January 11 - 6:20am EST   Electronista tried out the new CruiseCast satellite-TV system previewed by AT&T at CES this week. The company will provide a satellite receiver and controller module to bring television channels onto backseat displays or other vehicle monitors. The external antenna is definitely noticeable, rising at least an inch above the roof rack, although the company intends to shrink the form-factor of future products. [full story]

October 20 - 11:40pm EDT   Iridium Satellite has unveiled its latest satellite phone, the 9555, which offers smaller dimensions and a form factor that is closer to traditional cell phones than its predecessor, the 9505A. The antenna is mostly internally stowed, allowing full extension only when the phone is being used. A speakerphone function, brighter screen, and mini-USB data port have been added, along with improved SMS and E-mail functionality. [full story]

October 14 - 5:15pm EDT   Toshiba on Tuesday announced some detail hardware and software changes to its Satellite range of laptops, including the 13.3-inch U405, 14.1-inch M305 and M305D, 15.4-inch A355 and A305. The Satellites get quicker Intel and AMD processors, ranging from 2.0GHz to 2.26GHz processors from the former and 2.0GHz and 2.1GHz CPUs from the latter. A few new features are also added to some of the Satellites, including Toshiba's face recognition software for access to the computer via the webcam and USB Sleep-and-Charge ports that will charge the batteries of compatible devices even when the laptop is in standby mode. [full story]

October 8 - 11:45am EDT   Toshiba helped kick off a special event for Sprint's Xohm service by launching its first official WiMAX-equipped notebook. The 13.3-inch Satellite U405 now has one of the 4G adapters built-in and so can pull roughly 2Mbps to 4Mbps most anywhere in Baltimore and other cities soon to get the 4G-level wireless access. Toshiba's implementation also uses Intel's "Echo Peak" adapter to include Wi-Fi without adding to the system's bulk. [full story]

October 6 - 11:55am EDT   An online Best Buy store listing reveals the specs and prices of Toshiba’s new, 14.1-inch Satellite-series E105 notebook. The advertised version sports a backlit keyboard, Intel’s dual-core 2.26GHz processor and 4GB of RAM. The laptop includes a 320GB hard drive and is just 1.2 inches thick while weighing in at 5lbs. Graphics processing for the 1280x800 screen is handled by the onboard GMA 4500 MHD chipset that brings with it an HDMI output; an FM tuner is also unusually built-in. [full story]

July 15 - 2:50am EDT   With announcements from HP, Lenovo, and Sony, Toshiba also took the opportunity to announce (and ship) new Centrino 2 versions of its recently announced notebooks for faster networking, better performance, and improved battery life. The Satellite Pro S300 laptop, updated with latest Core Duo processor and Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD, offers Toshiba's fourth-generation EasyGuard technology, sleep-and-charge USB ports, optional SSD/flash-memory drive configurations, built-in docking capabilities and Webcam with business card reader software (starts at $1,2993). For its business-oriented Tecra models, Toshiba is using Intel's Centrino 2 with vPro micro-architecture ... [full story]

April 25 - 4:45pm EDT   Sirius sent a prototype Starmate 5 satellite radio receiver to the FCC for testing, revealing some images as well as specs. Other than the color difference of an otherwise identical body, it's not clear how the Starmate 5 differs from the current Starmate 4. One hint as to a unique feature is mention of either an XM or Sirius radio signal used in testing in a memo between a member of the testing firm and FCC authorization staff. [full story]

April 22 - 10:35am EDT   Toshiba this morning gave the same attention to its Satellite Pro notebooks that it did for its new Satellites. Hoping to jumpstart interest in students and pro users, the company has launched five new models with both a redesigned look and new internals. The L300 and L300D serve as Toshiba's baseline with either Intel Core 2 Duo (L300) or AMD Turion 64 X2 (L300D) dual-core processors and a 15.4-inch screen while offering just the essentials; systems start at $699 for an L300D with a 1.9GHz AMD chip as well as 1GB of memory and a 120GB hard drive, scaling up to a 2GHz Core 2 Duo and a 160GB disk in the $799 L300. [full story]

April 8 - 9:20am EDT   In addition to re-revealing its new Satellite designs, Toshiba on Tuesday updated its Satellite X205 gaming notebook to take advantage of newer hardware. The 17-inch desktop replacement now draws on at least a 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo from Intel's Penryn era that offers both extra speed as well as better battery life. It also includes at least 320GB of storage split across two drives, each of which spin at 7,200RPM: the speed provides desktop-like load times without sacrificing space, according to Toshiba. [full story]

April 1 - 12:25pm EDT   Toshiba on Tuesday completely overhauled the look of its Satellite notebooks with four new systems, as well as an old-look 17-inch model. Following a similar update in Europe, the company has changed from its longstanding silver-and-gray to a new subtler look. Referred to as Horizon, the design both adds an imprint design as well as a completely flush trackpad and a much subtler glossy, dark gray finish. It also adds touch-sensitive CD and DVD movie playback controls similar to recent HP systems. [full story]

December 31 - 9:05am EST   Details of several notebooks running the mobile version of Intel's Penryn architecture have been leaked and point to the likely specifications for other systems as well, according to Notebook Italia. Sony is expected to have one of the most comprehensive updates with upgrades to its VAIO AR, CR, FZ (pictured), and SZ notebooks. As should be common to many systems based on the 45-nanometer Intel processor, clock speeds will be higher: the CR, SZ, and the base FZ will start with 2.1GHz Core 2 Duos, while the top FZ and the standard AR will reach 2.4GHz; fulfilling predictions of large memory, Sony will ship every system with at least 2GB of RAM and as much as 4GB on ... [full story]

December 11 - 1:05pm EST   Toshiba today made an unusual concession to anxious business travelers with the Satellite T31. The 15.4-inch Japanese system is one of the few computers from a large manufacturer to ship with both Windows Vista and its XP Professional ancestor in the box; while only one is installed by default, owners can either choose to keep the newer OS or revert back to XP should their work software or personal preferences keep them from running the new code. [full story]