Super Innovative, Best tablet yet!, July 8, 2011

I’ve had the 16gb Thrive for 3 days now. The Thrive is in my opinion the best tablet available. The things that set it apart from other tablets are: Removable battery, Full size HDMI port, Full size USB 2.0 port as well as a mini USB port. All on board with no dock or adapters necessary. You can take your SD card right out of your camera and plug it in to the Thrive ( Handles up to 128 GB SDXC, what?!!) . Toshiba was smart enough to include a file manager that makes it super easy to move data or media between the tablet and SD card or external hard drive, etc. Running Honeycomb 3.1 right out of the box as well. The wifi is the best I have seen, better than any device in my house and I have a lot. Tethers to my Android phone with no problem. The audio is the best I have heard on a tablet.Toshiba worked with SRS and it shows. (One note, the default volume levels are low. Go into settings and adjust right away) The screen is better than the Xoom but not quite as good as the Samsung (in my opinion) and it seems to do better with higher quality and higher resolution content. Looks phenomenal when viewing pictures from my Canon Digital with an L lens. Color accuracy is excellent,not just oversaturated like some other tablets. The screen response is great. Ran a multitouch test and it recognizes 4 separate touch points simultaneously. 2mp front camera and 5 MP back camera are both very good with good lighting. All in all this tablet offers more interoperabilty than anything on the market. It charges really fast, 90% in 90 minutes. Very, very happy with my decision to go with the Thrive. I had considered the Asus but with the horrific build quality issues and lightbleed I decided against it. I am so glad I waited because Toshiba got it right, right out of the box! This thing is solid! No creaking or flex. No loose bezel. Zero lightbleed. A tablet is the sum of all its parts and in the words of Charlie Sheen, #Winning!

Update: 14 hrs today on the battery with fairly heavy surfing and some music and video. The battery gave me 6-7 hrs the first few charges. Wow, I didn’t think it would improve this much! Really happy with the Thrive!

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]]> https://lap-tops.net/toshiba-thrive-10-1-inch-16-gb-android-tablet-at105-t1016/tablet-pc/#comment-241 Scott W. Hutton Wed, 06 Jun 2012 14:18:35 +0000 http://lap-tops.net/toshiba-thrive-10-1-inch-16-gb-android-tablet-at105-t1016/tablet-pc/#comment-241

More than pleased, August 4, 2011

By 

Scott W. Hutton (Evans, WV USA) –

  

This is my first tablet (had it about two weeks), but I work in IT and have configured upwards of 40 iPads for employees to use at my job. I liked the iPads, don’t get me wrong, and while configuring them for our employees, I came to see the real benefit of having a tablet. I’m a big fan of the Android OS, so I decided I’d go with an Android tablet since it offers superior customization and streamlining.

I went with the Toshiba Thrive and couldn’t be happier. It’s fast, responsive, and the Honeycomb OS is very, very slick. I can see a lot of potential in the OS and am looking forward to Ice Cream Sandwich (the next update that will integrate phone and tablet operating systems into one) later this year.

PROS
* Stable – I never experienced the sleep issue at all, but installed the fix yesterday anyway, since it offered some additional performance improvements. No issues out of the performance at all. Everything is fast and responsive. A joy to use.
* Responsive – Honeycomb OS is very fast, clean, and customizable. Very intuitive to use (at least for me). Adding widgets, etc. is fun and easy to layout.
* Video/graphics – Videos look great in all formats, but really snap in HD. All the graphics look great, and the text in the Kindle App looks amazing. Visually stunning. Everyone that has seen it has been impressed.
* Customization – You can set up the five screens any way you want. Widgets are wonderful things! Also plugged it into my laptop and it loaded up without any problems, allowing me to copy some pictures, etc. quickly.
* Multi-task management – The third button along the bottom left allows you to easily switch from application to application quickly. It’s amazing how quickly you can get to something once you get used to using that button!
* Size – to me, this is a pro, because you feel like you’re holding something and it’s very easy to hold on to. You don’t get the sense it’s going to slip out of your hands, like you sometimes do with the iPad2. It doesn’t feel cheap or cheesy, but very solid.
* Battery life – I’ve read some mixed reviews on this, but I get a good 7-8 hours of serious use out of it before it gets below 20%. Over nights, when sleeping, it uses 2%-4% battery life. And it does charge fast, they aren’t kidding about that!

CONS
* The charger – Not a big deal, true, but it’s a small laptop power supply, which I just find annoying to have to lug around. They should have a simple adapter you can use with the provided mini-USB to USB cable.
* Sound – Not really a big issue (and I may be missing something), but even with the volume all the way up on the device, it still sounds a little low to me using headphones. Maybe just a preference here, but I thought I should mention it. It does sound much better without the headphones on, though, but can be a little clinky and suffer from reverb on heavier tracks of music.
* Storage – not really a “con”, but more of a heads-up. You won’t have the full storage amount available to use. For example, if you buy the 8 GB version, you won’t have 8 GB of storage to use. Honeycomb and other things (drivers, etc) take up part of that amount. Same with the 16 and 32 GB versions. Not a big deal, but I know some people are wondering why they only have 5 GB free when they bought the 8 GB version, for example.

OVERALL
A wonderful tablet, performs great, looks great, and has impressed a couple of co-workers enough that they are going to buy one. The full USB port was the big selling point for both. This tablet has been everything I’d hoped for and more. I would recommend it to anyone who is looking for a tablet. This is a great first step into the tablet pool by Toshiba, I must say. If you’re wondering if this tablet will do what you want, I’m pretty sure it will

I give the Thrive 5 Stars.

