Thrive On It - Great Tablet

There are myriad tablets on the market these days and most, it seems, resemble a smart phone rather than a laptop. For those who wish their tablet to be closer in function and capability to their laptop but less bulky and cumbersome for use in various circumstances and places, the Toshiba Thrive 10.1 is the answer.

While there are some who complain that Thrive weighs in at a "heavyweight" (for tablets) 1.6 pounds, and is slightly over half an inch thick, there are those, like myself, who simply appreciate the convenience of having not just a USB, but also a mini-USB, as well as a full SD/SDHC/SDXC card slot, along with full HDMI, for 720p video output. The ability to add storage with USB or SD is exactly what the doctor ordered for this user.

The speed of the Thrive should satisfy most anyone, offering a 1 GB internal DDR2 memory, 1 GHz NVIDIA Tegra 2 dual-core mobile processor, GeForce graphics, and all powered by Android 3.1 Honeycomb. I am not a gamer so cannot speak to that, but movies run seemlessly. Thrive has rich and vibrant screen color which is on par with any tablet that I have tested/sampled on the market today, and is, actually, better than most, while allowing us to adjust the LED backlit display as we like. That comes in handy for tweaking color just a tad.

The ease of customizing settings and the entirety of the interface is very satisfying, all without having to plod through a dreaded User's Manual. And, anyway, aren't user's manuals only for reference when one finds themselves in a jam? (Mostly serious on that last comment/question...I hate user's manuals, if you couldn't tell.) I was able to set up my interface the way I wanted within minutes.

Of course Thrive comes standard with stereo speakers and headphone jack, GPS, digital compass, Adobe Flash support, and a dock connector port. I have not yet purchased the dock but the other functions on my 8GB unit work great. I have not noticed any flaws in sound quality, as some reviewers have mentioned. The back cover detaches and, aside from being able to customize Thrive's exterior color scheme (I prefer and have Blue Moon) provides access to a removable battery. I find that the ability to access and change, if ever needed, the battery a nice plus.

The Wireless-N works great and it is easily tethered to any free hotspot encountered. The 5mp back facing camera works good but I do not really plan to use it much as I own Nikon DSLRs. The 2mp front facing camera is more than adequate for its job.

All in all, for a person looking for a reliable, fast, well-built tablet that acts and works more like a laptop than a smart phone, then Thrive is a perfect choice.

Lots of cool specs but software has not developed enough to use any of it

Bought it as a computer replacement and its still got a lot of work to do before it can replace a computer (or compete with ipad) I'm not an apple fan b/c I hate how they control the market and make their products obsolete after a year, but android just does not seem to have anything that can compete with their face-time app. I've tried Tango and Oovoo on this thing and there's really bad static/pinging noises that make it hard to hear/understand the person you are talking to. Google talk is not set up to do video on tablets yet (only computers) and there is no Office equivalent on these tablets. transferring files from external hard drives to the tablet is quite hard too (it has to scan the whole drive before you copy a file) which drains battery life. Would definitely like to have higher quality tablet apps.

Ipad killer, amazing tablet for price

So, I will not explain all of the stats of the device for they have been listed a million times in before reviews. This tablet is amazing. One of the best in my opinion that you can buy out there. Why? Because of the fact that you can have a usb where you can plug in almost anything that you can a laptop or desktop. Thats why I bought the thrive, to replace my laptop. And that it does with flying colours.
One thing that is a flaw that no one seems to note, and I have seen this problem with every thive that I have tried is that when you have head phones attached, they are underpowered. such as the volume is not loud at all. But that is simply fixed with a external $14 amp that you just plug into your head phones.The sound quality that is produced from the speakers is not all that good sounding, but on a good quality song it sounds very good, almost as if there is more speakers than what there is.
The screen is very vibrant, not lacking at all there, very responsive and there is feed back/vibrations like on a phone. In sunlight, it is a little glossy, but that is to be expected with any tablet. The besel around the screen is perfect, people do complain, but I think its perfect for holding it, the Xoom you hit things when you are holding it because the front is pretty much all screen. Colors are amazing, one the better actual quality screens that I have seen, the Samsung Galaxy tab is normally what people love, but in my opinion it is over saturated.
Yes, yes the weight is more than the other tablets, but come on! Its such a tiny difference its not even funny, and the other tablets dont even have a removable back or battery.
Im going to say this to you right now, one bad thing that does need work on is the full HDMI out, it works, dont get me wrong, but man the thing slows down and gets warm when you have it plugged in. Though it is only a 10.1 inch tablet powering a 50" tv, its impressive for what it is.
This tablet is very durable, and really does feel sturdy in your hands. The rubbery backing even helps you hold it. The thing that I personally like is how centered it is around the profile view. On the ipad and the Xoom, they really are more square devices, and I like one the thrive, you either have it in landscape, or profile, the other ones there is no difference in how you hold them.
The battery life is simply amazing, I use it all day, and have wifi on all day. Half full at days end. I think its simply amazing. The Speed is really good on this tablet as well, it rarely bogs down at all. Overall, I love this tablet. It truely is a ipad killer. I am a android fan boy, who has tried all of Apple's devices, and still not liked being held back, I recommend this tablet to anyone

Decent tablet, not so decent customer support

Good interface, full usb, HDMI and SD card slot. Wifi is on the weak side. taking this into account Toshiba's customer service leaves little to be desired. My tablet came out of the box with a defect. The glass was seperating from the body of the tablet. I called Toshiba and the service person told me sure no problem send it in. A couple weeks later I get a call from the repair depot telling me that it isn't covered under warrenty becuase it was caused by the user and I'd have to pay $150 to get it fixed.You can visually see where the glass is coming off, how I could have caused this while taking it out of the box, I'm not sure. I called their customer service back and talked to a manager and was told pretty much the same thing. The Toshiba warrenty didn't cover this. It was defective from the factory. I called them the same day I recieved it even. Despite this I was told if I wanted it fixed I would have to pay. I can't back a company that won't back it's product 100%. Every company has bad products in a production run. It happens and I wouldn't count off a review for it. It's that company's willingness to accept accountability for these defects that really makes a company stand out. In this area Toshiba did not impress.

Happy Toshiba Thrive owner

My first tablet and Android device. The response is very good and I have found the pop up keyboard very easy to type on. Setup was easy and got on my home wifi with no problem. I have used the 10 inch display to show maps to my Sunday School class and notes for me to follow. Some other reviews I read before purchasing said weight was a problem but I like the well constructed feel and it is not that heavy. The rubber feeling back gives me confidence that I will not drop the tablet. I cannot compare this to other tablets as this is my first.