Fans of mobile computing have new products from Toshiba America Information Systems and Samsung Electronics America to choose from in 2007.

Toshiba unveiled its new Qosmio audio-video notebook computer at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The notebook includes an integrated HD DVD-R optical drive and can burn up to 30GB of data onto a single HD DVD recordable disk. The HD DVD-R optical drive also plays HD DVD movies at a resolution six times sharper than the DVD format, company officials said.

“We are pleased to return to CES to showcase the new Qosmio, which not only will play high-definition video, but provide users with the power to create and burn custom HD DVDs with as much as 30GB of information of their choosing,” said Jeff Barney, Toshiba’s vice president of marketing for the Digital Products Division, in a statement.

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The notebook can also natively perform as a high-definition TV tuner and digital video recorder, Toshiba officials said. Pricing and availability will be announced in the first quarter of 2007, officials added.

Samsung, meanwhile, showcased its new Ultra Mobile PC model, the Q1P SSD. Developed with time-critical applications in mind, the Q1P SSD uses an SSD solid-state flash memory-based hard drive. Samsung officials said the model is intended as a companion PC for executives, managers, small-business owners and others seeking PC capabilities whenever desktop computers and notebooks are impractical.

“What began as a collaborative project among Samsung, Microsoft and Intel has continued to flourish and evolve,” said Bret Berg, Samsung’s senior product marketing manager of mobile computing products, in a statement.

“Use of the solid-state flash memory-based hard drive allows the Q1 UMPC to be used in applications where instant access to data is critical, and where the adverse environmental conditions make use of a rotational hard disk drive-based system impractical. The enhanced capabilities of the Q1P SSD UMPC serve as a perfect example of the natural progression of Samsung’s Q1 product line and our commitment to continuing the development and growth of this new product category.”

The Q1P SSD features 32GB of SSD (solid-state NAND) flash memory, as opposed to the traditional 1.8GB. The Q1P SSD model’s battery life is also improved, as it requires less power to run the flash-based SSD hard drive than a conventional, rotational media-based hard drive.

In addition, the mobile PC offers wireless communication capabilities that include Wi-Fi and Bluetooth for easy Internet access. It is currently available with an MSRP of $1,999.

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Toshiba, Samsung Showcase Mobile PCs at CES

Brian Prince

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