>Honest review from AMAZON.COM customer:  By Kaio (Santa Monica, CA)

I pre-ordered the 32gb Thrive here on Amazon, but got impatient and went
to a local retailer just to check them out. We loved this tab so much,
we got a 2nd for my husband in 16gb.

Toshiba Brand

First off — No — I do not work for Toshiba. But I fell in love
with the brand a little over a year ago when I bought a new Qosmio
laptop, and it’s BY FAR the best computer I have ever owned. I love it
as much today as the day I got it, so when I found out Toshiba had an
Android Tab, I had to take a serious look.

Galaxy & Iconia in Brief

Prior to learning about Thrive, I was seriously considering the new
10″ Galaxy Tab. I had been coveting the 8″ model for some time, but
just wasn’t ready to take the leap. So when the 10″ came along, I just
had to stop by a local retailer to try one out hands-on. And I must
say, I really fell in love with it — the screen is vivid and stunning,
the interface is clean and responsive. And it’s super thin for sure.
But, the first thing I noticed was there’s no inputs of any kind; no SD
slot, no USB, no nada. The sales rep said that’s because everything is
trending toward the “cloud.” Well, that’s all well and good, but I like
products that I control, not products that control me (hence why I’m no
fan of Apple’s line of iShackle products.) I’m all for “the cloud” and
have one here on Amazon for my music, but I’m also the type that
prefers to have my own stuff stored locally. I also like to get into
the nuts and bolts of my peripherals and use them my way, so having no
inputs on the Galaxy was a huge letdown for me. I left the store
feeling underwhelmed, and like it wasn’t the right time to buy a tablet.
But I was bitten by the bug so I went home and started researching
other tabs.

Reviews here on Amazon had me convinced Acer Iconia was better than
Asus Transformer. And the Acer had USB inputs, so I was happy with
that. But I’ve never been a big fan of Acer, so I still wasn’t feeling
the itch just yet. But then I stumbled upon the Toshiba Thrive, and
still being so highly impressed with their laptop, I immediately felt a
connection to the Thrive.

Every Input I’ll Ever Need

Thrive has SD card, USB, mini-USB and full size HDMI ports. And for
me, this is where Thrive clobbers the competition — Toshiba just “gets
it;” they make products that keep the end user in control and offer a
truly freeing experience. I have a full size HDMI port on my Toshiba
laptop too, and let me tell you, it completely changed my computing
experience! My laptop is connected to a 50″ plasma TV and I use a
wireless keyboard and gyration remote for a mouse. Let me tell you,
once you use a computer that way, there’s just no going back. So all
those inputs on the Thrive was a big clincher for me — and once again,
Toshiba stands head and shoulders above the rest in this department. I
fully expect to connect my tablet to my HDTV as well. And the on-board
SD and USB ports assure I’ll have all the computing freedom and control
I’ve come to expect.

Vibrant Screen and Color

When I first saw the Thrive at my local electronics store, I was a
bit concerned the screen wasn’t as vibrant as the Galaxy. But then I
remembered Thrive has an auto brightness feature, so I was wondering if
that was limiting the saturation in some way. I was easily able to find
and navigate the setup menus right there in the store, turned off
auto-brightness — and voila! — the Thrive’s screen was every bit as
vibrant and rich as the Galaxy! The colors and clarity are nothing
short of stunning. I hate to say it, but the screen is probably better
than my 50″ plasma (it’s only a couple years old, which already makes it
a relic in tech world.)

Ease of Use

For me, the truest test of any piece of tech, is the ability to use
it straight out of the box with NO help from user manuals. I got a new
printer recently and had to fiddle with it for days because the install
didn’t set it up properly — and in my book — that’s a sure sign of a
piece of junk. This Thrive, however, was very simple and easy to get
the hang of within minutes right there in the store. Naturally, that’s
as much a testament to Android 3.1 as it is to Toshiba Thrive. Either
way, I was doing everything from surfing the net, to customizing the
entire interface and settings in minutes, all right there in the store
– no user manuals, no nothing. I even tethered it to my cell phone
just for fun. The interface is so smooth and responsive, and the Tegra
CPU is clearly a beast; no hangs, locking or delays of any kind.
Everything was fast, smooth and clean; just the way it should be. In
fact, Thrive loaded and buffered YouTube videos better than the Galaxy,
though there could be many reasons for that given all the devices on the
store’s WiFi network.