NOTES
* There were a couple of image/OS updates ready to be installed right out of the box using Toshiba’s SERVICE STATION app. I recommend immediately installing those updates before you do anything else. As with any new laptop, PC, phone, or tab, you should update it first before jumping into other apps, etc.
* I use ADVANCED TASK MANAGER to kill open apps that don’t come with a native procedure for closing them. It integrates into Honeycomb very nicely, and all you need to do is tap the icon along the bottom right of the screen to open it from anywhere. Very slick and easy.
* I recommend that after updating the Operating System and Tablet image through the SERVICE STATION app, you set the LOCK SCREEN PIN (founds in SETTINGS >> LOCATION & SECURITY >> LOCK SCREEN). Also fill out the owner information (it will appear on the lock screen with the keypad). You can never be too careful, and if you do lose it, at least when someone tries to activate it, you’ll have it PIN protected with your contact info right there for them to see.

Thanks…

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]]> https://lap-tops.net/toshiba-thrive-10-1-inch-16-gb-android-tablet-at105-t1016/tablet-pc/#comment-240 Kaio Wed, 06 Jun 2012 13:51:14 +0000 http://lap-tops.net/toshiba-thrive-10-1-inch-16-gb-android-tablet-at105-t1016/tablet-pc/#comment-240

For me, Thrive beats Galaxy Tab and Acer Iconia, July 9, 2011

By 

Kaio (Santa Monica, CA) –

  

  

*UPDATE 8* Now Up: See the addendum at the end of this review.

I pre-ordered the 32gb Thrive here on Amazon, but got impatient and went to a local retailer just to check them out. We loved this tab so much, we got a 2nd for my husband in 16gb.

Toshiba Brand

First off — No — I do not work for Toshiba. But I fell in love with the brand a little over a year ago when I bought a new Qosmio laptop, and it’s BY FAR the best computer I have ever owned. I love it as much today as the day I got it, so when I found out Toshiba had an Android Tab, I had to take a serious look.

Galaxy & Iconia in Brief

Prior to learning about Thrive, I was seriously considering the new 10″ Galaxy Tab. I had been coveting the 8″ model for some time, but just wasn’t ready to take the leap. So when the 10″ came along, I just had to stop by a local retailer to try one out hands-on. And I must say, I really fell in love with it — the screen is vivid and stunning, the interface is clean and responsive. And it’s super thin for sure. But, the first thing I noticed was there’s no inputs of any kind; no SD slot, no USB, no nada. The sales rep said that’s because everything is trending toward the “cloud.” Well, that’s all well and good, but I like products that I control, not products that control me (hence why I’m no fan of Apple’s line of iShackle products. I’m all for “the cloud” and have one here on Amazon for my music, but I’m also the type that prefers to have my own stuff stored locally. I also like to get into the nuts and bolts of my peripherals and use them my way, so having no inputs on the Galaxy was a huge letdown for me. I left the store feeling underwhelmed, and like it wasn’t the right time to buy a tablet. But I was bitten by the bug so I went home and started researching other tabs.

Reviews here on Amazon had me convinced Acer Iconia was better than Asus Transformer. And the Acer had USB inputs, so I was happy with that. But I’ve never been a big fan of Acer, so I still wasn’t feeling the itch just yet. But then I stumbled upon the Toshiba Thrive, and still being so highly impressed with their laptop, I immediately felt a connection to the Thrive.

Every Input I’ll Ever Need

Thrive has SD card, USB, mini-USB and full size HDMI ports. And for me, this is where Thrive clobbers the competition — Toshiba just “gets it;” they make products that keep the end user in control and offer a truly freeing experience. I have a full size HDMI port on my Toshiba laptop too, and let me tell you, it completely changed my computing experience! My laptop is connected to a 50″ plasma TV and I use a wireless keyboard and gyration remote for a mouse. Let me tell you, once you use a computer that way, there’s just no going back. So all those inputs on the Thrive was a big clincher for me — and once again, Toshiba stands head and shoulders above the rest in this department. I fully expect to connect my tablet to my HDTV as well. And the on-board SD and USB ports assure I’ll have all the computing freedom and control I’ve come to expect.

Vibrant Screen and Color

When I first saw the Thrive at my local electronics store, I was a bit concerned the screen wasn’t as vibrant as the Galaxy. But then I remembered Thrive has an auto brightness feature, so I was wondering if that was limiting the saturation in some way. I was easily able to find and navigate the setup menus right there in the store, turned off auto-brightness — and voila! — the Thrive’s screen was every bit as vibrant and rich as the Galaxy! The colors and clarity are nothing short of stunning. I hate to say it, but the screen is probably better than my 50″ plasma (it’s only a couple years old, which already makes it a relic in tech world.)

Ease of Use

For me, the truest test of any piece of tech, is the ability to use it straight out of the box with NO help from user manuals. I got a new printer recently and had to fiddle with it for days because the install didn’t set it up properly — and in my book — that’s a sure sign of a piece of junk. This Thrive, however, was very simple and easy to get the hang of within minutes right there in the store. Naturally, that’s as much a testament to Android 3.1 as it is to Toshiba Thrive. Either way, I was doing everything from surfing the net, to customizing the entire interface and settings in minutes, all right there in the store — no user manuals, no nothing. I even tethered it to my cell phone just for fun. The interface is so smooth and responsive, and the Tegra CPU is clearly a beast; no hangs, locking or delays of any kind. Everything was fast, smooth and clean; just the way it should be. In fact, Thrive loaded and buffered YouTube videos better than the Galaxy, though there could be many reasons for that given all the devices on the store’s WiFi network.

Rubberized…

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