Toshiba KIRAbookToshiba’s next ultrabook will have a display that rivals Apple’s MacBook Pro with Retina and Google’s Chromebook Pixel. It’s also lighter than either of those notebooks.

The Toshiba KIRAbook is a 2.6 pound ultrabook with a 13.3 inch, 2560 x 1440 pixel display. It’s scheduled to hit the streets May 12th for $1600 and up, with pre-orders starting May 3rd.

Toshiba calls the high resolution display in the KIRAbook a “PixelPure” display. It offers 221 pixels per inch. Technically Apple and Google’s notebooks offer slightly higher pixel density, but you’d probably be hard-pressed to tell the difference.

Not only does the display have a higher resolution than those found on most notebooks, but Toshiba will also offer an optional touchscreen display. Toshiba says the notebook supports 10-point multitouch navigation and features Corning’s damage resistant Gorilla Glass.

The KIRAbook has a magnesium alloy case which is both sturdy and light. The laptop measures 0.7 inches thick and Toshiba says it has a “stabilizing hinge” that should keep the lid from bouncing when you touch it.

An entry-level KIRAbook will feature an Intel Core i5 Ivy Bridge processor, 8GB of RAM, and a 256GB solid state drive and sell for $1800. A model with a Core i7 chip will be available for $2000. It’s not clear if those prices include the optional touchscreen.

According to The Verge, there’s also a third, low-end model that will sell for $1600, but specs for that version haven’t been released yet.

This isn’t the first time Toshiba has introduced an ultrabook with an unusual display. I was kind of smitten by the company’s Satellite U845W ultrabook with a 21:9 aspect ratio 1792 x 768 pixel screen. But based on the rapid price drops that model saw in the months following its release, I’m guessing the form factor didn’t really take off.

The new KIRAbook, on the other hand, has a high-resolution display, a thin and light case, and a more traditional notebook-style design.

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9 replies on “Toshiba introduces KIRAbook ultrabook with 13 inch, 2560 x 1440 pixel display”

  1. Nice specs but I’ll wait for a 15″ kirabook. 13″ is too small for working and an external monitor is not an option (moving among customers too much)

  2. Who is going to buy this for $1600 or more when the 13″ Retina MacBook is $1500?

    1. Its almost as thin as the Macbook Air, but as powerful as the Macbook Pro, anyone who’s smart & looking for a great laptop will go for this!!!

      1. “Its almost as thin as the Macbook Air, but as powerful as the Macbook Pro”

        So is the Retina MacBook Pro. I’m not an Apple fanboy, but they do make better hardware than most. (Can’t say the same for Apple’s software) I can’t imagine paying more for a Toshiba.

  3. I’m sure Windows 8 will be hard to use with such high PPI and of course increasing the DPI is going to yield bad results. However, the more PCs that have high PPI screens the more likely MS and Linux developers work on making them usable.

    For now, I’m fine with 768p on sub 13″ screens. Higher resolutions than that doesn’t really provide any noticeable benefits right now.

  4. Awesome… now if only Windows did a decent job of scaling to high dpi monitors… Maybe Linux will get there soon? My expeirence with Win8 testing on high dpi has been mixed at best, and often results in it being jarring to the point of impacting my ability to use a system…

    Hardware makers are finally breaking out of their funk, but the software isn’t moving fast enough to support them.

    1. I agree whoeleartedly. Windows PCs have been chained to the 1920 x 1080 resolution barrier for too long. And laptops to 1366 x768.

    2. Not likely that any Linux distro will get to resolution independence first if the past slower consumer hardware support means anything.

      I do hope that more companies put out high PPI screens so prices might go down and software makers will put more focus on resolution independence.

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