Hammered by Apple and Samsung in the tablet market Toshiba is set to have another crack at rescuing market share in the consumer market with a new range of convertible notebooks and a model that looks like a Lenovo Yoga copycat.
The Japanese Company who is currently being challenged by Acer and Lenovo in the Australian market is keen to rebuild market share following the exit of both Samsung and Sony from the PC market.
Harvey Norman stores are currently re ranging Acer products and both JB Hi Fi and Dick Smith are running heavy promotions for current Acer products ahead of a new range from the Taiwanese Company.
Among the products on offer from Toshiba will be a new Toshiba Satellite Radius which is a 15.6-inch convertible with a 360-degree hinge that offers five usage modes: Laptop, tablet, presentation, audience, and tabletop device.
It’s been described as a “knock off” of a current Lenovo model that is proving highly successful with consumers.
Engadet said “Toshiba is the latest PC maker to rip off Lenovo’s Yoga line”.
In a briefing in the USA Toshiba’s Senior Product Marketing Manager Carrie Cowan pointed out that Lenovo doesn’t offer a Yoga model with a display this large. “We’re targeting the mobile worker who needs to make presentations on the road,” said Cowan. “This is a high-end laptop that’s convertible.”
Senior Toshiba executives have said that the Toshiba is looking to improve sales of tablets and combination notebooks by introducing new products that are thinner form factors, lighter and include TruTouch keyboards and IPS LCD screens.
Among the new products set to be launched by Toshiba is a Satellite Click 2 two-in-one notebook/tablet model that comes in two configurations called the Click 2 and the Click 2 Pro?
Both models include interlocking click-together screens and keyboards and detachable 13.3-inch IPS LCD touchscreens, built-in 802.11ac Wi-Fi connectivity and Windows 8.1 OS.
The Satellite Click 2 is also one of Toshiba’s first devices to feature an on- board sound system tuned by Skullcandy and DTS.
After earlier this month launching a notebook with a 4K screen that sucks battery power the new Click 2 model has a 1,366 X 768p HD resolution screen and is powered by an Intel Core i5 processor.
The Click 2 Pro runs an i7. The Click 2 Pro has a FullHD screen and is 1.982 centimetres thick.
It includes a built-in MicroSD slot, MicroHDMI and MicroUSB 2.0 ports, and wireless display support and Intel WiDi for screen sharing to big screen TVs.
In the USA Toshiba has introduced a special premium edition with the option of 128GB solid-state storage in the screen, a 500GB hard drive, and backup battery it also has a full-size illuminated keypad.
In tablets, Toshiba is adopting a two-pronged OS strategy, offering Windows and Android-based units, and introduced a new Satin Gold colour in its Windows-based line.
In the USA the Toshiba tablet are called Encore, the 2 tablets run Windows 8.1 and include 8- and 10-inch touchscreens, quad-core Intel Atom processors, and front- and rear-facing cameras (5 megapixels in the back).
Both tablets can be configured with up to 64GB of on-board storage and also feature a MicroSD card slot supporting MicroSDXC cards up to 128GB, as well as a MicroUSB 2.0 port.
In addition, Encore 2 tablets provide video chat with an HD webcam and 5-megapixel rear camera with autofocus. Encore 2 tablets also include a one-year subscription to Office 365 Personal with access to full versions of Word, Excel, Power Point, OneNote and Outlook.
Toshiba management in Australia are not saying when the new products will be launched in Australia however retailers have told ChannelNews that a new Toshiba range will go on sale in the second half of 2014.
