With this year’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada just beginning, we’ve noticed that several computer hardware manufacturers in general – particularly those with ultrabook offerings – have been eager to reveal their new products to the press before admission begins to the general public.
Notwithstanding this observable trend, Toshiba has unveiled a 14-inch ultrabook to the press here at CES, and though the company is not ready to confirm hardware specifications, pricing or even a model name, we have learned that the device will be priced around $799 and should be available sometime in June 2012.
Source: Engadget
Toshiba’s 14-inch ultrabook measures in at a mere 0.78-inches thick – slightly more than its existing Portege Z835 and features a 1366 x 768 display, three USB ports (one USB 3.0), an SD card slot, Ethernet and HDMI jacks, a mic input and headphone sockets.
From an initial perspective, this ultrabook has much in common with Toshiba’s current Satellite lineup. The device has the same rounded edges and corners that are found on the Portege Z835. With this new generation, Toshiba has emphasized a minimalist approach to aesthetics and countors, keeping this ultrabook more in line with Apple’s MacBook Air and MacBook Pro lineups.
Source: The Verge
Of course, it is expected that many ultrabook manufacturers will attempt to subtly mimic Apple’s trend-setting notebook designs, if not outright copy them, and we believe 2012 is the prime year that traditional PC hardware manufacturers will attempt to outdo Apple’s original designs in every possible way. We saw the same trend occur in the smartphone industry in 2009, when a slew of various smartphone manufacturers attempted to outdo, if not outright mimic the aesthetic design of the first three iPhone generations.
Source: Engadget
Nevertheless, we expect Toshiba to release a non-reference design of this 14-inch ultrabook around Q3 2012 in summertime, when we will have detailed information on exact hardware specifications and pricing.