The Toshiba "Satellite Pro" Series Returns for $699

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Toshiba America today announced the Satellite Pro A200 and Satellite Pro A210 notebook series -- a new line of affordable &quot;business-essential&quot; notebooks for mobile professionals.

The Satellite Pro series (a series of business notebooks that Toshiba formerly removed from production) combines &quot;essential features&quot; and &quot;fundamental performance and connectivity at an economical price point.&quot; The Satellite Pro series is also Toshiba's first line of business notebooks to feature configurations with AMD dual core processors ... meaning customers can purchase a full-featured notebook for several hundred dollars less than an similarly equipped Intel machine.

Starting at $699, the Satellite Pro series offer economically priced configurations that provide users with the power and performance necessary for today's popular business applications, enabling the professional user to be mobile and productive.

The Satellite Pro A200 notebook features Intel technology and provides users with the performance, improved battery life and enhanced wireless connectivity they need. This mobile microarchitecture includes Intel Core 2 Duo Processors, Mobile Intel GM965 Express chipset and Intel PRO/Wireless4 3945ABG.

The Satellite Pro A210 series features AMD's &quot;Better by Design&quot; initiative that provides powerful notebook computing solutions and brings together superior components and technologies at an affordable price. The Satellite Pro A210 series features AMD Turion 64 X2 or AMD Athlon dual core processors, both of which include the AMD M690V chipset and Atheros 802.11b/g wireless capabilities.

The Satellite Pro A200 and Satellite Pro A210 series feature a 15.4-inch diagonal widescreen display with TruBrite Technology. Encased in a distinctive Onyx Blue chassis, the Satellite Pro A200 and Satellite Pro A210 eye-catching cases also house a DVD SuperMulti optical drive, making it easy to share or back up data onto CDs or DVDs.

The following pre-configured versions of the Satellite Pro A200 and Satellite Pro A210 series are now available on the Toshiba Direct website:

Satellite Pro A200-EZ2204X ($999)

• Genuine Windows XP Professional
• Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T7250
• 2.0GHz, 2MB L2, 800MHz FSB with 64-bit
• 1024MB PC2-5300 DDR2 SDRAM
• 120GB (5400 RPM) Serial ATA
• DVD SuperMulti (+/-R double layer) drive supporting 11 formats
• 15.4&quot; diagonal widescreen TruBrite TFT LCD display (WXGA) 1280x800 native resolution
• Mobile Intel GM965 Express Chipset
• Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG (802.11a/b/g)
• Mobile Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100

Satellite Pro A210-EZ2203X ($899)

• Genuine Windows XP Professional
• AMD Turion 64 X2 Dual-Core Mobile Technology TL-60
• 2.0 GHz, 512KBx2 L2 Cache, HyperTransport Technology @ up to 1600MHz
• 2048MB PC2-5300 DDR2 SDRAM memory
• 120GB (5400RPM) Serial-ATA (SATA) hard disk drive
• DVD SuperMulti (+/-R double layer) drive supporting 11 formats
• 15.4&quot; diagonal widescreen TruBrite TFT LCD display (WXGA) 1280x800 native resolution
• AMD M690V chipset
• Atheros 802.11b/g wireless-LAN
• ATI Radeon X1200 graphics

Complete product specifications for all the Satellite Pro configurations are available at www.toshibadirect.com with prices ranging from $699 to $999.

 

It's another Vostro like notebook.

 

No it isn't, I had one and it the Vostro seems a lot more bulkier than it. I had a Europe Satellite Pro (they've been in Europe for a long time ) and specs were top notch for price. However, the lid is matte plastic which looks very cheap, with parts of the interior feeling weak and also battery life was a shambles. However, the US version seems to have a lowly GPU compared to my power hungry one so I expect battery life to be improved.

 

The AMD one looks like a really good deal - you lose maybe 10-15% processor performance, but gain twice as much RAM, vastly superior graphics, and better wireless. All for $900, $100 less than the Intel one.

The Intel one, on the other hand, seems like another fine example of the Intel marketing tax at work. More money for less computer. Still not a bad deal, but you have to admit the Intel machine will sell well only to those who don't bother to do any research and just assume "it's a bunch of Intel components, so it must be better!"

 

No 14.1" or even 12.1" ??? Business people need this.

 

I wonder how much bloatware these come with? If my M7 and X205 are any indication, owners of this will be singing, "Bloatware, bloatware, bloatware, I made you out of claaaay..."

 

it's really not that cheap
you can get a T61 (or R61) with similar specs for about the same (if you get a coupon)
the build quality is far better, AND you get to customise it, which is a huge plus

 

LMAO! Apparently Toshiba claims the following:

last time I checked, Google Desktop/Toolbar wasn't "essential" software

 

These new 15.4" Satellite Pro notebooks look almost identical to the 13.3" Satellite U305 ... just bigger. So, if you like the design and feature set but want something smaller than a 15.4" screen then you really should take a look at the U305. I even wrote a review of that notebook a while back.