Qosmio
Toshiba claims these laptops feature an involving media-oriented experience.
Previous Generation's Features
Bought in 1996 by Toshiba, the Qosmio (cos-mi-o) firm was one of the biggest independent producers in the USA, catering to high-end media and digital usage. Due to the line's multimedia nature, models are available with Intel Pentium M processors (although newer models are available with Intel Core 2 Duo processors) and relatively powerful NVIDIA graphics cards.
Some models feature Microsoft's Windows Media Center operating system and an array of A/V inputs and outputs such as S/PDIF, S-Video and D-Video outputs.
It is also worth noting that the Toshiba Qosmio G35-AV650 is the first production notebook made available with an HD DVD compatible drive. While the HD DVD drive is ROM, it is backward compatible, being able to burn and read both DVDs and CDs.
The Qosmio G35 line also functions as a DVR as it contains an integrated TV tuner.
Newest Multimedia Features
HD DVD Writing The latest Qosmio models offer not only HD DVD reading capabilities but also writing capabilities in either 15GB or 30GB capacities. External audio/video controls have are also available to allow for one touch recording.
A remote control is available to allow access within 20 feet of the laptop.
Maximum speed and compatibility:
HD DVD-R(1x)
HD DVDROM(8x)
CD-ROM (24x)
CD-R (16x)
CD-RW (4x)
DVDROM (8x)
DVD-R (4x), DVD+R (4x), DVD-RW (4x)
DVD+R (Double Layer (2.4x)), DVD-R (Double Layer (2x))
DVD+RW (4x), DVD-RAM (3x)
Current Operating System & Software
Operating System
Instead of Windows Media Center, Windows Vista Ultimate is the flavor of choice now. A wide variety of features including Aero amongst many others take advantage of the systems horsepower.
Other Packaged Software
Microsoft Office Trial Home and Student 2007 Edition (60-day trial)
Microsoft Works Version 8.5
Ulead DVD MovieFactory 5 for TOSHIBA
Infineon TPM Software Professional Package 3.0
TOSHIBA ConfigFree
TOSHIBA Security Assist
TOSHIBA Disc Creator
TOSHIBA Speech System
TOSHIBA Game Console
Current Hardware
Processor The latest processors used are the Intel Core 2 Duos.
in the Qosmio X305-Q701)
Surround Sound The stereo available in the latest models involves a built in 4.1 speaker system. The sound can be transferred through HDMI or a S/PDIF interface.
LCD/TV The external TV tuner in the newest models support worldwide TV broadcasting format.
The external audio/video controls allow ease of use with the TV tuner. It has an HDMI interface to support no quality loss via file compression when transferring digital media.
Also the Horizontal Viewing Angel is 140 Degrees and the Vertical Viewing Angle is 110 Degrees.
Expandability
2 Main memory slots
One PCMCIA - Type II Card Slot
ExpressCard slot
5-in-1 Media Adapter supporting Secure Digital Card, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro, MultiMediaCard, and xD-Picture Card
Physical Dimensions/Characteristics
The newest Qosmio have dimensions of (WxDxH) 17.4" x 11.8" x 1.78" without the rubber feet attached to the bottom. When the unit is under considerable load for an extended period of time the video chipset on the board is known to fail causing considerable interference on this display both internal and external via VGA connector and/or complete motherboard failure.
Unless your board had issues before march 2007 you are responsible for the repair as their recall expired on March 24th 2007.
While Toshiba claims the battery is superb, any video games running will substantially wear the battery life down to less than one hour before needing to be plugged in.