SquareTrade, proprietors of extended warranties, just released a 3-year study that sheds some light on the reliability of laptops and netbooks. The main conclusion that 1 in 3 notebooks fail within three year should come as no surprise. After all, they are portable computers that get banged around. It’s the nature of the beast. However, the study does reveal some other interesting tid-bits, including a handy graph the shows the malfunction rate of the top nine laptop manufacturers.

Feel free to read the whole study here, but here are the main points.

• 31% of notebooks suffer a total failure rate before 3 years
• Netbooks fail 20% more often than laptops
• 5.8% of netbooks malfunction within the first 12 months
• Asus has the best 3-year malfunction rate at 15.6%
• HP has the worst 3-year malfunction rate at 25.6%
• You might want a warranty

Just in September this year, Toshiba proudly announced a 1.8-inch HDD with 160GB capacity, which was pretty impressive already (their new SSDs aren’t too shabby either). But today, not even two months later, Toshiba unveiled another 1.8-inch HDD with 320GB capacity [press release in English].

The MK3233GSG features a 3Gbps SATA interface and 16MB buffer memory, produces just 19dB of seek noise and spins at 5,400 rpm. Needless to say it’s the only 1.8-inch HDD with 320GB capacity out there.

Toshiba says mass production will start in December this year. In the past few months, the company has announced one high-capacity HDD after the other.

This is one of the first major innovations in digital photography that we’ve seen in quite some time, and the potential is enormous. At this point of course, we don’t have any information about when we’ll see this tech in cameras or how much it will cost, but the press release does go in depth about how exactly the technology helps with the hgh ISO problem.

From the press release:

TOKYO, Japan., October 27, 2009 – Toshiba Corporation (TOKYO: 6502) today announced the launch of a new CMOS image sensor that will bring 14.6 million pixels to digital still cameras and to mobile phones supporting video imaging. The sensor, the latest addition to Toshiba’s “Dynastron™” line-up, is also the company’s first to integrate the enhanced sensitivity offered by back-side illumination technology (BSI). Sampling of the new sensor will begin in December and mass production will follow from the third quarter of 2010 (July–September).

BSI brings new levels of responsiveness to CMOS imaging. Lenses are deployed on the rear of the sensor on the silicon substrate, not on the front, where wiring limits light absorption. This positioning boosts light sensitivity and absorption by 40% compared to existing Toshiba products, and allows formation of finer image pixels.

Toshiba has made full use of the advantages of BSI to realize image pixels with a pitch of 1.4 microns, and to pack 14.6 million of them into a 1/2.3-inch sensor that meets the high level imaging and processing requirement, and that will also bring a new level of image quality to mobile phones. Toshiba will use the new sensor to promote its full-scale entry to digital camera market, and will continue to develop BSI products as a mainstream technology.

The new sensor will be mass produced at Toshiba’s Oita Operations, on industry leading 300mm wafer lines deploying 65nm process technology. Initial production will be at a volume of 500,000 sensors a month.

CMOS image sensors are a focus product of Toshiba’s System LSI business. Until now, their main application has been in mobile phones, where Toshiba could leverage its high density integration and low power consumption technologies. With the introduction of BSI CMOS sensors, Toshiba will reinforce the sensor business by expanding application to include digital cameras.

[via Photorumors]

Toshiba has been announcing fuel cells for home use for ages now, but it seems the announcement [press release in English] they made today is really serious. The company has unveiled the Dynario today, a mini fuel cell that can charge mobile devices on the go. Japanese mobile gadget geeks can already order the fuel cell on Toshiba Japan’s online store (where it’s available exclusively).

Buyers get a methanol fuel cell that’s fairly large (size: 150×21x74.5mm), heavy (280g without fuel) and holds 14ml of fuel. Cartridges, which have to be bought separately, cost $32 for a set of five and hold 50ml each. The reaction between the methanol and ambient oxgyen triggers a chemical reaction, which then results in the production of electricity.

