We've often commented on Toshiba Satellites becoming a confusing galaxy of letter-based lines that share similar looks. Today's announcement of the back-to-school Satellite P700 series should help in this regard, since it's effectively replacing the Satellite A660 and M640 lines, both of which we've reviewed in a variety of flavors at CNET.
The P700 isn't anything truly new chassis-wise: they're available in 14, 15 and 17-inch variations, and share a Fusion X2 finish we've seen on many models. These laptops do, however, offer the newly-announced AMD A6-3400M processor with discrete Radeon graphics, or alternatively a combination of second-gen Core i3, i5 or i7 CPUs and optional Nvidia GeForce GT 540M graphics with Optimus.
Harman/kardon speakers, Dolby and Waves audio, USB 3.0, and optional Blu-ray/Intel Wireless Display/WiMAX round out what sounds like a good set of mainstream features. Their starting prices are aggressive at $629 for the 15-inch P755 and 17-inch P775 and $699 for the 14-inch P745, although we won't be able to really compare until we see all specs and configs. Like the A660 before it, there will also be a 3D 15.6-inch P750 laptop, with active-shutter 3D glasses and Nvidia 3D Vision, starting at $1199.
Meanwhile, the Toshiba Qosmio X770 is the latest in Toshiba's powerful big-screen powerhouse laptop line. The new model has a 17.3 inch screen as opposed to 18-inch, second-gen Intel Core i5 or i7 CPU, and Nvidia GeForce GTX 560M graphics, along with active-shutter Nvidia 3D Vision built-in on a 3D model. The X770 starts at $1199, or $1899 for the 3D Edition, which comes with a 1.25 TB hard drive and 3D Blu-ray optical drive. The Qosmio is available "later in the month," The Satellite P700 on June 21. We look forward to reviewing both once they arrive.