Toshiba Thrive: Honeycomb Hits $300
by Vivek Gowri on December 12, 2011 3:00 AM ESTI’ve had a number of Toshiba notebooks, spanning the range from $350 to $1600, and the connecting thread between them all was that the displays were all relatively medicore. You could reason it away on the super cheap units, it was beyond unacceptable on the super-high end R700 I reviewed, but either way, I wasn’t going into the Thrive review expecting a super high-quality display.
Thus, we were surprised to find that the Thrive has a pretty great display. The 10.1” screen has the same 1280x800 that’s the standard of the Honeycomb class. It’s not the brightest panel out there at a max of 343nits, but the contrast ratio of 987:1 is excellent. Not as excellent as the Transformer Prime, but still a very, very solid showing. The white point is set to a temperature of 7687 K, right around where the ASUS Eee Transformer and Eee Slider are set and between the iPad 2 (6801 K) and Galaxy Tab 10.1” (8762 K).
The unfortunate part of the display is that there isn’t actually a glass covering on it, a la the Gorilla Glass or other chemically-hardened glass coverings that many companies use on their smartphone and tablet displays. There’s a bit of give in the screen when you press it too hard (especially if you’re typing particularly vigorously). The cheap feeling it gives off is a bit unfortunate, because it undermines the quality of the display panel.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
33 Comments
View All Comments
Aquila76 - Tuesday, December 13, 2011 - link
I was one of the lucky ones to get this Black Friday from Amazon for $199. At that price, this is an amazing value. I got it for my Dad since he needed something portable for his line of work. I completely agree about the chrome ring around the cameras; it makes this look toyish. That was actually a plus, as it makes it a little less likely to be stolen. Overall, I was really impressed with the Thrive and it's connections. ThriveForums.org have a good selection of root guides and alternate ROMs. They just released a Honeycomb 3.2 rooted ROM.combustication - Wednesday, December 14, 2011 - link
I purchased my thrive last month and have not used my notebook ever since. It's definitely not as durable as my notebook which I have been able to treat like a redheaded stepchild and I didn't feel comfortable traveling with it until I got a case. I was also worried about the screen but after seeing a screen test someone posted on youtube (linked below) those are gone. I agree the chrome around the camera and Toshbia name plate lack style but the rubberize backing is a nice touch. The navigational abilities of the thrive (and all tablets I assume) has blown me away, I can't see my self going back to a notebook. Being a news junkie my favorite app has become Pulse which is a match made in heaven for tablets. It has allowed me to consume more news in a timely and efficient manner than ever before. I also really like that I can throw an AVI file onto my thrive, attach a HDMI Cable from it to my TV and I'm set to go. I'm looking forward to being able to control my home sound system with my thrive and perhaps even the lights down the road.http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedd...
briwayjones - Saturday, December 17, 2011 - link
It seems that everybody mentions that they have yet to have a reason to use the rear facing cameras on a tablet. I understand it's not the most usable thing. I just wanted to mention one reason I've used the rear facing camera on my tablet.I deal with about ten different properties that the company I work for manages. I have each property entered as a contact with it's information. I like to take a picture of what the property looks like and use it as the profile picture in the contact so I can remember which property is which. Also if need be I could also use it to take a picture of something inside a property that needs to be fixed for example.