Rubberized Back

Some might not think much of this, but believe me, it’s pretty
awesome and makes the Thrive feel like velvet in my hands! It also
gives me confidence in the tablet’s durability and build quality. By
contrast, both the Galaxy and Iconia have a hard, slick back, and as a
result, I personally found them both harder to hang on to. I’m disabled
and easily drop things, so I never felt fully confident holding either
the Galaxy or Iconia. All of these tabs are just a few weeks old, and
it’s worth pointing out that the backs of both the Galaxy and Iconia
were scuffed and scratched to the point of making them look junky.
Granted, they’re both display models in a high traffic store, but the
physical condition of both these tabs after only a couple weeks on
display suggests one can expect the same blemishes from personal use
over time. By contrast, the Thrive’s rubber backing assures there’ll be
no scuffs or scratches on my tab or anything I set it down on. And if
it does wear out, I can just buy a new backing in one of 6 cool colors.

Thickness

Yes, the Thrive is probably twice as thick as the Galaxy, but I’m ok
with that. Especially since it isn’t all that much heavier. I think
the added thickness is due to the USB and HDMI inputs the Galaxy is
lacking. Personally, I’d rather have a slightly thicker tab with all
the inputs I want, than a wafer thin tab that has a USB dongle dangling
from it that I always have to remember to carry. Smaller and thinner
isn’t always better, at least not for my taste. I don’t want a 10″
wafer thin screen that I’m scared to drop or set down anywhere, or that
will easily get scratched or cracked. The Galaxy just doesn’t feel very
durable, nor did the Iconia. While the added thickness and rubberized
back make the Thrive feel more durable; like it could survive being
accidentally dropped, or if placed on a table, the rubber backing would
help it survive minor spills. Being disabled, I need something durable,
and to that end, the Thrive feels like it will easily outlast both the
Galaxy and Iconia. And we’re not talking a super thick tablet here;
it’s still plenty thin. It’s also very light; if not, my hands would
cramp up and I wouldn’t be able to grasp it to begin with.

Wider Body – More To Get My Paws On!

The Thrive is a bit wider than both the Galaxy and the Iconia — the
screen size is the same on all 3, but the Thrive’s casing is about half
an inch wider, which is great because it gives me a little more edge to
hang on to without my fingers covering part of the screen. I have big
hands, so this all adds up to a good thing for me. Overall, the Thrive
just feels better in my hands, and more sturdy and durable.

Screen Protectors

I’m a fan of those “helicopter blade” screen protectors and have
been using them on all my touch screen devices for years. I went ahead
and ordered a full body protector for my 32gb Thrive pre-order. But
after getting my hands on my husband’s 16gb Thrive, I’m realizing I
don’t want to cover the velvety rubber back of my Thrive with a screen
protector. They haven’t arrived yet, but I’m hoping we can use the back
of the screen protector on the front of our 16gb Thrive (both pieces
appear to be the same shape and size.) If not, no biggie, we’ll just
order another screen protector. I’m a big believer in screen protection
and they’ve saved me from accidental scratches more than once.

Entertainment Hub

I’ve read that Tablets are trying to edge themselves into being the
conduit that connects all your devices — TV, cell phone, computer, etc.
And after getting this Thrive in my hands, I can see how tablets can
easily fill that void. I love my Qosmio laptop, but prefer not to take
it away from home. And my smartphone is great, but the screen is just
too small to enjoy surfing the net on it. But now with the Thrive, I
can stay connected and still enjoy a full-fledged experience on the go,
or even at home, all in the palm of my hands. I’ve never been much into
social networking, but I’m realizing that for someone with limited
mobility, this might be my conduit to the outside world. I can totally
see how using this tab in a social aspect while watching TV would
broaden and enhance my experience. I just may get into Twitter too, and
all that thanks to this Thrive! Duh — I’m starting to get why they
named it that to begin with!

