Preview: Toshiba's ultra-slim AT200 10.1-inch Android tablet

First look:

Toshiba is to unveil the thinnest ever tablet PC dubbed Toshiba AT200 in January next year. The Japanese technology maker announced the tablet in September this year. The 10.1-inch gadget will be 7.7mm thinner and will have a weight of just 558 grams. Of course, Toshiba AT200 will raise stiff challenge to Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and Apple iPad 2. The new Toshiba tablet will come up with Android 3.2 Honeycomb. It is not clear whether the machine will get Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich update.

Toshiba AT200 tablet

What’s new:

Toshiba shows off less weight and thinness as the major features of its upcoming Android Honeycomb tablet. Customers always look forward for thinner and lighter devices. Toshiba has better realized the customer psychology to figure out AT200. Anyway, with a weight below 600 grams and 7.7 mm thickness, the Toshiba tablet will shine in stores.

What’s been refreshed:

Toshiba has been in tablet market for sometime around. The technology maker’s Toshiba Thrive, an Android 3.1 Honeycomb tablet, weighs at 725 grams and has a thickness of 16mm. So the company is to bring some extreme enhancements on its new tablet PC. The device will be known as the thinnest tablet ever.

Features walkthrough:

1. Attractive dimensions and weight: Toshiba AT200 has the dimensions of 256 x 176 x 7.7 mm. It weighs only at 558 grams. The tab will be ultra portable with the less weight and slimness.

2. Better processing: The Toshiba tablet will be equipped with a 1.2 GHz dual-core TI OMAP 4430 and 1GB of RAM.

3. 10.1-inch display: Like Toshiba Thrive and Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, Toshiba AT200 will have a 10.1-inch display.

4. Software: The new Toshiba tablet will play on Android 3.2 Honeycomb, the latest version of Honeycomb, the tablet-only version of Android. Maybe the tab will get updated with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich at a later date.

5. Cameras: The Toshiba tablet will have two cameras; a 5-megapixel rear camera and a 2-megapixel front camera for video calls.

6. Storage: The tablet features 64GB of internal memory with a microSD slot for memory expansion.

7. Connectivity: You will have Bluetooth, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, HDMI port and microUSB on the new tablet. HDMI port is a special feature that will help you stream contents to a large HDTV or other displays.

What’s good?

The upcoming Toshiba tablet is known for its thin body. With 7.7 mm thickness, the gadget looks pretty attractive. Added with less weightiness, Toshiba AT200 will be one of top portable tablets in world. An enhanced processor, RAM, dual cameras and HDMI port make the new Toshiba tablet a highly competitive product. Above all, it runs on Android 3.2 Honeycomb. Maybe it will get updated with Ice Cream Sandwich in some months after the official release.

What’s not so good?

The rear camera of the tablet is not good enough. With a 5-megapixel camera, Toshiba AT200 will not be able to compete with competitors like Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 that sports an 8-megapixel camera with 1080p video capture. According to Toshiba, its new tablet comes with Android 3.2 Honeycomb. It should be great if the device comes with Ice Cream Sandwich, instead.

Price and availability:

Toshiba has not revealed the possible price tag of its upcoming tablet. Meanwhile, responding to a German blogger’s request on Toshiba’s Facebook page, the company said AT200 will arrive in stores in January next year.

Wrap-up:

Toshiba AT200 is to be yet another high performing tablet for early next year. The device is featured for its less weight and thinness rather than the processor performance. Asustek recently announced a quad core Android tablet Eee Pad Transformer Prime for early next year. As a whole, the tablet industry is becoming more brisk with brilliant products like Toshiba AT200. Apple iPad 2 and Galaxy Tab 10.1, current leaders of the market will face stiff challenges from these kinds of products. Indeed, Samsung and Apple will also be planning some groundbreaking versions of their tablets not to be left behind in a market that gets crowded with more belligerent products.