Toshiba AC100 / Dynabook AZ Smartbook Hands On

Toshiba announced a handful of new products today worldwide, two of which will of interest to Netbooked readers. Here's the first one, the Toshiba AC100 or Dynabook AZ as it is known here in Japan.

It's a 10.1-inch smartbook with Android 2.1 and powered by Nvidia Tegra 250 (1.GHz, Tegra 2). My initial impressions are good regarding the build. Thin and extremely light, trackpad is large enough and buttons aren't too stiff. Keyboard is solid and not cramped. While Android 2.1 was cool (with a custom interface), you'll have to get 2.2 to get Flash 10.1 running though you can install that yourself once it is available. Some things did not appear to be ready - instant ON for instance was not available on these demo models. Another point regarding Android is that it is built for touch screens and there is no touch screen here. Everything I have been reading about smartbook OSes indicates they are just still not ready.

Toshiba AC100 / Dynabook AZ

• 10.1" 1024 x 600 display (glossy)
• Android 2.1 OS
• Nvidia Tegra 250 processor (1 GHz - Tegra 2)
• 7 hour battery / 1 week standby time
• 512MB DDR2 RAM (fixed)
• 16GB flash memory (3.5GB reserved)
• Bluetooth 2.1+EDR
• Mono mic, stereo speakers
• 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, WiMAX, audio jacks
• 1x USB 2.0, 1x mini USB ports, SDHC card reader
• HDMI out
• 7 hour battery (180 hour standby)
• SIM card slot behind battery (3G ready)
• 262 x 190 x 12 - 21 mm size
• 870g / 1.9 pounds

Hands on video:

Hands on photos:

Press shots:

Promo Video (Toshiba UK)

The Toshiba AC100 / Dynabook AZ is coming in August here in Japan, priced somewhere between 40,000 - 50,000 yen (perhaps $300 - $400). First, a Wi-Fi model will be released then 3G models with carriers. If this does indeed reach the market at the expected release date then this make the Toshiba AC100 / Dynabook AZ the first major smartbook on the market. (yeah, there's the Compaq AirLife, but where's that? Only in Spain so far)