5 things we love and 5 things we hate about Toshiba Thrive Android tablet

Thrive is Toshiba's latest entrant into the tablet PC market which is already choc-a-bloc with heavyweights like the iPad and the array of Android devices. The tablet is rather heavy in comparison to its peers with 1.6 pounds weight, but its 8GB variant is available for pre-order at $429. In order to carve a niche for itself in the market, Toshiba needed its tablet to stand out from the rest in some aspects and it has done it admirably well by providing added convenience of connectivity. The device has full-sized HDMI, USB, and SD ports and if you are someone who makes extensive use of those features, Thrive is definitely the one for you. Other specifications include Honeycomb 3.1 Android OS, 10.1" backlit HD LED screen supporting multi-touch, an NVIDIA Tegra 2 dual-core processor (1Ghz), 2 MP front and 5 MP rear facing camera with autofocus. We have analyzed and found some good and bad things about the new Toshiba Thrive which are listed below.

Toshiba Thrive Android tablet

5 Things we love about the Thrive

Superior display

One of the first things you will notice about this tablet is superior display quality. Its 10.1" backlit LED display supporting up to 1280*800 resolution at 16:10 aspect ratio is simply stunning. It also supports HD and wide view. This will definitely make an user fall in love with the product immediately.

Latest Android OS

The Thrive has an NVIDIA Tegra 2 dual-core processor clocking 1Ghz and it runs on the latest Android 3.1 Honeycomb. It is one of the few new tablets introduced in the market running the latest Honeycomb.

Color customization

This is one feature of the Thrive that sets it apart from the rest. If customization is what you go for, then you will simply prefer to have this device to others. The main device is originally black but it offers customization of the back cover in five other colors! So, you can take your pick from black, blue, purple, silver, green and pink to suit your personality. These back panels are available for $20 each.

Competitive pricing

The Thrive comes in 3 variants differentiating them on the basis of internal storage space. This provides potential customers with a range to select their Thrive according to their needs and usage style. Also, full sized HDMI, USB, and SD ports make it much easier for users to back up and store extra data on secondary devices. The Thrive is available at $429 for 8GB variant, $499 for 16GB and $599 for 32GB version.

Dual cameras

Another very catchy feature of this tablet device is its dual camera. The Thrive has two cameras, one front side camera with 2.0 megapixel resolution and the other rear side camera with 5.0 megapixel resolution.This not only satisfies needs for high quality image capturing on the go but also high quality video calling. The cameras are more than capable to fit your daily photography needs!

5 things we hate about the Thrive

Power problem

One major issue that has surfaced regarding the Thrive is power related problem that you'd hate in any computer. The Thrive can enter into a permanently dormant state when hibernating put to sleep. According to Endgadget, if the tablet is put to sleep, then it hardly ever starts up without a hard reset or reboot. This can be very irritating as it may cause users to lose critical data if they were working on something important.

Camera performance

The Thrive has dual cameras, one each on the front and rear side. Although, the images taken in well lit conditions are decent in quality however, in low light conditions, the quality of the images deteriorates rapidly causing blurred or uncleared out-of-focus images. This can be a dampener for people who love taking photos.

Wake/reboot Issue

The Thrive in its initial reviews is rife with power related issues. There have been reports that the Thrive erratically may power itself on its own without any user intervention. This anomaly is rather serious and it is still unclear whether this issue is a result of hardware wiring or software bugs.

No 3G or 4G:

The Toshiba Thrive is a purely Wi-Fi device which means it has only support for Wi-Fi connectivity. This is another point where the Thrive suffers in comparison to other tablets. However, the support provided in the form of USB ports helps users overcome this hurdle as they can make use of dongles to connect to 3G or GPRS networks for surfing on the go.

Weight

The Thrive loses out to its tablet peers in terms of weight and size. Weighing around 1.6 pounds it is heavier than both the Galaxy Tab and the iPad. So if you are looking for a slimmer and lightweight tablet, then you may look for other options.

Coming to the end of our discussion, we would like to point out that it has only been a few weeks since the Thrive has been launched. Over the next few months, the Thrive is definitely going to improve in terms of both performance and market presence riding on the features that separate it from the herd. It is a quality product from Toshiba undoubtedly but it will be the consumers who will give the final verdict on the future of Thrive.