Toshiba yesterday added five new models of laptops to its business line. These new notebooks have a starting price around $700 and are all part of the Satellite Pro family.

The new laptops, depending upon the model, feature 13.3-inch, 14.1-inch, 15.4-inch and 17-inch displays as well as Intel Core 2 Duo processors or AMD dual core processors. Availability of all models should be now and you can get a model by model breakdown after the jump.

Averatec is making available some new “semi-rugged” notebook computers for folks who need something a little more durable as they compute on-the-go. The Averatec Voya 4473 and 6494 have a starting price of around $1,300.

The Voya 4473 is a 14.1″ standard notebook, while the larger Voya 6494 has 15.4″ widescreen display. Both have drop and vibration resistance in addition to a spill resistant keyboard and touchpad. They sport magnesium alloy outer cases, corner bumpers, and an anti-shock mounted hard drive specifically to help with the related issues.

3K Computers has announced a new laptop computer the company considers to fit in the UMPC mold. It is priced starting at around $400 and is known as the Longitude 400 Mini Notebook UMPC.

The 3K Longitude 400 weighs under two pounds and sports a seven-inch display. It runs off of a 400 MHz 32-bit single core mobile processor, 512 MB of DDR2 RAM and a 4GB solid state drive for file storage. The operating system is Linux based as well.

BenQ recently expanded its notebook computer line up in select overseas markets with the release of the Joybook R45. There is no word on pricing or potential direct availability in the United States.

The Joybook R45 is a 14.1-inch Windows laptop which sports a 2.1 GHz Intel Core Duo 2 processor and nVIDIA GeForce 8400M G discrete graphics. Its display is widescreen in design and extra bright, according to BenQ. The finish of the R45 is described as well as being “luxurious leather-like” and offering a “soft-touch coating.”

Asus has announced a new laptop computer which offers a number of high definition enhancements for multimedia lovers. It is called the Asus M70 and no specific pricing information is available as of yet.

The Asus M70 sports a 17-inch WUXGA screen showcasing 1920 x 1200 pixels and 16:10 aspect ratio. It runs off of your choice of Intel Core 2 Duo processors and can support up to 4GB of RAM. Maximum hard drive space is said to be 1TB due to dual hard drive support.

Toshiba thinks it is time to drive the price of 17-inch desktop replacement laptops down as it today unveiled a new model starting at around $750. The series is called the Satellite L350.

The Toshiba Satellite L350 sports a 17.1-inch WXGA+ “TruBrite” LCD display and AMD Turion 64 X2 dual-core processors. Possible features, depending upon configuration, might also include ATI Radeon X1250 graphics memory and a DVD SuperMulti drive with Labelflash. Labelflash lets you burn images and labels directly to a special DVD-R disc.

MSI has bumped up the feature set on its GX600 gaming laptop to create a more powerful computing platform. This new laptop is known as the MSI GX600-Enhanced.

The MSI GX600-Enhanced now features Intel 45nm processing technology, 3GB of RAM and a 320 GB hard drive. It also sports the latest NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT 3D graphic chipset, Windows Vista Home Premium, and a 15.4-inch WXGA+ display.

Elitegroup Computer Systems (ECS) is an overseas computer manufacturer which is drawing a little bit of buzz with its most recent laptop. It is known as the ECS G10IL – no word on specific pricing or availability.

The ECS G10IL offers your choice of Windows XP or Linux as the operating system, a Diamondville CPU and an Intel 945 GSE (w/o S-Video) + ICH7M chipset. It includes a 10.2- or 8.9-inch display, 1.3-megapixel integrated digital camera and built-in tri-band HSDPA and HSUPA.

Asus this week unveiled a new notebook computer with Blu-ray Disc playback ability. It is called the M50. There is not yet any specific pricing or availability.

The Asus M50 offers up a 15.4-inch display and your choice of several Intel processors including some Penryn ones. A variety of Windows Vista flavors are available as well as up to 500 GB of storage space, a hybrid TV tuner and a fingerprint scanner for security.

Acer was a little cryptic until this afternoon regarding some new cutting edge laptops it was planning to announce. We now have some information on these – the Aspire 6920 and Aspire 8920 – and the so called “High Definition” experience Acer promises these laptops will bring.

Acer has built these laptops on the backbone of its Gemstone series of designer laptops and are known by the company as Gemstone Blue. With these new models the company has definitely thrown a lot of technology and thought into them. The Aspire 8920, for example, is described as “first to market with a 18.4-inch Full HD CineCrystal LCD panel with 1920×1080 pixel resolution, 8ms response time and native 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio.”

A niche computer maker by the name of Vology is claiming today the mantle of the world’s fastest gaming laptop. While we have yet to verify that, you can at least learn a little more about the Vology Limited Edition Predator X-2 and its $4,600 price tag.

The Vology Limited Edition Predator X-2, according to Vology, is outfitted with “an Intel Core 2 Quad 2.66GHz, nVidia GeForce 8800M GTX 512MB DDR3, and 4GB of DDR2 SDRAM at 800MHz.” It includes as well a full size keyboard with personalized hot keys and a 17-inch monitor.

SanDisk brings us word today of a new backup solution for notebook computers which makes use of the ExpressCard slot and a memory card. It is called the SanDisk FlashBack Adapter and it prices at around $30.

The SanDisk FlashBack Adapter plugs into the ExpressCard slot found on many Windows laptops today. Into the adapter is plugged a SD or SDHC memory card, which is sold separately. These two items work in conjunction with user installed software on the laptop itself to offer real time backups of important files directly from the computer to the memory card.

Dell is putting its own spin on the rugged laptop design as the top tier computer manufacturer today unveiled its first fully ruggedized notebook computer. It is called the Dell Latitude XFR D630 and pricing starts at around $3,900.

The Dell Latitude XFR D630 is designed to meet military standards in areas of extreme temperatures, moisture and altitudes. It has many common components found in Dell’s regular Latitude laptops while also offering “a patent-pending thermal management system” to deliver better graphics performance.

Rugged Tablet PC developer MobileDemand unveiled today its latest Tablet PC designed for harsher environments. It is called the MobileDemand xTablet T8700 and it retails starting at around $3,800.

The MobileDemand xTablet T8700, like other rugged Tablet PCs, is created in mind for professions like construction and delivery. It offers up “military-rated” ruggedness and is capable of supporting Windows Vista. It can reportedly withstand temperatures of -4°F to +122°F, among other things.

Business and education technology company Tangent has begun selling through computer manufacturer Asus a mini-notebook computer. It is called the Tangent ePC and pricing starts at around $300.

The Tangent ePC, which looks like it will sport the Asus logo on the cover, comes in a variety of colors and incorporates a seven-inch screen. Dimensions are on the small size, with the four models in this line up measuring 8.86- x 6.3 x 0.79-inches and weighing just over two pounds. These are not laptops designed for heavy business use but rather casual applications like Web browsing and word processing.