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"Works like a charm, even better than iPad"
on by JJohnsonBMXPros + Toshiba Thrive is very responsive. Loaded with Honeycomb 3.1
+ Awesome display, 1280x800, really bright
+ Standard hardware set (Tegra 2 processor, 10.1" screen, 1 GB RAM) works very well
+ The entire unit looks solid and very well madeCons - Antivirus app that comes along cannot be removed without rooting
- Speakers are rather too softSummary In the past year, I ventured into the tablet world and purchased 1 iPad 2, 3 Kindle Fires, 1 Nook Color and Toshibe Thrive 16GB. At any given time, my household have all these tablets charged.
So, with these tablets to compare with, I can say I'm qualified to give a subjective review for Toshiba Thrive.
I did not purchase this new. I actually got mine from Woot (an Amazon reseller) for $100 less. I bought a refurbished unit and received it in a week time. On opening the product, it looked surprisingly new. Toshibe really did a good job in refurbishing the unit.
Power Adapter
The first thing that I did was to charge the battery. Usually all electronics come with a battery half-full. Toshiba neglects to do so. The battery is totally empty and I couldn't turn it on. It comes with the regular "brick" power adapter. Unlike other USB chargers, this power adapter fully charged the Thrive in less than 2 hours. The USB chargers for Kindle Fire and iPad takes 3-4 hours to be fully charged.
User Interface
Toshiba Thrive is very responsive. Loaded with Honeycomb 3.1, it is a pleasure to work with. Everything is highly customizable. My wife's iPad environment is so closed sometimes I feel handicapped. The Kindle Fires OS is also a closed environment but for my kids, it is perfect. Nook Color is crap. One thing I do not like is the power button. It is located on the top right and it is very hard to depress. At times, I press the volume rocker instead of the power button.
Apps
Going into Android MarketPlace is seemless. I was able to load Amazon AppStore without any trouble. The first thing I did was to install Skype, Netflix and Anti-Virus software. Android is a virus mecca, you can go very wrong if you install the wrong apps.
I loaded Netflix and some of the videos did stutter. Not sure why. I tried some game apps they worked very well. I especially like "Where's My Water" from Amazon AppStore.
Camera
The cameras for the back and front are very week. Taking pictures using these cameras produce very grainy photos. I honestly don't understand the reason to have cameras beside making Skype calls. So this is not a big deal.
Expansions
Comparing to all the tables that I have, Toshiba Thrive is surely a winner. SD card, USB port, HDMI output are excellent. After we took some digital photos using our Canon SLR, I can quickly view them using my Thrive. The Thrive produces very sharp photos. Sure beats the needs to turn on my PC to download photos. I cannot do any of these on the iPad, Nook Color or Kindle Fire.
Build Quality
The entire unit looks solid and very well made, even for a refurbished unit. The only thing I don't like is the back cover, which can be detached. When I hold the back, I could feel it flexes, which gives the feeling of "don't break it". The Thrive is the thickest among all the tablets that I have. I plan to use it to do quick view of the web and some entertainment through the web. I am using Thrive to replace all the Windows laptops that I have. The thickness is not a deal breaker.
I love this tablet for the price and its functionality. I hate Windows. Anything that I can use to replace Windows is fine with me. That brings up the next point, you will never see me buy another Window laptop or Window tablet.
*NOTE, Before you're will buy the Toshiba Thrive, I suggest you have to compare prices before you decide at: Before-buy.info/Toshiba-Thrive
Hope this helps. -
"Toshiba did it right."
on by jimcamp08Pros The Thrive has it all. USB, full size SC card and HDMI Port along with Bluetooth. You can't beat their specs or there price. Nothing else compares.
Cons None so far!
Summary I had been switching between getting a laptop or tablet for a while, but the versatility of the Thrive won me over. The extra thickness and the grooved back actually makes it easier for me to hold than the IPad or Samsung Galaxy and the little bit of extra weight is more than worth it for the extras it comes with. You owe it to yourself to check it out if you are looking for a tablet.
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"Sometimes you just don't want an iPad or iPad wanna be."
on by stork347Pros Love the responsiveness, external ports and screen. Easy to use USB keyboard or jump drive, add extra memory, etc. Agree with design decisions: more like computer than large iPhone. Has all the apps that I need or want.
Cons Learning new operating system, could use better documentation for both Android operating system and individual apps.
Summary Much more practical for work and play for me than IOS, expected Toshiba quality.
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"Very happy with my android AT100 (Toshiba tablet)."
on by Earth_girlPros Everything! More specifically, the user-changeable battery, the user-swappable back cover, the user-controlled inputs (rather than having to upload everything to the internet and back down again)...good value for money. Did I mention I'm very happy with m
Cons The proprietary charger - would be nice to be able to use the mini USB to charge the device. And if like for me today, you forget to bring your USB stick or SD card, you're left scratching your head for creative ways to move stuff from the PC to the table
Summary I love this tablet. Yes, it is heavier and less pretty than the rest. But it is capable and fun! Other users have written very comprehensive reviews of the tablet's features so I'll just expand on my experience. It was down to this machine and the Asus transformer 32gb with docking station. And I went with this - not just because it worked out $200 cheaper but because it was 'connected'! You don't need a dock to get to a SD card port and it's portable and it's got pinch to zoom which is absolutely fabulous at night when reading. It had Honeycomb 3.1 out of the box and seems to get on with it's job quite easily. I don't know a lot about android having avoided it quite easily over the last few years. But it was simple enough to pick up. The touch keyboard is responsive and again, easy to use.
Repost:
I bought this to bridge the gap between my work PC and my home macbook (which is not exactly mobile having had an unfortunate encounter with water). I needed it for my uni texts and readings and other PDF/Word/PPT documents. Haven't tried Excel yet but so far everything works the way it's supposed to.
There is limited capacity for content creation - but it is a tablet and not a laptop :)
Updated on Aug 28, 2011
Pros: Everything! More specifically, the user-changeable battery, the user-swappable back cover, the user-controlled inputs (rather than having to upload everything to the internet and back down again)...good value for money. Did I mention I'm very happy with my very first Android tablet?
Cons: The proprietary charger - would be nice to be able to use the mini USB to charge the device. And if like me today, you forget to bring your USB stick or SD card, you're left scratching your head for creative ways to move stuff from the PC to the tablet. And yes it still has issues with waking from sleep. Hopefully something that Honeycomb 3.2 will fix.
Updated on Aug 28, 2011Repost because the sentences got cut off:
Pros: Everything! More specifically, the user-changeable battery, the user-swappable back cover, the user-controlled inputs (rather than having to upload everything to the internet and back down again)...good value for money. Did I mention I'm very happy with my very first Android tablet?
Cons: The proprietary charger - would be nice to be able to use the mini USB to charge the device. And if like me today, you forget to bring your USB stick or SD card, you're left scratching your head for creative ways to move stuff from the PC to the tablet. And yes it still has issues with waking from sleep. Hopefully something that Honeycomb 3.2 will fix. -
"Great tablet - exactly what I was looking for!"
on by revmarty1Pros All of the connections you could ask for.
Toshiba updates software assiduously - just got the Android 3.2 update.
Plenty of softward goodies to get started and room to grow.
Programs load fast and run smoothly.Cons Stereo speakers are a nice plus, but still a little tinny.
Summary A great 10 inch tablet with all the bells and whistles.
Lets you see your video and gives you room to work but still emminently portable.
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