Next-Gen Qosmio X500's

Based on Notebookcheck's GTX 460M benchmarks:

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460M - Notebookcheck

The new Qosmios will carry the GTX 460M standard, and may still use the i7-740qm, as the Q887-Q895S currently do. That suggests that Toshiba may continue the Qosmio line with the same X505 chassis. Hopefully, other components, such as the screen, have also been upgraded.

More news will inevitably follow!

 

Thanks for the info! Very interesting. It seems it will be available for Christmas, don't you think?

Even if they keep the same chassis, I bet there will be lots of cosmetic changes. The Qosmio series always change a lot from one generation to another. I would be very surprised if Toshiba keeps that keyboard. Hopefully, the cheapest model will be around $999 (but it will be more like $1299, I guess).

 

I was interested in the x505-885, but if I could get one like that with the GTX 460 instead of the GTX 360, that would be great. Hopefully there will be such a model as a replacement at similar pricepoint.

 

I have an question... the qosmio comes with a 12 cell battery right?

What if they have dual graphic cards? For instance like intel gfx ( like alienware or the envy). I am basically saying switchable graphics.

that would be realllly cool because u have a long battery life but still expect an hour or 2 while gaming. If they have the intel in it and use it for reg browsing etc.. maybe it will last 8 hours +

 

Dual graphics and switchable graphics are very different. If you want switchable graphics, the next-gen Qosmio with 460m and i5 will have it. i7 models can't do it...yet.

 

thanks man

 

I am very surprised Toshiba has not announced anything on the new Qosmios.

I would have figured there would have been some news or rumors swirling by now.

 

Toshiba's pretty tight-lipped, their only leaks seem to be niche items such as their tablet and Libretto. But as I said, Notebookcheck has a pre-sample Qosmio with the GTX 460M installed, so we know the new models are coming.

It could also be that Toshiba wants to debut the new Qosmios with Sandy Bridge CPUs, which are obviously still a few months away.

 

Well, no sooner did I post that then the new Qosmio showed up:

 

I thought the card was "GTX 460M" but that picture says "GT 460M"? I hope that is just a fluke, and not an inferior version of the card...

Also, Optimus on the 460M? Sounds pretty sweet.

 

Don't worry, all of the cards were marked "GT", including the G73 and G53 which are already confirmed and shipping with the GTX 460M.

I was a bit surprised by the re-introduction of the fingerprint reader though...it that becoming standard now?

 

They should have cleaned that Qosmio before taking so many pictures of it.

I thought it was being replaced by webcams with face recognition software.

 

Say what you want about the Qosmios, but you have to admit they are, without a doubt, the prettiest laptops on the planet. Nice engadget picture. I went to the site and it looks like they are going to be some sweet machines, not to mention the added benefit that the 460m will give the Qosmio a chance to at least compete with the Asus line in terms of power and performance. I think I am going to have to seriously consider waiting for the new Qosmios. Hell, even if I still buy a 360m based machine, I bet that the price will plummet once the new ones come out. But more than likely, I think I will bite the bullet and spend the 1.5K+ for a new model. That is just to sweet to pass up. The only thing that sucks is that the 3D glasses are almost $200.00, but whatever.

 

I wouldn't worry about 3D, neither the Qosmio or the G73JW will have 120hz screens. Even when the G73JW-3D comes out, it will certainly not be 1080p. I don't think we'll see really great 3D performance in a laptop for a couple of years.

 

I actually thought that the Qosmio's currently were 3D compatible. But now that I think about it, it is probably the same SCAM as the new G73JW's being 3D ONLY to the extent that you can hook it to a 3D TV.

 

I wouldn't really call it a scam...if you think about it, there are very few 120hz screens out there, and no GPU can currently handle HD 3D. Besides, I've tried the 3D Vision demo, and was not really impressed, to say the least. 3D right now is mostly a gimmick.

The real value of the Qosmios will be in the lower end. 18.4" GTX 460M laptops for $1000-1400 will be a steal. Hopefully the 1080p screen has been changed, but I kind of doubt it.

 

THE NEW QOSMIO HAS BEEN ANNOUNCED!

