Toshiba

Blu-ray and HD DVD used to be exclusive to high-end and expensive desktop replacements. Sony put Blu-ray in its VGN-AR series, while Toshiba responded by inserting an HD DVD in its Qosmio laptops.

The first next-generation optical drive to appear in a 15.4-inch portable was with the Sony VGN-FZ notebook in July. However, this option bumped up the cost of the unit to more than $3,000. Today, Toshiba announced that it's putting the HD DVD into the midsize Satellite A200 laptop, with the basic configuration starting at $1,775. This may possibly be the cheapest portable to … Read more

We're not quite sure how to categorize Toshiba's latest LCD monitor, which has an incredible resolution of 3,840 x 2,400 pixels. More is usually merrier when it comes to resolution but, in this case, squeezing this many pixels in a relatively small 22-inch display seems to be the doings of a mad optometrist who believes myopia is good. The densely packed dots mean that text will be too small to read comfortably.

Though we do congratulate the Japanese maker for making this technological advance, the sad fact is this 2,079,000 yen ($18,162) LCD … Read more

Earlier this week it was big news that HD DVD broke the $200 price barrier. Well, in the same week it looks like HD DVD has broken the $100 price barrier as well. As previously reported, Wal-Mart is running a "Secret In-Store Specials" sale this Friday and one of the heavily discounted items is the Toshiba HD-A2 selling for $98.87. Of course, this isn't a true price drop, as the sale is only good as long quantities last and the Toshiba HD-A2 won't be available at all Wal-Mart locations. On the other hand, it is representative of HD DVD's significant advantage in hardware pricing -- the least expensive Blu-ray player is the $400 PlayStation 3, which also hits stores tomorrow.

The $99 price tag is sweet, but the deal is even better than that. Toshiba continues to give away five free movies to anyone that buys an HD DVD player--all you need to do is fill out this form (PDF link) and mail it in. If you're not thrilled about Toshiba's selection of free movies (we're not either), Wal-Mart is also running on a sale on HD DVD movies tomorrow, priced at $14.96 each. That's a pretty significant discount, as most of the HD DVDs we saw at Amazon were priced from $20 to $30. … Read more

I know that no one's going to be terribly shocked by this, but I thought I'd point it out, just in case you missed it. Engadget HD, after another stroll through AVS Forum's message boards, is reporting on how Circuit City, Wal-Mart Stores, and Amazon.com have reduced the price of Toshiba's HD-A2 HD DVD player to $198 (Amazon's deal includes free shipping).

This kind of price drop on standalone HD DVD players has been widely expected, and we think you may see $180 by Black Friday. Of course, if you're an Xbox 360 … Read more