TechCrunch: "Toshiba’s entrance into the Android tablet market was a pretty good one — Android 3.1 Honeycomb, a wide array of connectivity ports, and interchangeable batteries. But all those ports coupled with a 10-inch form factor made for quite the hefty slate. Personally, I tend to favor the 7 to 8-inch tablet category, which is why I was so pleased to get a peek at Toshiba’s latest tab: The Thrive 7″."
Engadget - Just because haven't heard a peep from Toshiba about its smaller 7-inch slate since September, doesn't mean you can't find it on sale out there in the vast ether we like to call the internet. Discovered by a tipster shrewd enough to Google its model number -- "pda03u-005007" for those of you that don't speak Toshiba -- a bunch of oh-so-eager retailers are ready to trade you around $450 in exchange for the rubberized slate.
Engadget: "It looks like the AT200 isn't the only Toshiba tablet poised to land in time for the holidays. The company just announced the Thrive 7", a (surprise!) 7-inch version of the original. Like its big brother, it runs on Tegra 2 and packs twin 5 MP / 2 MP cameras, though this time around that textured, rubberized back isn't removable, and the rear-facing camera comes paired with an LED flash. As you'd expect, in exchange for a smaller form factor (0.88 pounds, half an inch thick), you'll be giving up the full-sized ports that made the original so unique."
Tom's Guide Senior Editor Devin Connors looks at five of the best Android Honeycomb (3.X) tablets currently available. Tested hardware includes the Acer Iconia Tab A500, Asus Eee Transformer, Lenovo IdeaPad K1, Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 LTE, and the Toshiba Thrive.
I still think out of all the tablets the xoom is the best on re market followed by the galaxy 10.1
Ive never had one problem with my xoom and yes the xoom is a little thicker then the samsung but not by alot and fits in your hands fine and the xoom has hdmi out and memmory card slot as well as being native android it will always get the updates before the other devices just link the nexus.
Author is seriously biased against Toshiba's tablet. It's got more I/O options than the others, and isn't any less good in any other category than the ultimate of subjective ones: looks. A rubberized exterior is great for avoiding fingerprints, scratches, and is better for falls. As for the extra heft and thickness, you wouldn't notice them if you set the tablet down or use a stand, and I think its design is among the most appealing of the bunch (leave it to Acer to make something out of aluminum look ugly). Also, no mention of the price, which is probably below that of the others.
I don't own Toshiba's tablet, nor am I particularly a fan of their products, but I hate to see a product be unfairly bashed. (To be completely honest, I have my eye on Sony's S1--now the Tablet S.)
Thanks for reading the article!
There are two tablets with very similar I/O in this roundup: The Toshiba Thrive and the Iconia Tab A500. The Thrive has full-size SD and HDMI, and dual USB ports (full-size and mini), while the A500 has very similar options in micro HDMI, micro SD, USB and micro USB.
High-speed Micro SD cards are much cheaper now, as are HDMI to micro HDMI cables. So nit-picking aside, these tablets offer you (nearly) the same I/O experience.
Ultimately the A500 is a better choice because it comes in a sleeker package and it has a camera with flash.
Can anyone recommend a good Android tablet. I've been looking around but there's some really conflicting reports.