Toshiba Thrive: Honeycomb Hits $300
by Vivek Gowri on December 12, 2011 3:00 AM EST
The Thrive has two cameras, a 5.0MP rear facing camera and a 2.0MP front facing camera. Like many other tablets, the final images are decent enough for web viewing but not impressive when viewed at sensor resolution. I’m not sure that this is a big deal, or a deal at all because I’m not sure who actually uses the rear facing camera on a tablet. I’ve had a decent number of them over the last year or so, and I have yet to use the cameras on the ones that have them or miss them on the ones that don’t. I always have a smartphone on me, and it’s just more convenient to use for the purpose of taking pictures.
The front facing camera, in my opinion, is much more important, and this one works reasonably well. 720p video recording is supported on the rear facing camera, though unfortunately there is some motion blur present. Ultimately, the camera isn’t great, but it does the job adequately.
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doggod - Monday, December 12, 2011 - link
How is what Microsoft wants, come into the net books argument at all. None of the tablets people are buying come with a Microsoft OS so you would imagine that manufactures would jump on having net books with android installed which negates any licensing costs.Personally I dont get their use either, apart as a toy. And an expensive toy.
Portability is negated by having to type on the screen( which if you haven't left the tablet down on a surface you have to do one handed)
Websites have to be zoomed to read properly
mathew7 - Tuesday, December 13, 2011 - link
"How is what Microsoft wants, come into the net books argument at all. None of the tablets people are buying come with a Microsoft OS so you would imagine that manufactures would jump on having net books with android installed which negates any licensing costs."Please research before you talk. Just a hint: tablets are not sold with Windows because there is no way to run it. The CPU from the tablets has nothing in common with what you have on a netbook or desktop. It's like diesel vs. gasoline engine: they both take you somewhere, but how they make power is completely different (you cannot run and/or you will damage either engine if you put the wrong fuel).
So tablet designers take no attention to MS Win Starter limitations. But netbook designers, even if the tablet will be sold with Win7 HP, it's still designed for Win7 Starter because of HW sharing between models.
DanNeely - Monday, December 12, 2011 - link
Viewing angles? IPS vs TN?Hrel - Monday, December 12, 2011 - link
I can't beleive someone who reads anandtech has to ask this. TN maxes out at about 170 degree viewing angles, marketed, not practical application. IPS is basically 180 degree, ie you can always see it and it always looks good. IPS has significantly longer response times though. Pretty much all flat panel LCD tv's are IPS.Aloonatic - Monday, December 12, 2011 - link
Why bother to read anandtech at all, when you know everything already?mjcutri - Monday, December 12, 2011 - link
I made the mistake of buying a Thrive for my wife when they first came out in July. It was one of my worst tech purchases ever. I liked the idea of the dock and full size ports, but the flaws just don't make up for what I perceived as advantages.The screen takes next to nothing to break it and Toshiba knows it. They charge over $300 to replace it. Initially you could get a replacement screen and spend 4 hours trying to fix it yourself, but there was such a run on them (since the screen is so crappy) that they ran out of stock quickly. Since then, they have increased the price from $80 to $160 for the replacement screen, which now isn't worth it.
I'm getting her a Transformer when the price drops on those.
mjcutri - Monday, December 12, 2011 - link
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention the incredibly buggy software.The well known problem of not waking from sleep has still not been fixed. (You have to turn it completely off and then back on again.) The screen randomly turn on by itself. (which is really annoying when you're trying to sleep.) The screen randomly doesn't go to sleep when you press the power button. (It just flashes black and then back on again.)
VivekGowri - Monday, December 12, 2011 - link
There was an update to fix the sleep-wake problem, I never encountered it after that...As for the screen, yeah - because it's plastic, it's easier to break/scratch/damage. I really, really wish Toshiba would have gone the extra distance and gone for Gorilla Glass or some other kind of chemically treated glass covering for the screen.mjcutri - Wednesday, December 21, 2011 - link
Yeah...that update...didn't fix crap...And the screen is glass, just not gorilla glass.
TexasAg03 - Monday, December 12, 2011 - link
"...eventually settling in the $4-500 range."Could you please let me know where the $4 tablets are?