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Toshiba Ultrabook to debut at Best Buy for $799
Toshiba and Best Buy are getting together to roll out the cheapest Ultrabook yet, dipping just below the $800 mark.
Toshiba Portege Z835 Ultrabook being promoted at Best Buy for $799.
(Credit: Best Buy)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, a virtually identical model was initially announced by Toshiba for $899.
Deron Kershaw, an analyst at Gap Intelligence, said this price is likely an exclusive deal with Best Buy and may be in response to an Ultrabook coming from Hewlett-Packard. "They're drawing a line in the sand for HP," Kershaw said. That HP Ultrabook is expected very soon.
This news follows a report earlier today about an $800 ThinkPad Ultrabook coming from Lenovo next year. But looks like consumers won't have to hold their breath until 2012 to get one for that price.
Apple MacBook Air owners take note: this is $500 below Apple's least expensive 13-inch MacBook Air.
