When the Libretto 50CT was released last June, it carried an estimated retail price of $1,999. Toshiba discounted the Libretto to $999 in late March. On Insight, an online computer store, the Libretto 50CT is now listed at $699, a price that has been available for about two weeks.
The 75-MHz Pentium-based machine is much slower than newer, mainline notebooks with Pentium II or even Pentium MMX processors for mobile computers. At $699, however, the Libretto is less expensive than new Windows CE devices from NEC and others.
Mini-notebooks like the Libretto blur the line between handheld computers using Microsoft's Windows CE operating system and full-sized notebooks incorporating Windows 95. Unlike CE devices, the Libretto offers full computing applications rather than slimmed-down versions.
The Libretto weighs under two pounds, offers a 772MB hard drive, 16MB of memory, and a 6.1-inch active-matrix display.