Toshiba has Apple’s Retina MacBook Pro in its sights with the Kirabook

Apple’s 13 and 15 inch MacBook Retina laptops are pretty much the only machines out there sporting high-res displays, but Toshiba looks keen to change that, with the first Windows-based notebook sporting a resolution higher than Full HD’s 1920×1080.

The newest machine to come from Toshiba, the Kira (or Kirabook) is the brand’s latest Ultrabook-class machine, with a build quality set to rival that of Apple, and a screen that will make many a computer user salivate.

“Kira is more than the culmination of 28-years of our computing heritage and the latest technologies and advancements,” said Mark Whittard, Toshiba’s Managing Director for Australia. “It’s a statement of luxury – through its craftsmanship, fit and finish and the exceptional overall experience.”

The new laptop features the company’s first use of PixelPure, an insanely high-resolution display technology that throws in a 2560×1440 resolution into a 13.3 inch screen, offering what is apparently a “90 percent increase above standard HD displays.”

Toshiba’s high-resolution screen isn’t all there is, as that lovely display sits behind a type of Corning glass we haven’t yet seen called “Concore” glass, which is fingerprint-resistant, while still working with ten point multitouch in Windows 8.

Third-generation Intel Core i5 or i7 processors can be found inside the Kira, while a 256GB drive keeps your files and 8GB RAM makes the system run efficiently. Magnesium is the material holding all of this in, with the alloy blended with a honeycomb-structure to make it even more solid than ever before.

Pricing starts at $1799 for the new machines, with the Kira available in stores across the country from May 5.