Subnotebook Has ‘All the Features That Everyone Wants’ : Computers: Toshiba’s new color model, priced at $3,999, wins praise for its battery life, screen clarity and light weight.

Toshiba America’s computer division on Monday introduced a new portable computer that it hopes will arouse techno-lust among “road warrior” Americans who work while they travel.

The so-called subnotebook, which weighs less than five pounds, “may be the machine that everyone wants and is impossible to get ahold of,” said Kimball Brown, a vice president at market research firm Infocorp in Santa Clara.

“This is the first subnotebook that really has all the features that everyone wants,” Brown said. “It crosses thresholds in battery life, weight and color quality.”

The new machine is being launched in time to get attention in Las Vegas next week at Comdex, the computer industry’s biggest trade show.

PCs account for 25% of U.S. computer sales, but the market hasn’t met revenue expectations because many customers complain that portable models weighing five to eight pounds are too heavy, analysts say. Toshiba’s subnotebook weighs just 4.4 pounds.

“For the last three years, competitors have tried but failed,” said Atsutoshi Nishida, president of the Toshiba America Information Systems subsidiary in Irvine. “We waited until we could offer a solution that doesn’t compromise on functions. By 1995, I think people will begin to see subnotebooks as a possible replacement for the desktop computer.”

Toshiba’s color model, priced at $3,999, can operate for as long as six hours on batteries and has a color computer screen comparable in clarity to a desktop’s. A black-and-white version sells for $2,599.

While the machine is priced high, analysts say its new technology is the kind that computer users have come to expect every year.

Toshiba America, a subsidiary of Toshiba Corp. in Tokyo, isn’t the first company to introduce a subnotebook. But earlier models, analysts say, forced buyers to choose between technical features and light weight.

Subnotebooks by competitors, including Hewlett-Packard Co., Gateway 2000, Dell Computer Corp. and International Business Machines Corp., have been plagued by flaws.

IBM was forced to pull its ThinkPad 500 model, launched in June, from the market to fix a battery problem. Jim Bartlett, vice president of mobile computing for IBM, said the $1,995, black-and-white machine will be available again next month.

That delay has created an opening for Toshiba and as many as 20 other companies that are expected to release subnotebooks at Comdex.

AST Research Inc., an Irvine competitor of Toshiba, won’t show a subnotebook. Earlier, the company said it would launch a machine next spring.

“I think the subnotebooks will capture a large share of the mobile computing market,” said Howard Elias, vice president of marketing at AST. “But these initial units are nothing more than good starts.”

Subnotebooks may satisfy consumers who want lighter machines that can make them truly mobile and still not sacrifice all the features of the desktop PC, Infocorp’s Brown said.

Janet Cole, computer analyst at market researcher Dataquest Inc., said subnotebooks could capture as much as 10% of the $8-billion notebook computer market next year.

Toshiba spokesman Bob Maples said his company’s subnotebooks will be available at the end of November and will be shipped in large quantities in January.

Toshiba on Monday also introduced a high-end notebook computer with multimedia features such as video and sound capabilities. Prices range from $4,599 to $4,999.

Those machines are aimed at corporate customers, who are typically more concerned about the quality of the technology than about affordability.