Read our full Toshiba Satellite Click 2 Pro and Toshiba Encore 2 reviews..
Toshiba, one of the world’s largest PC manufacturers, just lifted the veil on a fresh new squad of laptops and tablets that the company will be rolling out this summer as part of its back to school lineup. Here’s a quick rundown of the company’s latest additions:
This looks familiar
One of the new notebooks that Toshiba will be launching this summer is the Satellite Radius, a 15.6-inch convertible laptop that, like Lenovo’s Yoga line, allows you to use it multiple modes. They include notebook, tablet, tent, tabletop and stand. The Radius employs a 360 degree dual-axis hinge, which is what allows you to contort it into multiple positions. The Toshiba Satellite Radius is protected by a brushed aluminum cage, and wears a glossy 1080p touchscreen which sports a viewing angle of 135 degrees.
Toshiba will stuff the Satellite Radius with fourth-generation Intel Core i5 and Core i7 processors, 8 GB of RAM, and hard drives that top out at 1 TB. The Satellite Radius’ keyboard is backlit, and is accompanied by a decently sized touch-pad that’s bordered by a single, thin strip of chrome all the way around. Audio processing on the Satellite Radius comes courtesy of DTS Sound, and the system’s speakers are provided by Harmon Kardon.
Port selection on the Toshiba Satellite Radius consists of a trio of USB 3.0 connections, along with a memory card reader, and a full-size HDMI port. The HDMI port supports 4K resolution output. We wish the Radius also included an Ethernet port, but as an added perk, one of the three USB 3.0 ports will allow you to charge your USB gear even if the Radius is powered off.
Wireless connectivity comes in the form of 802.11ac Wi-Fi, as well as Intel’s Wi-Di wireless display technology, which allows you to stream content to other Wi-Di enabled devices.
Will it all Click this time?
With the new Click 2 and Click 2 Pro detachable laptops, Toshiba is taking another swing at a concept that it didn’t quite hit on when we reviewed the original Satellite Click back in October. Like the inaugural Click before them, the new Toshiba Satellite Click 2 and Click 2 Pro allow you to separate each device’s display from their respective bases, permitting you to use them as tablets.
For the Click’s encore, Toshiba opted to replace the AMD hardware that powered the original version with a quad-core Intel Pentium processor in the Click 2. The Click 2’s display wears a resolution of 1366×768, and measures 13.3-inches. Storage consists of a 500 GB hard drive, and 802.11ac Wi-Fi comes standard. The audio setup on the Click consists of DTS and Skullcandy. Like the Satellite Radius, one of the Click 2’s USB ports will allow you to recharge your USB gear even if the laptop/tablet hybrid is powered off.
Externally, the Toshiba Satellite Click 2 Pro looks very much like the Click 2, but the biggest changes lie underneath its shell. Instead of an Intel Pentium CPU, the Click 2 Pro will feature 4th-generation Intel Core processors, and though the display size stays constant at 13.3-inches, the resolution on the Click 2 Pro gets bumped up to 1080p. Instead of a larger (but slower) mechanical hard drive, the Click 2 Pro packs a 128 GB SSD into the display/tablet.
The Click 2 Pro connects to the Web via 802.11ac, and Intel Wi-Di is supports here as well. Port selection includes Micro HDMI, Micro USB 2.0, full-size USB 3.0, and Toshiba’s Sleep & Charge tech. The high-end version of the Click 2 Pro packs an extra battery into the keyboard’s base, along with an extra 500 GB hard drive on top of the SSD that the Click 2 Pro already ships with.
Neither the Satellite Radius, Click 2, or Click 2 Pro represent radical aesthetic departures for Toshiba, and are all slathered in silver/gray-ish finishes accompanied by familiar black-buttoned keyboards.
New budget tablets may Excite some
Aside from new laptops, Toshiba also announced a trio of new slates that it will roll out early this summer.
First, there’s the Toshiba Encore 2, which will come in two size varieties; 8-inch and 10-inch. Both will include 1280×800 multi-touch displays, quad-core Intel Atom processors, and Windows 8.1.
The Encore 2 can be outfitted with as much as 64GB of storage, and also pack an SD card which allows you to expand that further, with support for microSDXC cards as large as 128 GB. Ports include micro HDMI, and micro USB 2.0.
Both versions of the Encore 2 claim as much as 10 hours of battery life on a full charge, offer Dolby Digital Plus audio, and connect to the ‘net via 802.11n Wi-Fi. On top of Windows 8.1, both slates will also ship with a 1-year subscription to Office 365 Personal. The 8-inch Encore 2 weighs under a pound, while the 10-incher weighs in at 1.2 pounds.
Finally, there’s the new Excite Go tablet, which is a 7-inch slate running Android 4.4. Weighing 12.5 ounces and wearing a Satin Gold colored shell, the Toshiba Excite Go sports a display resolution of 1024×600, and like the Encore 2, is also powered by a quad-core Intel Atom CPU. The Excite Go can last for up to 8 hours on a full charge, tops out with as much as 16 GB of storage. It’s charged via Micro USB, and includes a MicroSD card slot, which, as is the case with the Encore 2, supports SDXC cards as large as 128 GB.
Pricing and availability
One of the highlights of the original Click laptop was its affordable price tag, and Toshiba is making the Click 2 similarly inexpensive. It will start at $586.99 once it hits Best Buy and Toshiba.com beginning in late June, while the Click 2 Pro will run you $1,028.99. The high-end Click 2 Pro will retail for $1,279.99. The Click 2 Pro will hit the market at the same time as the Click 2. Meanwhile, the Satellite Radius convertible will ship in early July, starting at $925.99.
As for the slates, the 8-inch and 10-inch Encore 2 tablets will run you $199.99, and $269.99, respectively. Like the Satellite Radius notebook, they’ll be available starting in early July. The 7-inch, Android-powered Excite Go has a similar release time-frame, but is easily the cheapest device of the bunch, carrying a tag of $109.99.
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