Replaceable Battery

Some people might find this meaningless. But I just had to replace
the battery in my expensive Harmony remote and it’s only 2 years old.
So for me, having a replaceable battery in an expensive tablet its HUGE!
No other brand offers this but Thrive.

Bottom Line — my head is reeling a bit from the thought of owning 2
tablets. It’s really not an expense we can afford and I should
probably cancel my 32gb pre-order here at Amazon or return this 16gb.
But we love it so much… I guess we’ll see what happens. Either way, I
really love this tablet and am VERY happy with it. Every once in a
while, a product comes along that fits my life like a glove. Last time,
it was Toshiba’s Qosmio laptop. This time, it’s their Thrive tablet.
These are the first 2 Toshiba products I’ve owned, and I must say, I
think Toshiba has won me over for life. The quality, ease of use,
superior construction and forward thinking innovation — I’m sold; hands
down. There are plenty of tablets out there to choose from. Just do
your research and find the one that fits you. For me, that’s Toshiba
Thrive. I LOVE this tablet!!

7/22/11 UPDATE — Tips & Tricks:

After using both 16gb and 32gb Thrive’s for a couple weeks, I thought I’d add this addendum to my review:

HDMI DUAL VIEW

Hook up the Thrive to your HDTV and the screen will display
simultaneously on Thrive and your TV; Angry Birds on a 50″ plasma – FUN!
I got a 25′ HDMI cable, but am looking into wireless. Picture is
stunning. BTW — there’s a reason why HDTVs _don’t_ use mini or micro
HDMI — because the signal isn’t as good as full-size HDMI, and only
Thrive has that capability.

DON’T USE A USB HUB

I’ve had spotty results transferring files to Thrive when plugged
into a hub. But when I plug the Thrive directly into my laptop’s USB
port, I’ve had no issues and transfers are quite fast. (Win 7 Pro 64bit)

FIREWALLS CAN BLOCK APPS

I was initially having problems downloading apps from the Market
while on my home WiFi, but then I realized my router’s firewall was
blocking some of Thrive’s inbound traffic. So I set up 2 simple Port
Forwarding rules, and voila, problem solved.

BATTERY LIFE

Thrive charges in a about 1 hour; slightly longer if you’re using it
while charging. So far, I’ve been getting 14-26 hours per charge
while using Thrive on and off throughout the day. My screen is set to
50% brightness with auto-brightness turned off. I leave WiFi on and
just let Thrive go into sleep mode when not in use; naturally, the
battery lasts even longer if I completely shut down at night.
Yesterday, I started the day with 50% battery life left — I played
Angry Birds for 4 hrs straight, watched YouTube for an hour, surfed the
net and checked email for another hour, and read a book for 90min — all
that before the battery finally died and needed a recharge. There’s
nothing scientific about my tally, but Thrive is giving me great battery
life, IMO.

ADOBE FLASH, FAST SURFING & PAGE LOADS

Surfing the net is NOTHING like on my phone. Web pages load as fast
as my laptop and I can have several tabs open at the same time. Fast,
smooth and responsive. Flash works great. Haven’t run into a website
yet that doesn’t work.

EXTERNAL USB & FLASH DRIVES

Make sure they are formatted with FAT (not NTFS) and you’ll have no
problems. I even hooked up an external 500gb Western Digital My
Passport drive with no issues.

WHY 32gb IS BETTER THAN 16 or 8gb

Thrive comes pre-loaded with many apps; some useful, like Toshiba
File Manager and Service Station; some not so useful, and they can’t be
deleted. Point being — I’ve never heard anyone complain about having
too much HD space. So do yourself a favor and get the largest GB you
can afford. SD cards, IMO, are for convenience, NOT for extending your
storage capacity and running apps off it. I use mine to view and
transfer pics off my digital camera.

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