Toshiba releases world’s first 21:9 widescreen Ultrabook. It’s wide!

Remember way back in 2009 when Sony had the Vaio P series of mini notebooks? They looked ultra wide because the screen width was smaller than the keyboard. Today, I took a look at Toshiba’s latest Ultrabook, and when it came out of the box it looked just like a super-sized Vaio P.

This was something very different though. Inside was a full sized keyboard with Harman/Kardon speakers either side and a 14.4 inch super widescreen display up top.

If you’re just getting used to widescreen 16:9 displays, brace yourself for the 21:9 super widescreen. This is the first ultrabook to sport the format, which is especially designed to make movie viewing more enjoyable when you’re out on the go.

What about general office applications though? Won’t black bars down the side of the screen look stupid? Well, thanks to a simple little button in the window bar at the top of every application, you can easily split your screen to show one app in 16:9 configuration with another app taking up the ‘sidebar’ area left.

“Designed for play as well as work, the Toshiba U840W Ultrabook introduces a new technology category that could change the way people use their notebook,” said Justin White, Product Marketing Manager at Toshiba Australia.

“We wanted to take a bold step in the Ultrabook market with a product that responds to today’s consumer needs. With the latest IPTV trends, people don’t just want an amazing viewing experience; they want to interact with the content they watch in real time.”

This is great for watching TV and having something like Twitter or simple email lists open. You can even have it setup like that for gaming.

The unit itself features a two-tone aluminum body, with a soft to touch rubberised base and inside you’ll notice a larger touch pad mouse area. It’s a very nice looking machine that will turn heads – mainly because of it’s odd shape.

The 21:9 configuration screen has a 1792×768 resolution, and under the hood you’ll find an Intel Core i5 (Ivy Bridge) processor, 6GB of Ram and a 500GB Hybrid hard drive.

Price: $1,499, Available Mid-June