Juicy Toshiba e740 rumours

[Jason Dunn]

<a href="http://www.bargainpda.com/default.asp?newsID=747">http://www.bargainpda.com/default.asp?newsID=747</a><br /><br />drew2778 posted a link that I wanted to pass on to the front page - some great rumours on the new Toshiba device.<br /><br />"This is juicy stuff and here’s the kicker. I’m hearing that Toshiba plans to release the e740 in three different trims. One with integrated Bluetooth, one with integrated WiFi (802.11) and lastly, one without wireless. One of our “friends” from Asia suggests that the products will indeed be released within a few weeks, as earlier speculated when Amazon posted an image of the product and a release date. Amazon has since pulled the product, but the image we have on file should still be correct. The description I’m hearing is that it will look like a fat 310. That’s not a bad thing, nor is it surprising, considering HP announced a similar strategy for their iPAQ line a few weeks ago...<br /><br />...The device comes with an expansion pack that clips onto the bottom of the device. The pack is the same width and depth of the 740 and holds on nicely. What does it do? Well, I hear it has USB and VGA output support. The VGA out is huge. Software coupled with the program could allow for presentations and slide shows like Margi’s products. The pack slides into place, rather than using pins or other docking methods. The USB port will support a standard keyboard, printer, camera, or whatever products drivers can be created for. Currently PPC doesn’t support a cursor, so a mouse might work, but you won’t be able to see it. Type 2 CF slot <br />Options include a larger battery pack, SD Bluetooth card, digital camera and more. Multimedia – support for MPEG files on the screen and the AC97 audio codec."

[Duncan]

Hmmm... I'm not sure how to take these rumours. It would be all to easy for someone to pull together the various bits of speculation around, post them, and then, when the actual specs are released, point only to those bits that turned out to be accurate!

Maybe I'm just an old cynic - but if this device is to be released in only a few weeks - why still nothing on the official sites?

Integrated Wi-Fi? The battery life is going to have to be a damn site better than the e570!

The Pocket PC OS is not optimised for the XScale but Toshiba have found work arounds? I'm very doubtful of both parts.

Then again - maybe this rumour is 100% true... just forgive me for doubting...

[jpzr]

Integrated Wi-Fi? The battery life is going to have to be a damn site better than the e570!


just for your information: there is such thing like "low power Wi-Fi". Anyway still the ideal for me, the holy grail, would be to have integrated both: Wi-Fi and Bluetooth...

[PBennett]

I'm not sure how juicy this is but I was in Circuit City in Birmingham, AL on Friday, checking out the PDA's when I saw a "genuine CC shelf tag" for the e740, listed at $599. I asked the salesman if they had any in and he checked the computer and said they should be in "any day now."

Interesting! 8)

[angelseye2000]

Integrated Wi-Fi? The battery life is going to have to be a damn site better than the e570!


just for your information: there is such thing like "low power Wi-Fi". Anyway still the ideal for me, the holy grail, would be to have integrated both: Wi-Fi and Bluetooth...

That's what i want......WiFi AND Bluetooth. That's why solutions of Silicon Wave-Intersil and Mobilian look so interesting. http://www.mobilian.com

Low power WiFi isn't low power Bluetooth. But it's something.

Singapore - Toshiba aims to raise Pocket PC market share
infobites
24-May-2002

Toshiba Singapore is aiming to capture a 30% share of the Singapore Pocket PC market by May 2003. The company will thus need to have around 10k unit sales of Pocket PCs by end-2002, according to figures from International Data (IDC) provided by Toshiba Singapore. Toshiba will invest around SDlr500k by end-July 2002 in a promotional campaign to raise its handheld sales in Singapore. The company will initially launch the e310 handheld, costing SDlr749, and distributed by Toshiba Data Dynamics. The e310 will feature 32MB RAM. Toshiba will target corporate users, which account for 80% of its notebook customers. The company also aims to launch the e310 in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam over the coming few weeks. Toshiba also aims to launch three further handhelds by end-2002; one with Bluetooth capability, one with WiFi and one with neither of these.

http://blue.telecoms.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?GXHC_gx_session_id_=f90424d2e4a1a8fb&pagename=telecomsportal/render&var_element=content/article_simple&auth_pubcode=informatelecoms&var_article_id=1022156064610&display_channel=bluetooth&rdsl=true

[helvetia]

Hello

Here's a link from the German Toshiba site

http://computer.toshiba.de/cgi-bin/ToshibaCSG/news_article.jsp?ID=00000015e6

This confirms some of the suspicions stated earlier. I can't wait to get one.