Toshiba Portégé R700 Laptop: Light As A Feather, Strong Like Bull
By Brian Barrett on June 21, 2010 at 2:30 PM
All those ultraportables using Intel’s ULV Core processors just got taken to school: Toshiba’s Portégé R700 is as light as a MacBook Air, as powerful as a MacBook Pro, and measures an inch thick with a DVD drive. Standard.
Putting a full voltage processor in such a thin and light frame really is a neat trick, one that Toshiba accomplished in part with something they’re calling Airflow Cooling Technology. And while most companies are stripping ultraportable notebooks of their DVD drives—usually citing space and weight issues—Toshiba’s managed to keep theirs in a laptop that starts at three pounds.
When Mark reviewed last year’s Portégé R600, the main selling points were the weight and the 512GB SSD. That wasn’t enough to justify the $US3500 price tag and bland design cues. With the R700, Toshiba’s addressed both of those points with aplomb: the consumer version of this year’s Portégé (the R705) starts at $US899, and a Core i7 business-minded model with a 128GB SSD runs $US1600. As for the design, Toshiba still hasn’t hit a home run, but the new Portégé definitely has more swagger to it than previous generations:
The other key specs are clearly geared towards business users: two USB 3.0 ports, four USB 2.0 ports, HDMI, RGB, ExpressCard, optional nine-cell battery for 12.5 hours of use. The R705 comes in blue, and takes away the ExpressCard slot but adds optional Intel Wi-Di technology.
You could nitpick about the R700′s Intel integrated graphics, but it’s not meant for heavy gaming or multimedia use, and doesn’t pretend to be. It’s for road warriors who want the biggest combination of power and portability they can find, and for the rest of us who like a laptop light enough to take from room to room without sacrificing performance.
The Portégé R700 is available now, while the R705 will be available at Best Buy starting June 27th.
Toshiba Introduces World’s Lightest 13.3-Inch Full-Performance
Ultraportable Laptop With Integrated DVD Drive
25th Anniversary Edition Portégé R700 Features New Airflow Cooling Technology and
Honeycomb Rib Structure, Allowing for Full-Voltage Processor Performance in Ultraportable
Form Factor
IRVINE, Calif. – June 21, 2010 – Building on a long history of industry firsts and ultraportable
laptop innovations, Toshiba’s Digital Products Division (DPD), a division of Toshiba America
Information Systems, Inc., today announced the Portégé® R700, the U.S version of the world’s
lightest 13.3-inch full-performance ultraportable laptop with an integrated DVD drive1. The
Portégé R700 provides business users with unprecedented performance and durability in a
highly mobile product with prices starting under $US1,000.
With a starting weight of just three pounds2 and about one inch thin, the Portégé R700 is able
to support the latest Intel® Core™ family of full-powered processors as a result of new Airflow
Cooling Technology. This innovative new cooling system co-developed by Toshiba and Intel
uses directed streams of fresh air to cool the heat-generating components so business users
can get the performance, mobility and longer battery life they need to stay productive on the
The Portégé R700 also features a light, yet durable magnesium alloy casing reinforced with a
new honeycomb rib design incorporated within the palm rests and base of the laptop. Similar
to technology used in aerospace construction, this structural enhancement to the laptop
provides increased rigidity and durability.
The laptop also features Toshiba’s EasyGuard® Technology, which helps protect the laptop
from jolts, spills and theft. This includes added protection around system components, a Hard
Drive Impact Sensor and spill-resistant keyboard as well as a host of software that
continuously checks the performance and functionality of the system.
“Portégé ultraportable laptops are not only a demonstration of Toshiba’s superior engineering
and craftsmanship, but our ability to innovate to meet the demands of businesses,” said Carl
Pinto, vice president of product development, Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc.,
Digital Products Division. “The Portégé R700 delivers the ultimate mobile experience at
breakthrough prices that businesses have been waiting for, providing both performance and
battery life within an extremely thin and light, yet durable form factor without compromising
key features such as an integrated DVD drive.”
With an all-new sophisticated design that will turn heads in the boardroom, the Portégé R700
features a 13.3-inch diagonal HD widescreen LED-backlit display3, a premium raised tile
keyboard and a wide TouchPad™ with customizable Multi-touch Control that makes typing and
navigation easy and comfortable.
Equipped with Windows® 7 Professional, the laptops include a wealth of features and ports
required by business users, including spacious hard drives, fast DDR3 RAM, the ability to dock
to a port replicator, an ExpressCard™ slot, an eSATA/USB combo port with Sleep-and-Charge4,
as well as a built-in DVD SuperMulti drive and Webcam. The Portégé R700 also features a
high-capacity six-cell battery with a battery life rating of up to 8.5 hours5. An optional nine-
cell battery that can remain on when docked will increase the battery life rating up to 12.5
A new High-Speed Port Replicator for the Portégé R700 (sold separately for $US199.00 MSRP6)
provides fast access to a desktop environment and eliminates the hassle of connecting
multiple cables. The port replicator features a host of ports, including two ultrafast USB 3.0
ports, four USB 2.0 ports, Gigabit Ethernet as well as Line-In/Line-Out audio ports, HDMI, RGB
and Serial connections.
“Business PC buyers want lighter, thinner notebook designs, but our research shows that they
aren’t willing to compromise on performance and features to get to those smaller sizes,” said
Bob O’Donnell, vice president, Clients and Displays research at IDC. “Integrating high-
performance CPUs and an optical drive, while still maintaining a good price point, are key to
making these lighter notebook designs more successful in the marketplace.”
The laptop will be available in three configurations: the Portégé R700-S1310 features the Intel
Core i3 processor7 and a 500GB8 hard drive for $US999.00 MSRP. The Portégé R700-S1320
features the Intel Core i5-520M processor and a high-speed 320GB 7200RPM hard drive for
$1,299.00 MSRP. The Portégé R700-S1330 features the powerful Intel Core i7-620M processor
and a 128GB solid state drive9 for $US1,599.00 MSRP. All three configurations come with 4GB
DDR3 memory10 and a Standard Three-Year International Limited Warranty11.
Consumer Model Also Available
Toshiba will also offer a consumer edition of the laptop, the Portégé R705. Sold exclusively at
Best Buy for $US889.99 MSRP, the laptop will feature a Magnesium Blue cover and will be
powered by the Intel Core i3 processor, 4GB of DDR3 memory and a 500GB hard drive. In
addition, the Portégé R705 will feature Intel Wireless Display for wirelessly connecting the
laptop to a big screen HDTV. The Portégé R705 will not include ExpressCard or docking
capabilities.
EPEAT Gold-rated Eco-conscious Design
The Portégé R700 is designed to be environmentally conscious with power-efficient, mercury-
free LED backlit display, meets the rigorous requirements of the Energy Star® 5.0 standard
and achieved industry-leading Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT®)
Gold status. The laptop is also RoHS compatible, effectively reducing the environmental
impact by restricting the use of lead, mercury, cadmium and certain other hazardous
substances.
Availability
Portégé R700 business laptops will be available today through select Toshiba Preferred
Partner Program resellers, e-tailers and directly at toshibadirect.com.
The Portégé R705 will be available at Best Buy stores nationwide on June 27, 2010.
