Toshiba laptop optimized for 'digital nomads'

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA -- Geek blogs today are talking about Toshiba's new Portégé R500-S5007V laptop -- especially its 128 GB solid state drive. But it's not just a big flash drive that makes this awesome new laptop ideal for digital nomads.

Everybody's talking about that drive because before today laptops with solid state drives maxed out at half the capacity, and also because that great drive adds a great deal to the price of the laptop -- making it about 50% more expensive than a laptop with a conventional hard disk. So the consensus is that at $3,000 it's a desirable laptop, but too expensive.

All this chatter about whether it's worthwhile to pay so much for a bigger flash drive obscures other features of the laptop that make it ideal for digital nomads and extreme telecommuters who need a laptop they can take anywhere.

Here are the 5 Toshiba's Portégé R500-S5007V features that digital nomads will love:

Sunlight-friendly display. This is probably the most unusual and nomad-friendly feature of all. Toshiba claims the Portégé R500 series has the world’s first widescreen 12.1-inch transreflective LED backlit display. When you're in direct sunlight (or even on an airplane by the window), most laptop screens get "washed out." But the Portégé lets you switch off the LCD backlight (which also saves a lot of battery power) and use the sunlight itself to illuminate the display.

Super long battery life. Toshiba claims 8 hours. But see the item above. If you find (as I do) that you're often working in sunny locations, you can get massively better battery life by shutting down that display backlight.

Size and weight. The laptop is only 0.77-inches thick. For ordinary business travellers, who normally travel with a large rolling laptop bag and need only to go short distances on flat and level surfaces, the thickness of a laptop isn't as important. But for digital nomads, who need to pack as light as possible, and may need to carry a laptop in a backpack or over long distances, thin is in.

Ditto for lightness. The R500 weighs an incredible 2.4 pounds. When you want to minimze the load, a light laptop can be a real blessing.

DVD SuperMulti drive. This 7mm, 8x DVD SuperMulti drive gives you all the functionality you might need, but in a single, thin, light package. Watch movies, burn CDs -- do it all without carrying an external drive, as other ultra-thin laptops make you do.

And, yes, that awesome 128 GB SSD. The 128 GB drive is a wonderful feature. Solid state drives are vastly superior to conventional hard drives because they're lighter, more durable, quieter and cooler. And you can never have too much storage capacity.

Yes, the Toshiba R500 series is pricey, and the screen is on the small size. But beyond those two flaws, the company sets a new standard for digital nomad laptops.

Read the press release for more details.

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