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Toshiba's flagship Fire TV set has hands-free Alexa
Toshiba has launched a new Fire TV with hands-free Alexa and local dimming.
Toshiba and Insignia add AirPlay 2 and HomeKit support to their 2020 Fire TVs
Toshiba and Insignia have updated their 4K Fire TVs to add support for Apple's AirPlay 2 and HomeKit protocols.
Toshiba launches a new lineup of Fire TV Edition televisions
Toshiba has launched a lineup of smart TVs with built-in Fire TV experience that will be available in five screen sizes.
A look back at some of Toshiba's most memorable laptops
Toshiba officially exited the laptop business last week when it sold the remaining 20 percent of its computer business to Sharp, who had already purchased the other 80 percent back in 2018. It’s not a huge surprise, given that the business wasn’t exactly booming even before 2018.
Toshiba officially quits the laptop business
Toshiba has sold its remaining stake in its laptop business to Sharp, effectively quitting the PC industry.
Sharp's latest Dynabook is one of the lightest 13-inch laptops yet
Sharp's Dynabook brand (formerly Toshiba's) might just have a laptop for road warriors who want the lightest possible machine that doesn't make major compromises. It just unveiled the Portégé X30L-G, a portable billed as the lightest 13.3-inch laptop with one of Intel's 10th-generation Core processors inside. It weighs just 1.9 pounds, but still manages to include a U-series processor, a 470-nit IGZO display, WiFi 6 and a healthy selection of ports (one USB-C, two USB-A, HDMI and Ethernet). It even boasts military-grade dust and drop resistance and an estimated 14.5-hours of peak battery life -- we wouldn't count on lasting that long in practice, but it should last through a full workday.
The latest Fire TV devices include a revamped Cube and Anker soundbar
Amazon isn't quite swamping the market for Alexa devices like it did last year, but it still has plenty to show for late 2019. A since-deleted TechCrunch post (now official) has revealed that Amazon is introducing more than 20 Fire TV devices at its imminent IFA event, highlighted by an upgrade to the Fire TV Cube. The media hub and smart speaker hybrid now packs a six-core processor that's roughly twice as powerful as before, with support for 4K and Dolby Vision HDR content up to 60FPS. Also, some common voice controls are now hosted on-device, making it up to four times faster -- you shouldn't have to wait in agony while the Cube navigates to the home screen.
Tile partners with chip makers to bring stuff-finding power to everything
Tile's Bluetooth trackers have been a godsend for forgetful types. Many a lost wallet or set of keys have been located using the Tile Platform, which last year expanded beyond a mobile app to voice and video controls. The company had also previously announced partnerships with a number of companies, including Bose and Samsonite, to help you keep tabs on other things, too. Now, the company has revealed it's teaming up with major BLE (Bluetooth low energy) chip companies, so Tile's stuff-finding power could feasibly be integrated into almost anything.
The best microwave
By Michael Sullivan, Tim Heffernan, Ganda Suthivarakom and Jessie Kissinger This post was done in partnership with Wirecutter. When readers choose to buy Wirecutter's independently chosen editorial picks, Wirecutter and Engadget may earn affiliate commission. Read the full microwave guide here. After more than 100 hours of research and testing—"baking" potatoes, cooking frozen mac and cheese, popping popcorn, and reheating beverages—we think that the Toshiba EM925A5A-BS is the best microwave for most kitchen counters. It's easy to operate, has a number of express cooking options that heat food quickly and evenly, and even has a mute button so you can cook in silence. The affordable Toshiba EM925A5A-BS microwave is simple to use, with a plainly labeled keypad and intuitive controls. It cooked popcorn, baked potatoes, and frozen mac and cheese perfectly every time, and its mute button—a rare feature that lets you stealthily reheat midnight snacks without waking your housemates. We also appreciated the express cooking option, which immediately starts the microwave with a press of one of the numbered buttons (from 1 to 6 minutes). A dedicated plus-30-seconds button helps further fine-tune cook times. The compact 0.9-cubic-foot Toshiba model is large enough to fit an 11-inch dinner plate or a 9-inch square casserole dish. It's also available in a stainless steel or black stainless steel exterior. The Toshiba EM131A5C-BS is best for anyone seeking out a slightly bigger, more powerful 1,100-watt microwave. It looks very similar to our main pick, the Toshiba EM925A5A-BS, but offers a few more express controls for specific tasks like cooking bacon, defrosting frozen muffins, and making oatmeal. It also has a Soften/Melt button for butter, chocolate, cheese, and marshmallows. However, we found these additional controls less intuitive to operate than what our other picks offer, and we don't think they'll get used often. This Toshiba also boasts a cooking sensor that's supposed to automatically determine when your pizza or potato is hot enough, but it didn't perform any better than the 0.9-cubic-foot Toshiba, which lacks this feature. The 1.2-cubic-foot Toshiba has a larger 12-inch turntable, so it will fit most dinner plates and a 9-inch square casserole dish. Like our main pick, this model is available in a stainless steel or black stainless steel exterior. For those looking to save space and money, we recommend the GE JES1072SHSS. This tiny 0.7-cubic-foot unit is about the size of a small toaster oven, but its turntable is only ¼ inch smaller in diameter than the 0.9-cubic-foot Toshiba microwave. That means it hogs less counter space but can still fit a 10¾-inch dinner plate or 9-inch square casserole dish. Like the small Toshiba, it has a user-friendly interface, express cooking controls from 1 to 6 minutes, and a mute button. It also has express cooking functions for popcorn, beverages, and potatoes, but not for other things like vegetables and pizza (functions our other picks include). At 700 watts, it doesn't heat as quickly as our other picks, but it's the best microwave we've tested in this size category.