Shipping will start on October 29. The new technology comes at a high price though: Be ready to spend $320 for the fuel cell. Toshiba hasn’t said yet whether it will ever be sold outside Japan, but my guess is the company will see how sales go in Japan first.

Patent Result says Panasonic topped the list because of some valuable patents in the semiconductor and word processing software fields. The research firm gives points to all companies it scrutinizes, measuring the value of patents filed by the number of objections from competing companies, for example. It also took into account the duration of patents held by each company into consideration.

Panasonic claimed the top spot with 986,917 points, with Toshiba following at No. 2 (483,749 points) and Canon with 461,348 points. Hitachi is fourth (439,777 points), Seiko Epson is fifth (428,347 points), Sharp is sixth (414,359 points) and Sony is tenth (308,660 points). The only company not operating  in the electronics sector is Toyota at rank eight (368,196 points).

Toshiba announced a number of laptops [JP] for the Japanese market today, with a high-spec Qosmio and two powerful netbooks among them. But the company is also ready to roll out two new models in the Dynabook TV and three models in the TX series, with (almost) all of them coming with a Blu-ray drive.

The Dynabook TV series (pictured above) consists of the TV/68 and TV/64. Both come with a 16-inch LCD screen with 1,366×768 resolution, a built-in TV tuner, a remote control and Windows 7 Home Premium as the OS. But only the TV/68 has a Blu-ray drive, a Core 2 Duo P8700 (2.53GHz) processor and a 500GB HDD (price: $2,000). The TV/64 comes with a Celeron T3000 (1.80GHz) CPU, a DVD drive and a 320GB HDD but costs $450 less.

The Dynabook TX notebooks (pictured above) feature a 16-inch LCD screen with 1,366×768 resolution, Windows 7 Home Premium and a Blu-ray drive (they lack a TV tuner and the remote control of the Dynabook TV series). The TX/67 and TX/66 (price: around $1,800) have a 500GB HDD on board, while the TC/65 only has 320GB (it costs over $100 less).

All the notebooks of both series will go on sale in Japan on October 22, but Toshiba hasn’t said yet whether they will ever be sold outside Japan, too.

Toshiba’s 18-4-inch laptop Qosmio G60, which the company announced today, is quite cool, but at $3,200, it may be a bit too pricey for most of us. And sometimes, a smaller laptop does the job, too. So it’s good to know Toshiba has some (relatively) affordable netbooks among the dozens of new computers the company announced today for the Japanese market.

The MX/43 has the following features:

• 13.3-inch LCD screen with 1,366×768 resolution (yes, Toshiba still calls this a netbook)
• size: 323×223×22.2〜34.2mm (weight: 1.76kg)
• Core 2 Duo SU9400(1.40GHz) processor
• Intel GS45 Express chip set
• 2GB RAM (8GB max)
• 250GB HDD
• 3 USB slots, 1 HDMI port, SD/memory stick slot
• Ethernet and IEEE 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi
• Windows 7 Home Premium (32bit)
• 10.5 hours of battery life

Toshiba plans to roll out the MX/43 in Japan on October 22 for $1,330. There’s also a trimmed down version with a weaker CPU (Celeron 743 at 1.30GHz), shorter battery life (9.5 hours) and a 11.6-inch screen. The so-called MX/33 (not pictured) will set you back $1,000 and goes on sale at the same day as the 43.

Toshiba hasn’t said yet whether these netbooks will ever be sold outside Japan as well.

Toshiba Japan has announced a slew of new and updated notebooks today, and one of them [JP] is a monster of a notebook (more will be posted later). The Qosmio G60/97J is basically a high-end computer, digital TV and Blu-ray player rolled into one.

The notebook is powered by a Core 2 Duo P8700 processor (2.53GHz) and has 4GB of RAM, a 500GB HDD, GeForce GT230M, Ethernet, IEEE 802.11n Wi-Fi, Ethernet, an HDMI port, and Windows 7 on board.

It also features  a 18.4-inch full HD LCD screen, not one but two TV tuners (so that you can record a TV program while watching another), a Blu-ray drive, harman/kardon speakers and Toshiba’s self-developed SpursEngine processor (which is supposed to boost the quality of video recordings). Toshiba also throws in a remote control.

