Desktop replacement notebooks become more and more popular and with increasing adoption by end-users become cheaper and available from numerous vendors. Toshiba’s Digital Products Division introduced the Satellite A15-S129 and A25-S279 notebook PCs delivering rich feature sets at a value price, positioned as desktop replacement PCs for students and families. Pricing of portable computers begins at $1049.

Satellite A15-S129 features a built-in DVD-ROM/CD-RW multi-function drive, 15” XGA display and a 40GB hard disk drive, along with an optional upgrade to wireless connectivity. This model is positioned as ideal notebook for conducting Internet research, watching DVD movies or creating multimedia presentations. It features Intel 852GM integrated graphics controller.

Satellite A25-S279 is a more powerful model. Priced at $1549, it includes fast wireless Internet access with a built-in WLAN (Wi-Fi, 802.11g/b) connectivity, a DVD-ROM/CD-RW multi-function drive, 512MB of DDR memory and a 60GB hard disk drive. For additional expansion capabilities, the Satellite A25-S279 includes a built-in Secure Digital (SD) slot to easily transfer digital and audio files from a variety of consumer electronic devices.

Toshiba claims that A25-S279 notebook will eliminate any need for desktop PC, though I doubt it, since this notebook features Trident CyberBlade XP2 graphics controller with shared memory (SMA), which is practically unsuitable for 3D games.

Check out specifications of the machines in one table:

The Satellite A15-S129 and Satellite A25-S279 are available now at Toshiba’s online store along with retail distribution channels.