Four new mobile lines will strengthen Toshiba's push to market leadership

Last year's booming sales in key Middle East markets further boosted Toshiba's share of the mobile market, outstripping market growth and narrowing the gap on the regional leader.

Now, the four new series that reach Middle East markets today (Feb 16) - the Satellite A40, Satellite Pro A40, Satellite Pro M30 and Tecra M2 - are set to accelerate Toshiba's drive to market leadership with a combination of performance and pricing designed to appeal to the complete spectrum of users, from household to corporate.

Leading the new-product offensive is the high-end Tecra M2, designed for corporate users who seek a stable, scaleable notebook with a long product lifecycle. The new model features a sleek new design - easily portable, thin and light - delivering outstanding performance, full functionality and long battery life.

Tecra M2 incorporates Intel Centrino mobile technology, providing advanced power, battery optimisation and wireless connectivity.

A new Lithium-ion six-cell battery gives users experience a breakthrough level of mobile performance, extended battery life (up to 10+ hours with optional extended batteries) and enhanced wireless connectivity for improved productivity whether travelling or in the office.

For added convenience and saving time and money, the Tecra M2 shares common docking and SlimSelect Bay accessories with most Tecra/Portégé/Satellite Pro products from Toshiba. SlimSelect Bay is a multi-purpose facility that increases storage capacity, downloads software, and backs-up vital data.

High-performance graphics are provided by the Nvidia GeForce FX Go 5200 32M and 64M graphics controller, that enables the display of detailed designs and high-powered presentations in the office and on the road. The large 14.1-inch XGA display, as well as increased hard disk drive capacity, round off the Tecra M2's appeal to small/medium sized businesses and corporate users.

Released simultaneously is the Satellite M30 series, Toshiba's first mobile Centrino-based widescreen notebook combining a sleek design with a 15.4-inch wide-screen display. The M30 series is aimed at small business and small office/home users, balancing multimedia features and style in both work and home environments.

With Centrino mobile technology of up to 1.70GHz, up to 60GB hard disk, NVIDIA GeForce FX Go5200 graphics, Harman Kardon stereo speakers, DVD writing capabilities, and convenient CD and DVD playback buttons, the M30 series is factory-fitted with Windows XP Professional or XP Home according to the model selected.

The series also includes one-touch TV-out button to easily connect to a projector or television, Secure Digital slot and an iLink (IEEE 1394) port.

The new Satellite Pro A40 notebook PC is designed for small/medium sized businesses requiring all the features of a desktop PC but at a low price.

Packaged in a newly designed metallic blue case, the Satellite Pro A40 is available in three processor options - 2.4, 3.6 Combo, or 3.6 DVD RW - all offering a robust combination of power, performance and multimedia functionality.

A large 15-inch TFT XGA LCD display (1280 x 1024 resolution) is backed by integrated graphics and enhanced multimedia functionality, while SRS TruSurround XT technology creates bass-thumping audio during DVD playback of virtual surround-sound from the notebook's two speakers.

The entry-level model includes a built-in DVD-ROM/CD-RW multi-function drive, Intel Celeron processor and up to 40GB hard disk drive space. The mid-range version offers a faster processor and more memory, while the most powerful member of the series is fully loaded with enough speed, increased memory and performance to suit even the most advanced computer user's needs.

Its A40 series stablemate is aimed at small businesses, students and families who need all the features of a desktop PC but at a highly competitive price.

The A40 shares the large 15-inch display as the A40 Pro, as well as integrated graphics, enhanced multimedia, and SRS TruSurround XT sound.

Although DVD owners can now enjoy 5.1 multi-channel soundtracks for movies and music, most televisions and computer playback systems have only two speakers. TruSurround XT bridges this gap by processing any multi-channel audio source and transforms the material into virtual surround-sound through the system's two speakers.

In addition to the unprecedented sound quality, select models of the Satellite A40 series also feature a TV-out port, giving users a display connection to an external TV. Select models also include factory-installed Microsoft Office OneNote 2003, enabling users to easily capture, organise and re-use notes more efficiently.

The entry-level models include a built-in DVD-ROM/CD-RW combo drive, Intel Celeron processor and up to 40GB hard disk drive space. Mid-range models have a faster processor and DVD-R/RW multi-function drive.

Like all Toshiba mobiles, the four new series carry the company's unique three-year international warranty across all models.