Toshiba to Offer Laptop Extended Coverage Plan

Irvine-based Toshiba America Information Systems Inc. will begin offering extended warranty coverage on its portable computers for the clumsy among us.

Drop it, spill coffee on it, have your child use it to make cool impressions onto Play-doh, and Toshiba’s SystemGuard will cover the repairs. The program is similar to one offered by Dell Computer Corp. but covers all users of Toshiba’s laptop computers, not just business folk.

The plan doesn’t come cheap, however, starting at $129 for one year of warranty and going up to $449 for three years with on-site service the next business day. But then again, cracked screens can be pricey, too.