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$699

Ultrabooks: The next, cheaper phase

Toshiba is already pushing toward the next phase of ultrabooks--which can be summed up as making the skinny laptops more affordable.

Upcoming ultrabooks from Toshiba will break below the $700 mark, according to Carrie Cowan, a product manager in Toshiba's Digital Products Division. She spoke to CNET on Wednesday on the CES show floor (see video below).

To date, Toshiba's sole ultrabook offering has been the Portege Z830. Though it has been priced on occasion as low as $699 at Best Buy, it is usually listed at $799 or higher.

And Portege laptops are typically listed at even higher prices, as the brand represents Toshiba's upscale offerings.

But this spring Toshiba plans to bring ultrabooks into its most affordable Satellite line. That means prices at $699 and possibly even lower, Cowan said. … Read more

How low can ultrabooks go? Toshiba drops to $699

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

Will Kindle Fire kill the $500 tablet?

Will Amazon's $199 Kindle Fire reset the tablet market, rendering the $500 tablet obsolete?

Let me preempt any challenges from Apple iPad folks. Yeah, I know, Apple will continue to sell the iPad at $499, $599, and $699. And, yes, Apple is slated to ship more than 12 million iPad 2s in the current quarter. Android rivals like Motorola's Xoom or Toshiba's Thrive aren't even close.

With that out of the way, the most immediate impact will be on the pricey Android guys. "I think [the Kindle Fire] resets the bar," Carter Nicholas, CEO of market researcher eDataSource told CNET this week.

To expand on Nicholas' argument, why buy a $500 Xoom if you can get most of what you need from a $199 Fire or a $199 Samsung Galaxy Tab? Or a $249 Nook Tablet? Or a 10-inch Lenovo IdeaPad for $349.99? … Read more