New Toshiba Qosmio X500 Series Delivers Extreme Mobile Performance for Games, Media Creation and HD Entertainment | Business Wire
Toshiba Qosmio X500 landing September 26 with GTX 460M graphics and a $1,300 price tag -- Engadget

The IMPORTANT NEWS: Toshiba says the base model with GTX 460M will start at $1,299, which is $100 more than the starting price of the Q885. So most likely the rest of the new Qosmios will also see a $100 bump. Personally, I think it's worth it due to the huge performance increase of the 460m vs the 360m. Currently, no 460m equipped notebook is anywhere near $1300.

They will be available on September 26 at Amazon and ToshibaDirect.

 

Actually, the 885's can be had in many places now for $999.99, so the LOW END new Qosmio is basically 30% higher, and it will likely have the i5 and be just an 885 withhe 460 instead of the 360.

Hey, a5000435, any word on if Toshiba is going to do something about thekeyboard flex and small keyboard (relative to the huge lappy size) that you and others were complaining about?

 

No, the chassis is the same as well as the keyboard. The keyboard doesn't really flex, its just the flat keys that take some getting used to.

The Q885 is only $999 because retailers are trying to get rid of their stock quickly. You would never see an 18.4" laptop under $1000 for any other reason.

 

Does anyone know the difference between these models and the one that engadget showed before (the one with the fingerprint reader)?

 

The one with the fingerprint reader may be the high-end or business model...I wouldn't worry about it too much.

BTW ChiroVette, $1,300 may be 30% more than the Q885 currently sells for, but the 460M is also 30-40% more powerful than the 360M. It's not a trivial upgrade at all.

What I'm really hoping is that Toshiba changed the backlighting on the 18.4" screens.

 

What's wrong with the backlighting on the screens?

But weren't you telling me that the keyboard on the Qosmio felt very cramped like it was too small? I played around with the chicklet keyboard on the G73 and after a bit found it quite comfortable, but I believe (though I could be wrong) that the G73's have a bigger keyboard and more space between the keys.

I guess I was just wondering if your complaints (and the complaints of others) about the Qosmio keyboard had to do with the fact that you are not used to or don't like the chickley style keyboard, or if there was a problem specifically with the one on the Qosmio?

 

Well, the new ones will probably get markdowns at some point like the 885 did. An older model will always be marked down while a brand new model will be sold at full price.

 

I was referring to the dimness of the 1080p screens.

The keys on the Qosmio are fullsize, it's just that they're spaced together. The G73's are kind of the opposite in that the keys themselves are abit smaller, but they're spaced apart. Overall, I think the G73 has the better keyboard, but I'm not in love with either of them. I asked some people at Fry's to try out both of them and give me their opinions, and the results were mixed, with neither one really winning out. One guy didn't like the glossy Qosmio keys, and another guy didn't like the spacing of the G73 cause his fingers keep falling between the keys while gaming and speed typing. Interestingly, one guy who already owned the G73 hated the layout of the keypad, cause the right arrow was in the traditional '0' key space. He felt the keypad was worthless because it slowed him down always having to avoid that key and fixing his errors.

Looking at the new Qosmio models, right now it's:

Q890=Q898
Q888=Q896 (Amazon has these 2 mixed up, but JR is listing them correctly)
Q887=Q894
Q885=Q892? (Not listed anywhere yet)

 

so bad that Toshiba Qosmio is still not supporting usb3.0 ports yet

Any good?

 

Yeah, seriously... I've been eagerly awaiting a refresh of the Qosmio for a while now... And all we get out of what was once THE flagship nose bleed system in laptops is one more processor step and a new video card? what happened to the machines that were some of the first to offer raid in a laptop? or the most killer sound this side of desktops?

Facial recognition in laptops is really hit and miss because workable facial recognition requires a both camera higher quality than you can generally plunk into the lid of a laptop and excellent (read expensive and processor heavy) software to accompany it, so it's no surprise the fingerprint readers are making a comeback, it's a feature I wanted in Qosmio.

Honestly, I was hoping for more... anything among USB 3.0, mega amounts of ram (the 8-12-24 gigs you are seeing now in the high end desktops in double or triple channel), a return of the 4 speaker/sub woofer sound system, maybe a touch screen, true color LED backlighting or maybe even an amoled screen, dual vid-card solution, or a intuos tablet like you see in the Lenovo W701... Something that would put these back on the top of the Desktop Replacement class. Instead, this is just an evolutionary bump that really doesn't bring much new to the party and is still a step behind what most of the other 17"+ DR machines are offering.

