Toshiba launches thick Thrive tablet in Europe

Toshiba will not be introducing its third-generation Android tablet at this week's IFA consumer electronics show, confounding reports and the hopes fondleslab fans. In the US, Toshiba may be preparing a skinny new Android-based tablet called the Excite, but Europeans are going to get the current chunky model, the Thrive - here …

[pjcard]

Function over form

Think I can live with it being a little bit thicker and heavier if I can actually move files on and off it easily. Function over form for me (and even then, it's still thinner and lighter than my laptop, and it's not all that ugly).

[RichyS]

Cables are so old skool

Why not use something like DropBox.

You can have a nice thin'n'light tablet, and not bother with carrying silly cables around with you either.

If you want something a bit more old skool and big'n'chunky -- just get a netbook. Apparently you can still get them.

[DrXym]

Still doesn't have to be that thick

Other tablets sport USB, SD and HDMI and are thinner than that. Usually they employ the micro / mini versions of these ports which isn't much of an impediment.

[Giles Jones]

Tosh

Except it's Toshiba. Owners of the Toshiba PDAs like the E750 and E800 know what their support is like.

[Arctic fox]

I am not into catwalk models or other types of "thinness" but.......

..........I do think that three-quarters of a kilo is perhaps a *bit* much for a lightweight mobile device? Try reading that one-handed in bed at night and you are likely to end up with bursitis.

[LuMan]

One-handed?

Er, what are you perusing in bed that necessitates the use of one-handed operation??

Oh, hang on.... <whistle>

[Arctic fox]

@LuMan

Yes, if one gets too "involved" one might end up with bursitis in *both* wrists!

[daiakuma]

Are you really that frail?

A lot of paperback novels weight three quarters of a kilo, and people read them in bed. It's a 150 g (1/3rd) heavier than the lightest tablets, which is nothing to get distressed about. If carrying this tablet causes you injury, you must be rather frail already. Meanwhile, there's the extra convenience that all those ports afford.

[technohead95]

Why?

They should create a new category for this type of Tablet called the "Slab". Who wants a tablet twice as thick as competitors. The full size expansion ports/slots is great but not at the expense of twice the thickness. I don't think this will be that popular and Toshiba is doing themselves over by not releasing the Excite to Europe market at the same time as the US market.

[Anonymous Coward]

@Arctic Fox, technohead

I guess it's just me, but 6.9mm and 160g seem rather small price to pay for it's I/O abilities.

[Anonymous Coward]

Size 0

What the hell is this fixation with thin phones and thin tablets? Make 'em light, sure, but thin? That just make'em harder to hold, and gains nothing except another figure to quite at stat geeks.

Actually, lets face it, that's exactly the reason they do it, because the target audience includes vast numbers of people who unaccountably care that their tablet be 0.2 mm thinner than their mate's one. Lame.

[Matt Bucknall]

Let the lawsuits begin...

It's a rectangle with a screen in it.

[Adam Nealis]

The Sledge

You could stick that beast that down the back of your kecks and slide down a hill!

I wonder how the gesture recognition would deal with such a journey?

Maybe that's an idea for an app.

[Francis Boyle]

I'm tired of these slabs

Wake me up when someone makes a PADD.

[Anonymous Coward]

why not?

If the screen is good, software is glitch-free and the battery has enough juice to last, I honestly don't care if it's a bit thicker.

I like the idea of built-in ports, without bothering with pesky dongles and whatnot. They are mighty useful.

[cloudgazer]

the battery doesn't

At least according to the TIMN review it's only giving around 5 hours on a full charge. From their review:

'the entry-level Thrive (which comes with only 8GB of flash storage!) is still $429. Meanwhile, the ASUS Eee Pad Transformer, which is superior in almost every way, costs only $400'

This tablet is Tosh in every sense I'm afraid.

[Torben Mogensen]

If the price is right ...

Incidentally, did they say anything about this?

[Peter 48]

the power adapter

For me it was a choice between the Asus Transformer and this. In the end it was the transformer that won out simply due to not needing a laptop style charger brick. The weight & Thickness weren't really that off-putting

[Justin Clements]

Odds

Who'll give me odds that this will be scrapped by Christmas?

[b166er]

Thickness

So, X=6, Y=8

Z can be anything up to 1ish, given those dimensions, and it still really wouldn't bother me. Can I have RS232 and an ethernet port too? Hold the Kool-Aid

[Roy Cunningham]

...err

I opted for the Acer A500 and I'm chuffed. The reasons: Full size USB 2.0 with host support - gimme your stick and I can have your files right now - HDMI out (micro), thickness - I find handling the Samsung Galaxy Tab or the iPad too thin and uncomfortable to hold for my shovels whereas the Acer and the Asus felt just right. They may have been ok if I had dainty little appendages. I had considered waiting for the tosh but my lack of patience got the better of me. Finally I paid £309 new for the 32GB WiFi only and I'm delighted with it.