Toshiba is brining out a new line of laptops today (Qosmio). This breed of multimedia laptops can play and digitally record TV programs, DVDs and other video and audio material from the Internet. One of the most unique features is the amount of time it takes to access its multimedia functions. For example it only takes 5 seconds to turn on a built-in analog TV turner, or a DVD player. No doubt Toshiba is hoping that the unique features its Qosmio lineup brings will make its products stand out from the rest.
Japan"s Toshiba Corp. is launching its first multimedia laptop with a much clearer display and quick-start video and TV functions to carve out a position in the promising field, a company official said on Wednesday. With the "Qosmio" line to be unveiled on Thursday, Toshiba seeks to benefit from expected growth in demand for multimedia computers that can play and digitally record TV programs, DVDs and other video and audio materials from the Internet.
The laptop will have a 15-inch LCD screen that is brighter and clearer than other LCD televisions, said Oscar Koenders, Toshiba"s head of marketing of computer systems in Europe. It will also allow users to turn on a built-in analog TV tuner or DVD player within 5 seconds, avoiding a full system start-up that takes up to several minutes on a normal laptop. "We don"t want to replace the living room TV set. We are trying to create a completely different market, just as the iPod did for music," said Koenders, referring to Apple Computer Inc."s (AAPL.O: Quote, Profile, Research) widely popular digital music player.