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Executive Summary

We expect our business associates to be available anytime,

anywhere, and to have virtually uninterrupted access to e-

mail, electronic calendars, and even to office application

suites. The current state of the art requires carrying mul-

tiple, perhaps redundant devices for full connectivity and

access to time-critical documents and data. An innovative

new mobile PC from Toshiba, powered by Intel Centrino

Duo and featuring a secondary display built on Microsoft

Windows SideShow technology, wireless wide-area capabil-

ity, as well as Wi-Fi, addresses this need and provides an

unprecedented level of functionality and integration for

mobile professionals and executives.

Introduction

The current state of the art in communications has created

the expectation that our business associates are available

anytime, anywhere. Voice communications are a given.

The increasing use of Web-enabled phones and handheld

wireless messaging devices allows uninterrupted access to

e-mail and even limited review of simple documents and

spreadsheets. Any mobile application more demanding,

however, requires a notebook computer. Despite the ad-

vanced state of wireless communication, a query from a

customer or client can touch off a cascade of device us-

age: A phone call may alert us to an important incoming e-

mail, which may cause us to consult a handheld messaging

device. The message may contain an attachment or may

refer to another document or stored data. Then the com-

puter comes out and the search begins for a Wi-Fi connec-

tion. After synchronizing inboxes, work can begin on the

original request.

Numerous industries and roles require always-available

connectivity with full access to documents, customer re-

cords, and databases in today’s business climate: sales rep-

resentatives and sales executives, account representatives

and managers, professionals and managers in the approval

chain for business-critical documents, analysts, field work-

ers, product experts, and many others. People with appli-

cable positions are already carrying notebook computers

and many have already discovered the additional benefits

of pen-based data entry using Tablet Technology.

A new solution from Toshiba—debuting in the Portégé

R400 notebook PC—combats the profusion of always-on

New mobile PCs from Toshiba, powered by Intel® Centrino® Duo, combine the real-time e-mail notification of a wireless messaging device with the full functionality of a mobile computer.

Always On, Always Connected, Always Productive

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devices while enhancing the utility of portable comput-

ers. The new initiative, called Toshiba Active Notifications,

provides real-time e-mail alerts via a unique Toshiba Edge

Display secondary screen built into the outer housing of

the notebook. Coupled with the full suite of productivity

applications, the Active Notifications-enabled mobile PC is

constantly up to date, even when the PC is in sleep mode.

Toshiba Active Notifications is a sophisticated application

of communication technology, hardware, and software that

significantly increases the power and utility of the Toshiba

Portégé R400.

“Active Notifications is a new, end-to-end experience for

mobile users,” says Carl Pinto, vice president of product de-

velopment and marketing for the Digital Products Division

at Toshiba America. “It increases the productivity of mobile

professionals by providing real-time e-mail and calendar

notifications, even while the system is in suspend mode.

Now, users can take full advantage of ubiquitous comput-

ing by being always connected and always in-sync, whether

around the office, at home, or in transit.”

What Are Active Notifications?

The visible portion of Active Notifications is the Toshiba

Edge Display, a secondary screen on the computer’s front

surface that serves as a Personal Information Assistant for

presenting notifications. The single-line window displays

a variety of icons and text, and uses organic LED (OLED)

technology for very low power consumption and visibility

in virtually all lighting situations. Three adjacent buttons

select the display mode and allow scrolling through recent

messages and calendar events.

Active Notifications uses both cellular and Wi-Fi com-

munication technologies to keep the mobile PC updated,

and the feature operates in a variety of modes. It is highly

integrated with the Toshiba Portégé R400’s hardware and

software, Microsoft Windows Vista operating system, high

speed cellular broadband and Wi-Fi transceivers, Microsoft

Exchange Server 2003, and messaging applications such

as Office Outlook.

“We’ve gone to rather extreme lengths to make a com-

plex set of interactions work transparently, the way users

expect them to act,” Pinto says. “The Toshiba Portégé R400

with Active Notifications is working in the background,

even when it’s apparently sleeping, keeping its owner ap-

prised of fast-changing or high-demand business issues.”

