Toshiba accelerates Infinias

Toshiba America has beefed up its Infinia consumer desktop line with two new models built around Intel's recently introduced MMX Pentium chip. (Intel is an investor in CNET: The Computer Network)

Toshiba is specializing in melding familiar consumer electronics technologies with the PC, an approach that appears to be finding a welcome audience in retail stores.

At this time last year, the company didn't even sell desktop PCs. Since the fall of 1996, the company has managed to gain an 18 percent market share of all PCs sold through retail channels, according to marketing research firm Computer Intelligence.

Toshiba's Infinias have benefited from a unique design that includes features such as a built-in TV and radio that can be controled via a push-button panel in an LCD screen.

The new models, the 7201 and 7161, have been upgraded with 200-MHz and 166-MHz Pentium processors with MMX technology for enhanced multimedia performance.

The Infinias will also include 12X CD-ROM drives, a 33.6-kbps modem, a 64-bit graphics accelerator card, and a 16-bit sound card with surround sound capability.

The company says that the new Infinia 7201 model has a standard TV and FM radio and video capture card that allows users to play full-motion video or create a "family video album."

Toshiba did not specify prices for the new models.

The company will also offer a new $299 videophone kit this spring that will include an analog camera for videoconferencing.