Toshiba Refreshes Business Notebook Lineup: Portege Z930, Portege R930, Tecra R940, R950

Along with its new consumer ultrabooks, Toshiba also announced it was refreshing its business-to-business notebook lineup with new Intel Ivy Bridge processors and security features. All come with a 3-year warranty, and will feature Toshiba's Smart Client Manager, a BIOS-level utility which uses IBM's Tivoli to handle power management, software patches, and security. Additionally, the R830, R940, and R950 will all be able to use the same port replicator, and will also be able to use the same 9-cell extended battery, which should be a relief to IT departments everywhere.

Portege Z930

Portege Z930

The Portege Z930 is a refresh of last year's Z830. It will feature 3rd generation Intel Core i3, i5, and i7 processors, a 13-inch, 1366 x 768 matte display, and a backlit keyboard and touchpad with discrete mouse buttons. As with the previous version, there's a fingerprint reader between the mouse buttons, but now there's one USB 3.0 port, in addition to two USB 2.0 ports, VGA, and HDMI. The notebook is just 0.63 inches thick and weighs 2.47 pounds. Starting at $1,249.

Portege R930

Portege R930

The Portege R930 is also a refresh of last year's R830. The only difference, looks-wise, is that the keyboard now has a matte, rather than a glossy finish. Processor options will include 3rd generation (Ivy Bridge) Intel Core i3, i7 and i7. It also has two USB 3.0 ports, one USB 2.0 port, and an eSATA/USB combo port, in addition to VGA and HDMI. An ExpressCard/54 slot is also present, as is a fingerprint reader and a 1.3-mp webcam. The R930 weighs about 3 pounds, measures 1.05 inches thick, and starts at $1,399.

Tecra R940

Tecra R940

Also an update to last year's Tecra R840, the Tecra R940 has a 14-inch, 1366 x 768p display, but now sports a 2.0-megapixel webcam, an upgrade over the previous version. In the middle of the matte keyboard is an Accupoint pointing stick, and two sets out mouse buttons. The notebook will be offered with 3rd generation Intel Core i5 and i7 processors, and ATI Thames Pro 64-Bit graphics, with 1GB of VRAM. Ports include two USB 3.0, one USB 2.0, one eSATA/USB, VGA, DisplayPort, and an ExpressCard/34 slot. Security features include a fingerprint and a SmartCard reader. The R940 will weigh about 4.19 pounds, and start at $1,199.

Tecra R950

Tecra R950

The Tecra R950 will have the same chassis as last year's Tecra R850, but come with newer Intel 3rd generation Core i5 and i7 processors, as well as a ATI Thames Pro 64-Bit discrete GPU, with 1GB of memory. Consumers will be able to opt for either a standard 1366 x 768p display, or a higher-res 1600 x 900 panel. Like the R940, an Accupoint pointing stick is in the middle of the (now) matte keyboard, and the R950 will also come with a 2.0-mp webcam. The notebook, which weighs roughly 5.29 pounds, will start at $1,179.

LAPTOP Reviews Editor