Back in April of 2008,
Toshiba proclaimed that the notebook's future
was in flash and SSD. Looks like it's making good on its own prophecy,
doesn't it? Just months after announcing a
half-terabyte sized solid state drive for 2009, the company has just unveiled its first (and the
world's first, so it claims) notebook with a 512GB SSD within.
Impressive, no matter how you slice it.
More specifically, it's the planet's first laptop configured with an
eSATA second generation 512GB solid state drive, and it's the Portégé
R600-ST4203 doing the honors. The ultraportable machine weighs just 2.4
pounds and measures only 0.77" thick, and Toshiba points out that it
has gone from offering laptops with 32GB of SSD storage to 512GB of SSD
storage in just two short years. In other words, this machine will look
awfully aged in 2011.

Onto other specifications, the machine packs a 12.1" (1280 x 800) LED
backlit Indoor/Outdoor Transreflective display, Windows Vista Business,
Intel's Ultra Low Voltage Core 2 Duo SU9400 processor, an eSATA / USB
Combo Sleep and Charge port, Toshiba's EasyGuard technology and an
ENERGY STAR 4.0 sticker. There's also W-Fi, Bluetooth, a 3-year
warranty, 3GB of RAM, a built-in webcam, ExpressCard slot, Gigabit
Ethernet port, 5800mAh battery and a Fingerprint reader. The only
problem with such a cutting-edge machine is the price, and with a
starting point of $3,499.99, we highly doubt Toshiba will be moving a
bunch of these.