SCIENCE/ TECHNOLOGY

Price Cuts: Toshiba America Information Systems Inc. said Monday that it is cutting prices on two lines of laptop computers to stay competitive in the crowded market.

The company’s Irvine-based Computer Systems Division said it will reduce prices on six portable computers by $300 to $1,200 to improve its market position.

Robert Charlton, computer analyst for Dataquest, a market research firm in San Jose, said he is not surprised at Toshiba’s price cuts.

He said other firms, such as AST Research and Advanced Logic Research, both of Irvine, have recently introduced low-priced machines aimed at taking some of Toshiba’s 26% share of the estimated $5.4-billion U.S. market for portable computers.

Charlton said he expects other players to enter the laptop market in the next six months, including a long-awaited model from International Business Machines Corp.

IBM isn’t commenting on the rumors, but analysts expect the giant computer company to announce its own model in the first quarter of next year.