Active Notifications handles e-mail in three different

modes, depending on the user’s preferences and available

communication services. In immediate notification and

synchronization mode, the user subscribes to a 3G wire-

less plan, and the computer receives e-mail notifications

as they are sent out from the Microsoft Exchange Server,

even though the computer is in sleep mode. The computer

resumes, syncs the inbox and outbox, sounds an alert tone,

and returns to sleep mode. The user has the option of set-

ting “business hours” so that the computer does not re-

sume in the middle of the night and sound alerts.

In the second mode of operation, periodic notification

and synchronization, the Toshiba Portégé R400 resumes

at set intervals, searches for a 3G network, Wi-Fi, or wired

network, and downloads new e-mails into the inbox. It

sends subject and sender information to the Toshiba

Edge Display. After sounding an alert tone, it returns to

sleep mode.

In immediate notification only, the third mode, the com-

puter does not wake up at all. Rather, all incoming message

notifications via the 3G wireless connection are received,

the header is shown on the secondary display, and the

most recent ten headers are stored for later navigation.

When the user next wakes up the computer, the messages

are downloaded into Office Outlook. Active Notifications

keeps track of the number of unread messages, so they

are displayed on the Edge screen and correspond to Office

Outlook’s inbox.

Active Notifications also addresses Office Outlook calen-

dar events. The calendar navigation button adjacent to the

Toshiba Edge Display allows the user to navigate through

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ten calendar events within the coming 24 hours, including

pending, updated, and canceled meetings. Active Notifica-

tions displays icons for each mode and event, including a

special calendar icon that notifies the user that there has

been a change in an existing event.

Immediate notification and synchronization is the pre-

ferred mode when the user is waiting for an important

e-mail or schedule update, because they are processed

immediately whether the computer is on or suspended.

Periodic mode ensures that the user is updated regularly,

even if nothing of a time-critical nature is anticipated, and it’s

configurable to suit the user’s schedule and battery needs.

Notification-only mode maximizes battery life while keeping

the user fully informed about the number and kind of messag-

es that will be synchronized when the PC is next turned on.

Benefits of Active Notifications

The instant update benefits of Active Notifications are

obvious, and quickly join the ranks of “how did we get along

without this?” features. Likewise, background synchroni-

zation becomes the norm, so inboxes and calendars are

always up to date.

“Active Notifications benefits every aspect of the mobile

PC’s use,” Pinto reports. “Mail and calendar notifications

are just as up-to-date as if the user were at a desk with

a wired connection. And because the computer can spend

more time in suspend mode, effective battery life over the

business day is significantly increased.”

Toshiba engineers also took into account the ways that

computers are used in various business meetings. Pinto ex-

plains, “There are many times when it would be rude or un-

professional to have a computer on or to have a handheld

or similar device on the table, and answering a cell phone

is out of the question. In those situations, the Toshiba Por-

tégé R400 can be unobtrusive, apparently off, but keeping

the user apprised of important events.”

The flexibility and power built into Active Notifications

allows it to be tailored to the user’s preferences in any

business situation. The three modes for e-mail operation

also apply to Office Outlook calendar events: The Toshiba

Portégé R400 can be triggered to wake by an e-mail or cal-

endar invitation, update the inbox and calendar, and notify

the user of new e-mail and meeting invitations; or it can be

Phone plus Notebook

BlackBerry or Smart Phone

Toshiba Portégé R400 with Active

Notifications

Receive e-mailRequires notebook

wake, Wi-FiYes Yes

Receive calendar events

Requires notebook wake, Wi-Fi

Yes Yes

Respond to e-mail Yes, Wi-Fi Yes Yes

Respond to calendar events

Yes, Wi-Fi Yes Yes

Launch applications* on receipt of messages/events

No No Yes

Use office applications**

Not integrated with messaging

No Yes

Redundant communications channels

No No Yes

Conventional technologies vs. Toshiba Portégé R400 with Active Notifications

*CRM, Word processing, or spreadsheet programs, for example**Database and productivity software, for example

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scheduled to wake briefly, update the inbox and calendar,

and notify the user; or it can remain asleep and simply no-

tify the user of incoming messages and previously sched-

uled calendar events. The embedded Active Notifications

software handles calendar events intelligently, flashing

reminder times, adding events to the queue, removing can-

celed or completed events from the queue, and generating

audio tones.

