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The latest in the ever improving line of Android based tablets is the Toshiba Thrive. A 10.1 inch, NVIDIA Tegra 2 dual-core powered tablet that is a very attractive option for anyone looking to pick up a tablet right now. The Thrive may not be as slim and sexy as the Samsung Galaxy Tab or as flexible as the ASUS Eee Pad Transformer but the base model is cheaper than an iPad 2 and offers a variety of ports missing on many other tablet competitors.

Toshiba Thrive Specs

  • 10.1″ display (1280×800)
  • NVIDIA Tegra 2 dual-core processor
  • 2.0MP front-facing webcam
  • 5.0 MP rear camera with autofocus
  • 1 GB of RAM
  • Stereo speakers
  • 8 GB internal memory
  • USB, mini-USB, and HDMI ports
  • SD card reader
  • Bluetooth and Wi-Fi  connectivity
  • Gyroscope, Accelerometer, e-Compass, GPS and Ambient Light
  • Screen rotation lock switch
  • User-replaceable  prismatic lithium battery
  • Interchangeable rubber backplate, available in a variety of colors
Pricing and Availablility

The Toshiba Thrive is running a almost stock version of Honeycomb and is available now starting at $429 for the 8GB version, $479 for the 16GB version and $579 for 32GB tablet. It’s a littler fatter than rival tablets but all that space is needed to keep the long list of internals and ports inside.

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10 responses to “Toshiba Thrive – The Android Tablets just keep getting better”

  1. ……thicker and no docking cradle support, albeit support for Bluetooth connectivity makes a wireless keyboard and inviting proposition. Toshiba, back to the drawing board with this one, as i’ll get excited when it comes with at least 12 hours battery life, thinner design and at least US$199 cheaper than the Apple iPad without rebates or discounts of any kind…

    • in time my brother, tablet prices can only come down and as I said you are getting more and more for your money with each model

    • So why exactly should it be at least USD200 cheaper than the iPad 2 and still offer more than the iPad 2 in features?

      • The cheapest Apple iPad 2 is the 16GB WiFi (IEEE 802.11n) version, coming in at a pricey US$499.

        https://geezam.com/apple-ipad-2-dual-core-easy-skankin/2/

        At US$299 cheaper, it would fall into the US$299 region, or half the price of the cheapest Apple iPad.

        At that point, it would start selling like the asus transformer, which coasts in at a decent US$399. It appears that the Asus Transformer’s price and specs combination are a MPP (Magical Pricing Point).

        http://mythoughtsontechnologyandjamaica.blogspot.com/2011/05/asus-transformer-vs-apple-ipad-2-x-men.html

        MPP is a Marketing Metric theoretical price at which a product starts to sell itself without need or much advertising or marketing. A concept somewhat similar to the force of inertia that must be overcome for an immobile object to move.

        analogous to inertia once overcome, or in this case once you go below this critical value, you begin to “move” products off the shelves.

        Its the statistical benchmark [asus transformer price] i am using to gauge the sale of Tablets, which thus far have been lacklustre, despite some of them having great specs and even won the accolades of the tech reviewers at CNET, such as the Motorola Xoom.

        https://geezam.com/motorola-xoom-how-to-beat-the-apple-ipad/

        Most of my articles thus far on Tablets aside form the Apple iPad have shown tepid interest, despite the “feature” as you so eruditely suggest.

        A debate on specs ensueth……

        • Do not get me wrong I’m not stating that you don’t have a valid, strong or statistically accurate argument. I’m just stating separate from economics it just does not seem logically to sell an item for up to 200 dollars cheaper that its competitor(s) when it has more if not superior features to its competitor(s).

          I think that is exactly the system may have very well be worth what it was being charged for due to all the new tech it was implementing so they would have been stabbing themselves in the leg to sell it at the price of their competitor(s) they would possibly not make back what they put in the product to begin with.

          • True better specs translates to higher price. but not to the consumer in this case, who are still wondering why they even need a table to begin with.

            Tablets are a new category of device started by the Apple iPad. The Apple iPad is the definition of a perfect tablet, as far as the market numbers are concerned!!

            so a higher price being justified with more “features” yet none of the performance specs for a device they are not even sure they want, from the customers point of view, is a hard sell.

            Asus so far has got it good. It’s a tablet and with the aid of a docking cradle, its a laptop. Consumers wary of a “new” product category cling to that which they are familiar.

            The price seems reasonable, which is why the Asus Eee Pad Transformer and the Samsung galaxy is the only runaway success aside from the Apple iPad in the Tablet category, “success” meaning greater than 1000000 sales per month on average.

            But in a weakened Recession (and possibly Second Recession based on the EU and US Economies!!) battered economy with weakened consumer confidence in the economy’s long term outlook, common sense dictates that inflation will be down as people have no interest in being tied up in another contract for another device, no mater how great the specs.

            Business [Silicon Valley] must be cognisant of this needs to give a little to expand marketshare in order to grow the market for Tablets to make money from the product in the future, as it is still nascent.

            Effectively make losses now to recoup later when better times return, much as a farmer plants in the drought time, known he’ll lose a couple but at least reap to hold onto his lucrative supply deal.

            They also need to market more as well to switch to other business models of making revenue, such as from a share of revenue from Apps, be they premium or freemium, as Apple currently does. Games apps are best.

            https://geezam.com/smartphones-and-apps-freemium-games-are-no-1/

            Not all the time the can get the money upfront; the US$200 discount they can even get back from running ads on the product or even in the Data plan. As in the case of the US$114 Amazon Kindle, with Ads!!

            http://mythoughtsontechnologyandjamaica.blogspot.com/2011/04/amazon-kindle-and-advertising-at.html

            All just to grow the market.

            They [tablet makers] need to grow the market FIRST then start charging people after they have purchased the device. As Apple has done over the years with iTunes and now with Apple Apps store……….

            Thus lower the cost of the device to the consumer and grow the market!!!!

  2. I actually really like this tablet because of the availability of so many ports without having to buy a additional hardware (case in point the asus transformer).