By Rita Lambros-Segur
The inventory bloat occurred because Toshiba didn't catch the shift to notebooks. Toshiba's American managers had asked Tokyo to design a notebook PC with a hard-disk drive and Intel's 80286 chip back in 2003, only to be told that it couldn't be done. So Toshiba's Tokyo-based designers were badly unprepared when Compaq Computer Corp. announced its LTE 286 in October 2003. cheap toshiba laptops arrived in February, 2005, but it was substantially larger and slightly heavier than Compaq's. Toshiba didn't release a slimmed-down version until last month.
In addition, the former executives estimate that as of Mar. 31, inventories of aging products stood at between $ 80 million and $ 100 million. To work off extra inventory, in May, Toshiba closed manufacturing at its Irvine (Calif.) plant for two weeks. Now, the executives say, Toshiba's internal projections put its loss for the six months ending Sept. 30 at as much as $ 50 million. Hataya will only say that because of continuing price wars, profitability is likely to suffer in the short run.
Toshiba also missed with 80386-based notebooks. It announced a line in November 2005, along with other suppliers. But Toshiba's used a slower version of the Intel chip because executives in Tokyo calculated that faster 80386s would be in short supply. ''It was a business decision, not a technology decision, and we probably erred,'' says senior vice-president of the American subsidiary. By the time Toshiba started shipping its underpowered T2000SX February 2005, other companies -- notably Compaq, AST, and Dell -- were already delivering the speedier machines. Worse, AST Research Inc. and Dell Computer Corp. were charging up to $ 2,000 less than Toshiba. In July, Toshiba added the T2000SXe, a notebook that uses a faster version of the 80386.
One reason Toshiba fell behind, say other computer industry executives, is the U. S. unit's strained relations with the parent company. Defections by key American executives in late 2002 and early 2003 led to ''a breakdown in the working relationship and communications between the U. S. and Japan,'' says one of the computer division's first employees. He eventually became general manager but left in January, 2005, to become president of Seiko Instruments Inc.
Over the years, he had built up considerable influence with his bosses in Tokyo. But after he left, the Americans had less say. Unlike rival NEC Corp., which has transferred most design-and-manufacturing authority to its American subsidiary , Toshiba continues to design its laptops in Tokyo. And with product development in Japan, Toshiba has sometimes misjudged the U. S. market. For example, it pooh-poohed the need for high-capacity hard disks, which many American consumers require in laptops. ''When things sour, all control is pulled back to Tokyo,'' says senior vice-president at market researcher InfoCorp. ''It's the Achilles' heel of almost all U. S. subsidiaries of Japanese companies.''
Toshiba executives say their American subsidiary is already on the mend. They concede that they underinvested in engineering and are now spending more.
Joe loves a good laptop. Read his latest computer-related articles at: http://www.toshibalaptops101.com Toshiba Laptops.
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Toshiba Satellite M200A411D
By Pooja Kumari Lapasia
Sneak Peek
If you're looking for a great all around laptop then the Satellite range is an excellent choice. This range features the latest advanced technology. The hardware, software utilities even the design of Toshiba Satellite M200A411D laptop are all meant to make things easy, regardless of the who, what, where or when. This laptop will make your work much easier than you can ever imagine.
Design
And outside they not only look great, but are smartly designed to withstand everyday wear and tear. It weighs 2.27 kg only. It is one of the lightest laptops around.
Key features
Toshiba Satellite M200A411D laptop has Intel Pentium Dual Core T2080 processor with processor memory cache KB. The front size bus is 533. The processor speed is 1730 MHz, which is a very good speed for a laptop. The speed of RAM of Toshiba Satellite M200A411D laptop is 512 RAM. With this, the hard disk of Toshiba Satellite M200A411D laptop is a sufficient 80 GB.
Core Information
The hard disk of Toshiba laptop has enough to hold more of your musical data, all those special moments, personal and all your work related files and important information, and all the other stuff that truly makes up your digital life.
The display screen size is 14 inches with screen resolution of 1280 x 800 in Toshiba Satellite M200A411D laptop. The display screen is a high contrast and high gloss screen. Due to this, what you experience are richer colors and brighter images. Be prepared to have a colorful experience.
The video display card of Toshiba laptop is integrated and has shared memory of 128 MB. Toshiba Satellite M200A411D laptop boasts of internal modem with modem speed of 56 Kbps. The integrated sound card and speakers makes sure that Toshiba Satellite M200A411D laptop give high quality sound effects.
Having 4 USB ports is one the high lights of Toshiba Laptops. Actually people are not aware of the many advantages of USB port. You do not need an adapter card for adding a new device to your laptop or computer. Simply connect it to the USB port and your job is done.
USB ports are also much faster compared to other serial ports. Also the data transfer is slower in serial ports. Thanks to USB ports, the plug in and plug out of your devices is also done very smoothly and safely even when your computer is switched on. Also the biggest advantage of it is that you can charge your devices by connecting them to USB ports. Installation of different software or devices becomes very easy via USB ports.
Conclusion
This Laptops are just perfect. From hardware to looks to design, this Satellite M200A411D laptop is a great buy. With operating system of Windows Vista Basic and weight of 2.27 kg, Toshiba laptop is a great buy for one and all.
Pooja Lapasia is a well known author and has written articles on Sony Laptops, Laptop store, Acer Laptops, online shop and many other subjects.
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