kardon.
And finally, there’s a machine that isn’t made for someone who necessarily needs a tablet. Maybe they want it some of the time, but most of the time, a regular laptop will do.
There are still many of us who need bigger machines, with sizes past the 11 and 13 inch mark, and that seems to be what Toshiba’s Satellite P50W, a 15.6 inch Full HD laptop that seems to be more about content creation than that of consumption.
With a big screen on-board, Toshiba has provided an Intel Core i5, 8GB RAM, 500GB hard drive, three USB 3.0 ports, more of that fast 802.11a/g/n/ac WiFi, Bluetooth, and a slightly different form-factor than the tablet keyboard docks seen in the other models.
Rather, Toshiba is using a design Lenovo has been trying in its Yoga, and that HP showed us in the Pavilion X360 recently, with a hinge that allows the screen section to swing around all the way — roughly 360 degrees — and become a very big tablet, or stand up on a desk to work as a screen that essentially stands up by itself.
That means the 15.6 inch laptop also becomes a 15.6 inch touchscreen tablet, provided you don’t mind carrying it around.
Toshiba’s Satellite P50W comes with a starting price of $1599, and availability for this laptop, as well as all the others mentioned in this article should be from July.
