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Ultrabooks are available for the first time this holiday season. That calls for a quick survey of pricing since models have debuted at unexpectedly low prices.

As a refresher, ultrabooks are skinny (typically under 0.8 inches thick), lightweight (three pounds or less) laptops that offer mainstream mobile performance.

In short, they attempt to approximate the portability of a tablet while offering more horsepower via Intel processors. And, of course, they run full-blown Windows--not a minor point.

Pricing runs the gamut but the most-recently-released ultrabooks all fall below the $1,000 mark at retailers like Best Buy. That's important … Read more

How low can ultrabooks go? How about $699.

Let there be no doubt that Toshiba is setting the pace for ultrabook pricing so far. After debuting at $799 last month, the Portege Z835 is now down to $699 at Best Buy.

"They have a $200 instant rebate this week that brings it down to $699. I think it's surprising. It could be to spur sales. It could be to get people's attention. But it's a smart move and by far the most affordable ultrabook option right now," said Deron Kershaw, an analyst at Gap Intelligence. (Note that the $799 price only lasted for about a week when Toshiba introduced the Z835 in November. For the most part, it's been priced at $899--thus the $200 discount.)

The only major rivals even close right now are Acer's Aspire S3, which is priced just under $900 at Best Buy, and Hewlett-Packard's Folio 13, priced at $899.99.

Ultrabooks, for the uninitiated, are ultralight Windows laptops that compete with the increasingly popular, and more expensive, MacBook Air. … Read more

The latest report on ultrabooks from Asia is the typical mix of odd assertions, gossip, and a smattering of speculation that could be categorized as news.

Tuesday's Digitimes report says, "Acer, Asustek Computer and Toshiba are expected to lower retail prices for ultrabooks to below US$1,000 by the end of 2011."

Let's see, we're well before the end of 2011 and already we have three ultrabooks priced under $1,000. The HP Folio 13 starts at $899, ditto for the Toshiba Portege Z835 (Model: Z835-P330--which was priced briefly at $799), and the Acer Aspire S3 (… Read more

With Apple likely forgoing optical drives across all or most of its MacBooks, and ultrabooks doing the same, it's no surprise that the venerable whirring drive will spin away, albeit gradually, into obscurity.

Next to go driveless at Apple is the 15-inch MacBook Air. 9to5Mac says Apple almost brought out a 15-inch Air in late 2010 (but didn't because of a problem with the hinges). Apple now has plans to make this happen next year when Intel's graphics-centric Ivy Bridge processor ships.

Ultrabooks will do their part to hurry the otherwise slow demise of the optical drive. … Read more

Verizon Wireless and Casio are at it once again with yet another rugged phone release, and this time it's the Casio G'zOne Ravine 2.

The successor to the G'zOne Ravine from last year, it has many of the same features that are designed for outdoor enthusiasts and field workers, like the ability to withstand immersion, water, shock and dust, vibration, salt fog, humidity, solar radiation, altitude, and low and high temperatures. It also comes equipped with Casio's G'zGear suite of apps, which includes an earth compass, a walking counter, an astro calendar, and more.… Read more

With Best Buy getting ready to sell a $799.99 Toshiba ultrabook and the Acer Aspire S3 now going for $839.99, the prospect of affordable ultrabooks is real.

Surprisingly, this didn't take long to happen.

"I think Intel is cheering right now--that the price came down that low that fast," said Deron Kershaw, an analyst at Gap Intelligence.

"What's the magical price point that sales really begin to take off? That's probably $599 to $699 next year. But we didn't think we were going to see anything around $800 this year," … Read more

Polaroid instant cameras conjure up images of bell bottoms and avocado-colored appliances from the boom days of the 1970s. You can get in on the retro wave with the new Polaroid Z340 Instant Digital Camera.

The Z340 pretty much takes the original Polaroid concept and updates it. It's a 14MP camera with a 2.7-inch LCD display and an integrated printer that spits out 3x4-inch color prints.

The printer part uses inkless printing technology from Zink Imaging. The special Zink paper has embedded dye crystals with a polymer overcoat for protection. Heat activates the crystals to form the image.… Read more

Toshiba is poised to launch a model in its Z830 Portege Ultrabook series for $799.99 at Best Buy, which will be a new low price point for this emerging laptop category.

The Portege Z835 at Best Buy (model: Z835-P330) packs a "Sandy Bridge" 1.4GHz Core i3-2367M processor, 4GB DDR3 memory, 13.3" LED-backlit display (1366x768), and 128GB solid-state drive.

The 0.6-inch thick, 2.5-pound laptop also includes Intel HD 3000 graphics, built-in webcam and microphone, one USB 3.0 and two USB 2.0 ports, Ethernet LAN, Wi-Fi, and Windows 7 Home Premium.

Interestingly, … Read more

Toshiba's ultrabook will make one of its first appearances at Best Buy for $899, undercutting Apple's 13.3-inch MacBook Air by several hundred dollars.

The super-skinny 0.6-inch thick Z835 is slated to be sold exclusively at Best Buy for $899, according to Laptop Magazine.

Toshiba Portege Z835: That configuration includes a 1366x768 glossy display, magnesium casing, a 1.4GHz Core i3 processor (with Intel HD 3000 graphics), 4GB of memory, an SD card slot, HDMI output, a VGA ports, a USB 3.0 port, and a 128GB solid-state drive. All at only 2.45 pounds.

Apple MacBook Air: By comparison, Apple's least expensive 13.3-inch MacBook Air is priced at $1,299 with a 1440x900 display, aluminum casing, a Core i5 processor (with Intel HD 3000 graphics), 4GB of memory, Thunderbolt port, USB 2.0 ports, SD card slot, and a 128GB SSD. The Air weighs 2.96 pounds.

The Toshiba Z835 isn't the first $899 Windows ultrabook on the block, though. Acer announced its Aspire S3 in October for $899. (See CNET Review here.) … Read more