 

You are aware that W701 prices start at 2500$ while X505s are in 1500 price range?
That's why its not happening. Desknotes have diff classes. X505 is somewhere between entertainment-gaming, W701 is enterprise workstation.

 

Well, I didn't mean ALL of those features, but really? yeah, if you want to go out ans spend $3k or more on an alienware or W701 you should expect most or all of those, but even the laptops in the moderate gaming/multimedia class between 1-2 grand offer at least one or two of those extra features.

just plunking in a 5 mp camera found in cell phones that really could do facial recognition or an RBG backlight to make the colors on the 18" screen with a blueray drive really pop would seriously give this platform good buzz heading into the holidays.

 

Well, the speakers on X505 are head and shoulders above anything any other laptop offers (even ones with supposedly "5.1"), I could assure you of that

 

...You want fries with that?!?! You gotta be kidding me, wanting SLI, AMOLED, touchscreen, tablet...for this price. The only reasonable requests in there are USB3.0 and maybe LED backlighting.

The dual speaker setup is just fine, there's no guarantee 4-speaker systems would do better. Otherwise no one would buy headphones. Sound design is more important that flaunting the number of speakers you have.

Ingvarr, what's the possibility of the new Qosmios using a different version of the 18.4" panel? There are LED backlight versions...could Toshiba just drop that in?

 

While its theoretically possible, but I wouldn't expect it too much.

Usually difference between CCFL and LED screen requires too much redesign of backlight harness control & power supply to be put in without generation change.
Also I yet to see Toshiba use LED in their high-ends at all, to me it looks that they just "don't believe" in LED yet.
Another reason is that LED-backlit screens in price range Toshiba uses would be actually worse quality then their current wide-gamut CCFLs. You won't get RGB LED for this price range I am afraid, and this is only LED option that will give you decent color gamut they seem to have in requirements. Maybe that's why they prefer to stick to CCFL, since it's only good quality choice for price required.

 

Thanks for the explanation. I expected as much.

I think the real value of the Qosmio will still be in the low-end, i.e., Q892-Q894. Any higher and it makes more sense to get a G73JW. Personally, I'll happily live with the lower 1680x945 res since it's a pretty decent screen, but I can see why the 1080p folks would be disappointed...The Qosmio really is a beast that deserves a better screen.

 

I was hoping Toshiba would offer a higher quality screen as an option at least. I'm talking color/contrast/viewing angle etc., not just resolution. Does any company offer a laptop with a display that is even close to what you can get in a desktop? I would be willing to pay for it but I can't even find it as an option. My family just just got an Apple iPad. Let me tell you that is a beautiful screen. I would like that quality in a Windows laptop.

 

HP does it with Elitebook 8740w - IPS 1920x1200 17" screen. Prepare to pay about 3K for it though.

 

HP 8740w for 17"
HP 8540w - 15"

With the right discount you could have a decent config for 2.5K $

 

Thanks. I will take a look. I always thought the Elitebooks were configured for business use.

 

Thanks. 1920 x1200 on a 17" screen? Would the text be too small to read?

 

Not if you set proper screen DPI (Windows Vista/7 "Font Size" 130-150%)

 

I'm working on it right now and don't have a problem with the small fonts. But it's not a big deal to change the font size to 125%+ if you like.

Personally, I'm very happy with the system.
Read the review in my signature. The pics will say it all
Also, for just a 40$ extra you can get a 3 year NBD travel/international warranty, which is HUGE PRO in addition to all the advantages of the system

 

It's certainly an amazing laptop (with a gorgeous screen), but then again, for $3,000, I'd expect nothing less.

You can't compare the Qosmio, or really anything else to that.

 

Great review and photos. The off angle viewing of your laptop is fantastic. It's very expensive though. I was thinking about a 100 or 200 dollar upgrade. Why is a RGB LED display so expensive? Do you think Toshiba or HP will offer one as an option for a couple of hundred dollars extra anytime soon on their regular line of home laptops?

 

...maybe if Jesus comes back. Otherwise, no.

How easy is it to switch the keyboard on the Qosmio? I was just asked if it was possible to install a backlit keyboard on the Q885...

EDIT: Found someone selling backlit X505 keyboards...
http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-Toshiba-Qos...54?pt=PCA_Mice_Trackballs&hash=item3cac3e9ea2