The Qosmio G60/97J weighs 5kg and is sized at 442.6×294.2×41.5mm. It will hit Japanese stores at the end of next month for $3,200. A trimmed down version, the GX/G8K, with weaker resolution (1,680×945), a 400GB HDD and no TV tuners or SpursEngine processor, will be available for $800 less.

No word yet from Toshiba concerning a possible worldwide release.

It runs Windows Mobile 6.5, as do many of the smaller devices in the Toshiba booth. I’m not sure how useful this thing will be in the real world. Would you use it?

Fuel cells, those electrochemical conversion devices, which are supposed to make the lives of gadget freaks easier, are still a hot topic in the alternative energy sector even though the technology hasn’t penetrated the mass market yet. Toshiba, for example, has been experimenting with fuel cells for quite some time now. And the company has now announced the development of a fuel-cell based cell phone that’s just 22mm thick.

The main achievement here is that this prototype is about 50% thinner than Toshiba’s previous one (which you see in the picture), marking another step towards commercialization in the future. The phone runs on methanol and doesn’t need to be charged.

This new prototype features a fuel cell that can be replaced with conventional lithium ion rechargeable batteries when needed (the earlier model ran on a non-detachable fuel cell). It can be filled with 3.5ml of methanol, which is enough for 320 hours of standby.

Toshiba has worked together with KDDI, Japan’s second biggest mobile phone carrier, in the development of the prototype. KDDI has already said it’s not yet ready to really sell fuel-cell-powered cell phone to end consumers, but this could change very soon. The companies already said they intend to push down the prototype phone’s thickness to 20mm or less, about the same as cell phones that are on the market right now.

Via Nikkei [registration required, paid subscription]

Deftly dodging the netbook moniker, Toshiba has announced its line of Satellite T100 ultra low voltage machines. They’ll be available on October 22nd with 11.6-inch or 13.3-inch displays and over nine hours of battery life.

The Satellite T115 will have an 11.6-inch HD display and will be priced starting at $450.

Other features include:

• Windows 7 Home Premium
• Intel SU4100 CPU or Celeron 743 CPU
• DDR3 RAM (no word on size yet)
• Hard drive starting at 250GB (5400RPM)
• Multi-touch trackpad
• Starting at 3.49 pounds
• Six-cell battery for up to nine hours of battery life
• HDMI out

And the Satellite T135 will have a 13.3-inch HD display and will start at $600. Features are the same as the T115 except that the T135 will sport an Intel SU4100 or SU2700 CPU (no Celeron option), will feature built-in Bluetooth, and will weigh 3.88 pounds.

Toshiba Satellite T100 Laptop Computers [Toshiba.com]

Toshiba today announced it has developed mini SSDs (pictured on the right hand side) that are just a seventh of the size of existing 2.5-inch drives. The Toshiba drives will features a mini-SATA (aka mSATA) interface connector, as specified by the Serial ATA International Organization (SATA-IO) just yesterday. The new specification is designed for notebooks and similar portable devices.

Toshiba initially plans to roll out two models, an SSD with 30GB and another with 62GB on board. Sized at just 30×4.75mmx50.95mm, these drives weigh 9g. They will features 70MB/s writing speed and 180MB/s reading speed.

Toshiba says mass production of both models will begin as early as next month. The 62GB drive will cost $220, while the 30GB version will be priced at $110 (these are sample prices). Both SSDs will be entirely “made in Japan”.

The new wireless dock replaces the traditional alternative that required people to buy one specific to their hardware, or to connect via a USB port or a connection typically in the bottom of the notebook or laptop computer. The “Dynadock U” will be available mid-September (so anytime now) from your favorite vendor or directly from Toshiba for $299.99.

From the press release:

IRVINE, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Toshiba’s Digital Products Division (DPD), a division of Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., today announced the availability of its universal dynadock™ wireless U USB docking station. Toshiba’s next generation of its dynadock™ U, a top selling universal docking station on the Internet, features wireless USB technology that eliminates the need for a cable between the docking station and laptop.

