Toshiba's New Dual-Screen Notebook Doubles As An E-Reader

The new releases arrive on Toshiba’s 25th anniversary in the laptop business.

The Libretto W100 is an ultraportable PC that doubles as an electronic reader. It has two 7-inch, multitouch displays with 1,024 x 600 resolution, one that can serve as a virtual keyboard. The device runs on a 1.2GHz Intel Pentium U5400 processor and has up to 2 GB of memory.

The Libretto W100 has a USB port, a microSD card reader, a 1-megapixel Webcam and Wi-Fi. There are options for either a 320-GB hard drive or a 62-GB solid state drive.

The Libretto W100, which Toshiba is calling a concept PC rather than a mainstream product, is expected to cost $1,099 and will be available in Japan in August.

Toshiba also debuted a new addition to its Protege line of laptops. The 3-pound R700 with a 13.3-inch display is offered in three configurations, each based on different microprocessors from the Intel Core series of ultra low-voltage chips (the i7, i5 and i3 processors) and different hard-drive capacities. Those devices are expected to be available this month.

In addition, Toshiba rolled out the AC100 mobile Internet device that runs on the Android operating system. It has a 1,024 x 600 resolution screen and an 8-hour battery life, according to Toshiba.

While Apple's iPad device has been grabbing all the headlines in recent months, vendors from Toshiba to Dell to Fujitsu have debuted some impressive notebooks based on Windows 7 and the Intel Core series.