News 

The Spurs engine, as it's also known, is based on the Cell processor found in Sony's Playstation 3, which was co-developed by Toshiba and IBM. Toshiba claims it will accelerate certain tasks, such as encoding high definition video, freeing up the Intel Core 2 Duo processor for other tasks.

The quad-core HD processor in the F50 and G50 will also be able to upscale standard definition DVDs, improving video quality when played back on a high definition TV. This upscaling feature was touted by Toshiba's head of product marketing, Emily Shirley, as an alternative to replacing all your standard definition DVDs with Blu-ray versions. Unfortunately, the upscaling only works when using Toshiba's own DVD playback software.

Surprisingly, Blu-ray drives won't be available in either model. Toshiba CEO Alan Thompson denied that this was an "antagonistic response" to Blu-ray's victory over Toshiba's own HD DVD format and claimed that Blu-ray is merely an "interim format" until

ADVERTISEMENT

HD movies are widely available for download.

The HD processor will allow the F50 and G50 to recognise gestures using their integrated webcams. These gestures can be used to control programs instead of using a remote control or a keyboard and mouse. Gesture-compatible programs will include software such as PowerPoint, Windows Media Player and Toshiba's own DVD playback software. Users will only be able to use a pre-defined set of gestures, rather than creating their own. In our brief test of a pre-production unit at the crowded launch, we found that the webcam had trouble recognising our gestures when passers-by were in the background.

Toshiba said it will collaborate with third party developers, such as video editing software company Ulead, to ensure that more software packages will be able to take advantage of the quad-core HD processor. Although Toshiba spokesperson Thomas Teckentrup refused to comment on whether Toshiba's standalone DVD players would be fitted with the quad-core HD processor, he admitted that there was no technical reason why they couldn't.

The Qosmio F50 will have a 15.4in widescreen display, while the G50 will have an 18.4in screen with a 16:9 aspect ratio - perfect for watching widescreen DVD movies. A third new model - the Qosmio X300 17in gaming laptop - won't have the quad core HD processor, but will have a distinctive red 'Fireshark' design. Toshiba was unable to confirm UK pricing or specifications, but was confident all three models would be released before the end of the third financial quarter of 2008.