The Swiss Army Knife of Tablets: Toshiba's Thrive

hothardware.com ^ | Wednesday, July 27, 2011 | Dave Altavilla

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

I am taking a look at this one.

[ShadowAce]

[the_devils_advocate_666]

I almost tempted to buy one, nice review.

[stuartcr]

Just how many different devices like these, does each person really need?

[Hodar]

Great article by iSuppli on why the Android tablet makers are having such a difficult time keeping up with the iPad. The reason given, is that the manufacturers are dealing with the hardware side of the house; but are totally dependant upon Google to work the software side.

Apple, on the other hand - had complete control of both sides. They know the hardware, they know the software (present and future roadmap) and can performance tweak things - having full visibility into both sides of the house.

Android makers, on the other hand; are strapping high performance processors, to large batteries - and are fighting an uphill battle. They have yet to reach ‘critical mass’ - which again, plays to Apple’s advantage.

[NormsRevenge]

Yup. High on the wish list. Our two Toshiba satellite laptops are gonna get a new sister soon. It could be aXOom or a THrive. The galaxy lacks external connexion.

[Guyin4Os]

Just how many different devices like these, does each person really need?

You are starting to sound like 0bama.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Cisco has an ad running that says over time individuals are going to each have 7....

I would prefer fewer...

[HereInTheHeartland]

I still associate Toshiba with what they illegally did in the late 80’s to help make Russian submarines quieter .
They sold advanced metal milling equipment.

I'm probably narrow minded; but try to avoid their products for that reason

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

I want the capabilites that the HTC Flyer has with its Scribe app and the associated pen...

But the device is a 7" tablet and has other lesser items.

This Toshiba has all of the connections it seems plus a user accessible battery....

But is heavier than other tablets.

[EyeGuy]

Isn’t HP’s tablet offering based on their own proprietary webOS

Any thoughts on that versus the alternatives, specifically iPad?

[discostu]

Need? Probably none. Want? Who can say. Luckily it’s still basically a free country, people can still buy what they want and not worry about whether or not they need it.

[GreenvillePatriot]

There are plenty of capactive pens out there on the market.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

I don't personally...but I did look thru this review :

Home Tablet The HP TouchPad Review: webOS on the Big Screen

***************************EXCERPT**********************************

If this were a race of numbers, Apple would have already won. It isn't. The iPad 2, as successful as it is, isn't perfect. There's tons of room for innovation and we're seeing its competitors offer clear examples of that innovation. As with any market, the lower your market share the more likely you are as a company to take risks. After all, you've got nothing to lose. It's in breaking the mold and taking these risks that great ideas are often born.

[GreenvillePatriot]

If you boycott every company that provided technology to the Russians in the 80’s then you should probably become Amish.

[HereInTheHeartland]

Understand. Being Amish wouldn't be all bad!

From memory however; the Toshiba thing was pretty damaging and deliberate by Toshiba.
It allowed them to quiet their subs quite a bit. I will defer to someone who is more of an expert than myself however.

[stuartcr]

???

[so_real]

Apple, on the other hand - had complete control of both sides. They know the hardware, they know the software (present and future roadmap) and can performance tweak things - having full visibility into both sides of the house.

Interesting. Why are the competing tablet manufacturers pushing their own favorite operating systems? As these new tablets gain multiprocessing, a decent amount of RAM, and a usable screen resolution, it seems their manufacturers would be far, far, far ahead by sticking with a well known operating system like Windows or Ubuntu where the applications are readily available and stable. I agree with you that as the hardware improves, the application bottleneck rears its head ever more frequently. And the Android OS is not, shall we say, "revered" for its security. Pushing the "Web OS" bit seems a losing battle in the long run. Once the tablet has as much power as a laptop, what is the point of a dummied down operating system?

[NRA1995]

Why would I want a tablet as opposed to a laptop? Just curious.....anybody?