Toshiba’s Satellite Radius boasts 360-degree hinge with five modes

These convertible “netbooks” are popping up like daisies in the springtime, aren’t they? It’s reminiscent of the netbook craze prior to the turn of the decade, and considering these new machines’ specifications, they’re not too dissimilar in philosophy either.

While companies like Lenovo are gunning for big-time business bosses, Toshiba is looking at the other end of the spectrum — and this is possibly where the market is at its most exciting. The company’s latest product, dubbed the Satellite Radius 11, is a budget convertible boasting some ultrabook-level features. It’s rather affordable too at US$329.

To cover the basics, the touchscreen’s firmly planted in the tiny territory at 11.6″ with a standard 1368×768 resolution. Up to 4GB RAM can be had and processing’s taken care of by Intel’s new selection of fanless Pentium or Celeron CPUs — which will be a big driver in this sector in the coming months.

Storage options range from 32GB flash memory or a 500GB spinning drive, which would make the machine heavier but would improve its “laptop” persona. And speaking of personas, this laptop has about five.

“Move seamlessly from work to play – and back again,” notes the presser. “A unique, 360-degree, two-axis, “flip-and-fold” hinge enables five distinct usage modes: Laptop, Tablet, Tabletop, Presentation and Audience.”

In Tablet mode, the keyboard will be disabled as well, ensuring that no impromptu key-presses affect the machine.

While the machine was unveiled for Europe in September, it’s available in the States from 26 October.