If a network or 3G signal is unavailable, Active Notifica-

tions maintains the most recent calendar queue events and

updates the queue and re-synchronizes the Office Outlook

calendar as soon as communications are re-established. The

user can review the calendar queue with a single button at

any time, whether the computer is powered on or in sleep

mode.

The Toshiba Edge Display provides other information

about the Portégé R400’s status, including the current time,

battery status, 3G signal strength, the number of unread e-

mails, and the time of the next Office Outlook event.

Active Notifications Implementation: Behind the Magic

Getting personal computers to behave the way users think

they should has always been the most challenging part

of the design process. The technology has to be assistive

without being obtrusive, and implementing ease of use

is anything but easy. Active Notifications on the Toshiba

Portégé R400 is the result of close collaboration between

Toshiba and Microsoft engineers. The computer hardware,

operating system, application software, and Toshiba Edge

Display hardware and firmware are all deeply intertwined.

The Toshiba Edge Display has a small, dedicated proces-

sor that operates independently of the computer’s power

state. Along with the OLED display, its effect on battery

life is negligible. It runs a number of firmware components

that interact with the Toshiba Portégé R400 hardware

and software.

Management software monitors wake events and launch-

es appropriate sub-programs, called agents, based on the

type of event. An incoming e-mail, for example, wakes the

computer from sleep (if this option is selected), triggers

the launch of an Office Outlook agent, which in turn can

launch Office Outlook if it is not already loaded, and moni-

tors Office Outlook for the completion of the e-mail task.

After completion, or after a time-out if there is no comple-

tion signal, the manager module returns the computer to

sleep mode.

“The Toshiba Active Notifications implementation looks

deceptively simple,” says Pinto, “but it involved close col-

laboration of interdisciplinary teams while the hardware

and software specs were still shifting. We know that the

vast majority of users will never think twice about how it

works—and that’s how we’ll know that we did a good job.”

Conclusion

By combining the latest wireless communication hardware,

real-time e-mail and calendar alerts, and the multi-pur-

pose functionality of a mobile PC with Tablet Technology,

Toshiba has created a single tool that meets mobile pro-

fessionals’ every need. Even in suspend mode, the Toshiba

Portégé R400 makes sure you’re notified of every incom-

ing e-mail and calendar event, enabling quick response

time and increasing your competitive edge. Leveraging the

power of Intel Centrino Duo and the versatility of Microsoft

Windows Vista and Microsoft Exchange Server 2003, the

Toshiba Portégé R400 with Active Notifications delivers

the most advanced communication and computing experi-

ence available. n

© 2006 Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc. All product, service and company names are trademarks, registered trademarks or service marks

of their respective owners. Information including without limitation product prices, specifications, availability, content of services, and contact

information is subject to change without notice.

About Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc. (TAIS) Headquartered in Irvine, Calif., TAIS is comprised of four business units:

Digital Products Division, Imaging Systems Division, Storage Device Division, and Telecommunication Systems Division. Together, these divisions

provide mobile products and solutions, including industry leading portable computers; projectors; imaging products for the security, medical

and manufacturing markets; storage products for automotive, computer and consumer electronics applications; and telephony equipment and

associated applications.

TAIS provides sales, marketing and services for its wide range of information products in the United States and Latin America. TAIS is an independent

operating company owned by Toshiba America, Inc., a subsidiary of Toshiba Corporation, which is a global leader in high technology and integrated

manufacturing of electrical and electronic components, products and systems, as well as major infrastructure systems. Toshiba has worldwide sales of over

$54 billion and approximately 300 subsidiaries and affiliates worldwide. For more information visit the company’s Web site at www.toshiba.com.

About Microsoft Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services, and solutions that help people and businesses

realize their full potential. Microsoft and Windows are either registered trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.

About Intel: Intel, the world leader in silicon innovation, develops technologies, products and initiatives to continually advance how people work and live.

Intel and the Intel Centrino Duo logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United States and

other countries..