“We designed the dynadock wireless U for universal appeal allowing all laptops to take advantage of its wireless features,” said Michael Cassidy, director, accessory marketing, Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc. “It’s a matter of convenience and consumers can connect peripheral devices quickly and conveniently through an automatic wireless connection between laptops and accessories.”

Additional key product features include:

* Dynamic PC System: The dynadock wireless U acts as a conduit for add-on peripherals like external speakers, keyboard & mouse, monitor, router and other accessories to easily link with the laptop.
* Automatic Connectivity: The dynadock wireless U can be set up to automatically connect to the laptop when within range.
* Data Protection: One touch undock button ensures all peripherals shut down properly when undocking.
* Enhanced Productivity: Six USB 2.0 ports including two front Sleep-and-Charge USB ports that supply power to cell phones, MP3 players and other devices even if your PC is off.
* Multimedia: Integrated Digital Audio card adds high quality 7.1 surround sound.
* High Resolution: HD Digital Video card for connecting to an extra VGA or DVI monitor with up to 1680 x 1050 resolution.
* Dedicated Video Support: Dedicated wireless radio for enhanced video performance.

* Bi-directional Audio Support: Bi-directional ISOCH support for Audio, webcams, microphones and USB speakers.

* Easy Software Installation: Toshiba dynadock Utility software for all video and audio drivers customize the dynadock experience.

Just eight days have passed since Toshiba announced its new 2.5-inch HDD that boasts a 640 GB capacity, and today the same company announced another “record-breaking” HDD in Tokyo. Their new 1.8-inch PATA [press release in English] holds 160GB of data, which is the highest capacity in the industry.

The HDD spins at 4,200 rpm, weighs just 48g and is 5mm thick – just perfect for those portable multimedia players like the iPod nano, for example. Toshiba already ships the HDD to various “consumer electronics manufacturers”.

The company also has models with 120GB, 80GB and 60GB in the pipeline, but those will be available from the end of this month.

Toshiba has reportedly developed a pedestrian detection technology for use in vehicles that helps to warn drivers of nearby people with an accuracy of more than 99% during the day. It’s about time tech companies become active in the car safety area: The National Safety Council recorded 39,800 motor vehicle-related deaths in 2008 in the USA alone.

The Toshiba system is based on two cameras mounted on the vehicles in question. The company claims its system can distinguish people from objects with an error rate that stands at less than 10% of that of pedestrian detection systems currently in use. Toshiba developed a piece of software that can analyze pictures taken by the dual cameras from several meters away.

The company plans to sell the system to automakers by 2011 or 2012 (the technology is expected to be integrated into LSI chips that are installed in vehicles).

Via Nikkei [registration required, paid subscription]

The Toshiba JournE Touch is the iPod Touch for, presumably, the folks who don’t want to buy an iPod Touch. It is a thinly disguised Windows CE device – who on earth still uses CE – and will apparently have its own app store.

I predict they sell maybe two.

via Shanzai

John noted them briefly in the Toshiba press conference, but the new lineup is worth a closer look. Details are a bit fuzzy due to Toshiba giving these things the same names as some of their projectors (hello?!).

The S20 (not the projector) is the thin one you see up top there. The lens actually looks pretty weedy on it (no zoom, tiny aperture), so I’m not sure it’s got much of an advantage over any given pocket cam. Sure is a good-lookin’ little bugger though, ain’t it? It’ll shoot 1080p, though I’d guess the image quality is pretty god-awful.

The X100 (also not the projector) is the big brother of their compact HD cam lineup, above the already-available H30. It’s got a much nicer lens, with a full 10x optical zoom and a 10-megapixel sensor for taking stills. This would be a great family camcorder, although the 4GB of internal memory isn’t a lot when you’re shooting video of your kid’s birthday party.

They’re only announced over in Europe at the moment, with pricing in pounds, so US prices are only guesses. The S20 is £120 and the X100 is £270. More deets if I get ‘em.