Toshiba shuts the lid on laptops after 35 years

The Japanese giant Toshiba has sold its final stake in the personal computer maker Dynabook.

It means the firm no longer has a connection with making PCs or laptops.

Sharp bought 80% of Toshiba's personal computing arm in 2018 for $36m (₤ 27m), and has now bought the remaining shares, Toshiba said in a statement.

Toshiba's first laptop, the T1100, launched in 1985. It weighed 4kg (8.8 pounds) and worked with 3.5 inch (8.8 cm) floppy disks.

It was launched at first only in Europe with an annual sales target of 10,000 units, according to the Toshiba Science Museum website.

In 2011 Toshiba sold more than 17m PCs but by 2017 this had fallen to 1.9 m, reported Reuters at the time.

In 2016, it had ceased making consumer laptops for the European market, focusing only on hardware for businesses.

Recent years have been difficult for the conglomerate: in 2015, the firm posted a full-year loss of $318m.

That same year its president and vice-president resigned after an independent panel found the company had overstated its profits for the previous six years.

In 2019, it wound up its nuclear business NuGen in the UK after failing to find a buyer for it.

Consumer demand for laptops has soared in the last few months because of the Coronavirus pandemic and global lockdowns, but overall, the market for personal computers has been tough for quite a while, said analyst Marina Koytcheva from the firm CCS Insight.

"Only those who have managed to sustain scale and price (like Lenovo), or have a premium brand (like Apple) have succeeded in the unforgiving PC market, where volumes have been falling for years," she said.

After Beirut impact, enormous fire breaks out at UAE's Ajman showcase endeavors to splash blast in progress

An emergency clinic was emptied after an immense burst broke out in Ajman. 

The fire is accepted to have begun at the Iranian souq in the emirate at about 6.30pm on Wednesday.

 

The site is close to Ajman Speciality Hospital and to food grown from the ground advertise in the modern territory 

The souq has been shut for a while due to the Covid-19 wellbeing measures. 

Laborers at the neighboring business sector portrayed how blazes immediately overwhelmed the territory. 

The clinical office was emptied as a prudent step because of the closeness of the seething fire. 

Firemen are at present handling the burst, which sent thick crest of smoke surging into the sky. 

The reason for the fire isn't yet referred to nor on the off chance that anybody was harmed because of the episode or the degree of the harm caused. 

The souq, which is home to many merchants, is a well-known fascination in Ajman, drawing guests from over the Emirates. 

Rajab Elsawi, who possesses the Khadem Fresh Meat store inverse to the souq, said he cautioned crisis administrations after he saw a thick cover of dark smoke create. 

He began to evacuate street boundaries so as to permit fire groups to access to the scene. 

"It is a single direction street and boundaries were put to prevent drivers from going against the progression of traffic, so I evacuated them to encourage access for common protection and police vehicles. 

"There are many shops in that souq." 

Another laborer, who asked not to be named, said a few people attempted to put it out the fire with fire dousers from their shops yet couldn't contain the quickly spreading flames. 

Ajman Civil Defense said the blast had been managed at about 9pm. 

They were helped by teams from Dubai, Sharjah, and Umm Al Quwain.