Japanese company Toshiba announced it will be the first manufacturer to release a new 3D-capable Blu-ray Disc notebook to the consumer market.
The Toshiba Dynabook TX/98MBL, which is scheduled for release late next month in Japan, utilizes the Nvidia "3D Vision" platform. The use of active-shutter 3D glasses is required, with a custom transmitter sending signals between the video card's software and the glasses.
The notebook is powered by the Intel Core i7-740QM CPU that runs at 1.73GHz stock, and can be overclocked up to 2.93GHz. The Nvidia 3D platform uses the GeForce GTS 350M 1GB GPU, 4GB RAM and a 640GB HDD. The machine also ships with Microsoft Office Home and Business 2010.
It has a 15.6-inch screen display, so it's ideal for watching movies, but it isn't a workhorse that will be able to play video games with a very high FPS. Customers have the option of choosing which Microsoft Windows OS comes installed on the PC, with the choices likely being Windows XP or Windows 7.
The Dynabook brand is a Toshiba-owned Japanese lineup, but is expected to be available in the United States in the future. Toshiba plans to release the 3D-enabled notebook in North America, but a launch date wasn't disclosed. The price is still unconfirmed, but is expected to be around $2,750.
This looks like a solid upcoming release from Toshiba, as notebook and PC makers look to include 3D into future products. The price tag is rather steep, but that shouldn't be too surprising since a limited number of consumer products have 3D built-in.