Toshiba's SSDs are the first to use 96-layer 3D flash chips
Toshiba has unveiled the XG6 series, the first SSDs to be built with its cutting-edge 96-layer 3D flash tech. The XG6 series of NVM Express (NVMe) SSDs use BiCS 3D flash memory with 3-bits-per-cell that power the drives to 3,180 MB/s read and 3,000 MB/s write speeds, with a stellar 365,000 random write IOPS (input/output operations per second). At the same time, the devices consume a maximum of just 4.7 watts.
Toshiba's flash chips could boost SSD capacity by 500 percent
Toshiba has started building prototype sample flash memory with the highest capacity yet, 1.33 terabits (166GB) per chip. The 96-layer 3D NAND flash chips have four bits per cell, as compared to its current-gen three-bit tech, which allowed for chips with "only" 32GB. A typical package for flash storage, containing 16 of the chips, would have an astonishing 2.66 TB capacity, opening up new possibilities for faster, higher density SSDs and memory cards.
Japan Display built a 1,001-ppi screen for VR headsets
Japan Display (JDI) has unveiled plans for high resolution LCD screens that could substantially improve the displays found in current VR headsets. JDI -- a joint enterprise made up of Sony, Toshiba and Hitachi -- says it's developing a 3.25-inch 1,001 ppi (pixels per inch) LCD, which will also purportedly feature lower latency and energy consumption levels. According to JDI, these are the key ingredients required to unlock natural-looking video on higher resolution displays.
Amazon recruits Best Buy to sell Fire TV Edition smart TVs
Best Buy has partnered with Amazon to sell voice-controlled Fire TV Edition branded TVs in its stores and on its website, the companies announced. CEOs Jeff Bezos from Amazon and Best Buy's Hubert Joly said the retailer will sell 11 Amazon-powered TVs, including 4K and HD models, starting this summer with Toshiba models. At the same time, Best Buy will become a merchant on Amazon's website and get exclusive rights to sell Amazon Fire TVs.
Toshiba's smart glasses are powered by mini Windows PCs
Toshiba is stepping into the world of wearable computing with its new Windows-powered smart glasses. You can think of them as a slightly more powerful pair of Google Glasses -- except, instead of being purely standalone, they're attached to one of Toshiba's dynaEdge Mini PCs. Those systems are basically Windows laptops shrunken down into handheld, battery powered bricks. Portable computers are popular with industrial field users who need powerful computers on the go, but find laptops to be too cumbersome. With its new AR100 Head Mounted Display, Toshiba is aiming to make those systems a lot more useful.
Toshiba's Symbio is both a security camera and Alexa speaker
Toshiba has integrated a dizzying number of devices into one with its new Symbio. It's an Alexa-powered smart speaker, security camera, intercom, smart home hub that's compatible with Z-Wave or Zigbee, and sound detector. Using the iOS or Android-powered Toshiba Smart Home app, you can "control everything from lights and music to door locks and temperature settings, from any location -- at home, at the office or out of town," the company claims.
Toshiba sells its TV unit to Hisense
Toshiba has been shedding its departments for a few years to streamline operations and recoup losses after its 2015 accounting scandal. Sony bought out its sensor business in 2015 for $155 million and Bain Capital (of all entities) just purchased its NAND flash memory department for $18 billion. Today, Toshiba announced the sale of its TV division to Hisense for about $113 million, which fits the company trajectory.
Toshiba's chip drama ends with sale to a financial group
The long-running bidding war over Toshiba's flash memory business has effectively come to an end... and the winner probably isn't who you expected. Toshiba has agreed to sell its NAND division to a group led by the private equity firm Bain Capital for the equivalent of $18 billion. This isn't going to please Western Digital, Toshiba's partner in the US, but Toshiba expects the deal to survive any legal battles. The question is why -- and whether or not Toshiba's eagerness to sell might cost you in the long run.
Toshiba's latest SSD tech squeezes 128GB onto a tinier chip
Toshiba and (we think) its partner WD have just unveiled the next generation of rapidly evolving flash memory technology. Its 96-layer NAND tech will arrive in 2018 in 3-bit, 32GB (256 gigabit) chip sizes. That will allow for SSDs and other flash products with 40 percent more storage than 64-layer NAND (which WD and Toshiba started manufacturing last month), reducing consumer prices. Furthermore, WD says that the tech is capable of 64GB all the way up to one terabit (125GB) per chip using 4-bit-per-cell technology.
Apple and Amazon want a stake in Toshiba's memory business
Apple and Amazon are joining a Foxconn bid to purchase Japanese chip giant Toshiba's NAND manufacturing division, according to Nikkei. The deal could make it easier for the companies, particularly Apple, to access all-important flash memory more cheaply for iPhones and Kindles. Foxconn has at least five other bidding rivals, including two backed by the Japanese government, which is reportedly loathe to let Toshiba's chips fall into foreign hands.
The best external desktop hard drive
By Justin Krajeski This post was done in partnership with The Wirecutter, a buyer's guide to the best technology. When readers choose to buy The Wirecutter's independently chosen editorial picks, it may earn affiliate commissions that support its work. Read the full article here. After 20 hours of new research and testing, we found the best external desktop hard drive for most people is Seagate's 4 TB Backup Plus Desktop Drive. The Backup Plus has a great balance of speed and price and enough space for your future storage needs.
