It looks like the
AT200 isn't the only Toshiba tablet poised to land in time for the holidays. The company just announced the Thrive 7", a (surprise!) 7-inch version of
the original. Like its big brother, it runs on Tegra 2 and packs twin 5 MP / 2 MP cameras, though this time around that textured, rubberized back isn't removable, and the rear-facing camera comes paired with an LED flash. As you'd expect, in exchange for a smaller form factor (0.88 pounds, half an inch thick), you'll be giving up the full-sized ports that made the original so unique. Instead, it offers a more typical selection, including mini-USB and micro-HDMI sockets, a headphone jack, docking connector and a microSD slot. Like pretty much every 7- and 8-incher trickling into the market, it runs Android 3.2, and Toshiba did us the favor of leaving it completely unskinned (it
did include Swype as a keyboard option, though). No word yet on pricing or availability, though a Toshiba rep confirmed that 16GB and 32GB models will go on sale by early December with a starting price of "less than $400." How low is Toshiba willing to go? Your guess is good as ours but until then, you can meet us past the break for some early impressions and a short vid, too.
Toshiba announces 7-inch Thrive tablet, we go hands-on (video)
By Dana Wollman 
posted Sep 27th 2011 8:00PM It looks like the
AT200 isn't the only Toshiba tablet poised to land in time for the holidays. The company just announced the Thrive 7", a (surprise!) 7-inch version of
the original. Like its big brother, it runs on Tegra 2 and packs twin 5 MP / 2 MP cameras, though this time around that textured, rubberized back isn't removable, and the rear-facing camera comes paired with an LED flash. As you'd expect, in exchange for a smaller form factor (0.88 pounds, half an inch thick), you'll be giving up the full-sized ports that made the original so unique. Instead, it offers a more typical selection, including mini-USB and micro-HDMI sockets, a headphone jack, docking connector and a microSD slot. Like pretty much every 7- and 8-incher trickling into the market, it runs Android 3.2, and Toshiba did us the favor of leaving it completely unskinned (it
did include Swype as a keyboard option, though). No word yet on pricing or availability, though a Toshiba rep confirmed that 16GB and 32GB models will go on sale by early December with a starting price of "less than $400." How low is Toshiba willing to go? Your guess is good as ours but until then, you can meet us past the break for some early impressions and a short vid, too.
This thing's called the Thrive for a reason: it looks like a shrunken version of the 10-inch model we reviewed over the summer. Like its big brother, it has a rubber-coated back with indented lines that cross the lid at different angles. It, too, has 5MP and 2MP cameras, set off by a metal piece with Google branding. This time, though, neither the lid nor the 15Wh battery is removable, and black is your only color option. We didn't have a chance to test out the improved 5 MP camera 'round back, but suffice to say, we consider that more than a cosmetic change.
In the case of the original Thrive, there was no getting around the fact that it was big. Chunky, and leaden, at 1.6 pounds. And there was a reason for that: it had full-sized USB and HDMI ports, along with an SD slot, all of which were
going to add heft. But the Thrive 7" doesn't offer anything surprising in the way of ports, which might explain why it doesn't feel particularly heavy. Now that full-sized sockets aren't an issue, Toshiba seems to have narrowed the skinniness gap. Put simply, it doesn't feel materially heavier than other 7- and 8-inch slates we've handled recently.
And though we've only spent a few minutes with it so far, we have to say we were impressed by the 7-inch 1280 x 800 display, which looked bright and crisp and responded briskly to our various taps and swipes. We're also looking forward to testing Swype on it, but that's a project for a later day. In general, we'll reserve judgment until we can spend more than five minutes with it (knowing how much it'll cost and what other 7-inchers are on the way would help too!). In the meantime, have a gander at our gallery and walk-through video, and feel free to play armchair reviewer.
