Toshiba to ship new Z Series ultrabooks for business market

PanARMENIAN.Net - Toshiba is preparing to ship a new range of Z Series ultrabooks for the business market based on Intel's Haswell 4th generation Core processors, comprising 13in, 14in and 15in systems sharing common accessories and docking, v3.co.uk reports.

Set to be available from the end of October, the new Toshiba Z Series offers businesses a full range of ultrabook options. The range kicks off with the 13.3in Portégé Z30, which effectively replaces last year's ultra-thin Portégé Z930.

It is complemented by a Portégé Z30t model that adds a touchscreen, while the 14.1in and 15.6in models will be marketed as the Tecra Z40 and Tecra Z50.

All of the models are based on Intel's latest Haswell 4th generation Core processors, with up to 16GB memory. Storage comprises up to 512GB mSATA flash solid state drives (SSDs) on the 13in units and a choice of rotating, SSD or hybrid drives on the larger models.

The 13in models are just 17.9mm thick and weigh in at 1.2kg, while the 14in and 15in models are just over 20mm thick and weigh 1.47kg and 1.79kg, respectively. All the systems are designed for reliability, with a tough magnesium alloy chassis and lid, plus a strengthened hinge and top cover, according to v3.co.uk.

Because the Z Series targets the business market, the new systems have with Windows 7 as standard, save for the touchscreen Portégé Z30t that will come with Windows 8.1.

In addition, all of the Z Series models have a smartcard reader Trusted Platform Module, Intel Active Management Technology (AMT) and Toshiba's own EasyGuard technologies. They also share a common docking station for connecting to desktop peripherals and can be provisioned with a common system image to make life easier for administrators.

This approach mirrors that taken by Fujitsu, which introduced commonality of system images, hardware and peripherals across its new corporate laptops.

Toshiba also announced the Tecra W50 mobile workstation, which boasts a Core i7 quad-core processor, up to 32GB memory and a 15.6in Full HD (1920x1080) display driven by a discrete Nvidia Quadro GPU. Pricing for all the new systems will be set closer to availability.