Toshiba's Android Tablet comes to Canada in August, starts at $429

Text and photos by Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

Steve Wong of Toshiba Canada gave us a pretty comprehensive overview of Toshiba's Honeycomb (3.1) tablet which is called the Thrive in some markets. Coming to Canada in August, this tablet has a lot going for it. It is the only one in the market with user replaceable batteries ($59.95) and it has I/O galore including a full size SD Card slot, HDMI, miniUSB, full-size USB and dual cameras. Our impressions, the video walkthrough and some photos after the jump.

The Toshiba Tablet will compete with the Motorola XOOM, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and also with the Apple iPad and the HP TouchPad. It is interesting to note that the starting capacity is 8GB (for $429) but since it takes SD Cards, this shouldn't be a problem. 

We liked the grip of the Toshiba Tablet and the fact that you can change the rear case as well as the battery.

“The Toshiba Tablet is a reflection of the utmost importance Toshiba places on bringing the best possible products to the market,” said Steve Wong, Product Manager at Toshiba. “Designed to deliver a fulsome tablet experience, the new Toshiba Tablet offers consumers a competitively priced product that will serve a variety of their needs.”

According to Wong, Toshiba used a PC approach to building the tablet (possibly to cater to its business users). As a result there are a lot of ports for getting files in and out of the device and they've also put in a file manager which is a superb idea. It is nice to see companies focusing on something other than the look and feel of Android on their devices.

While thicker than the Motorola XOOM, the Toshiba Tablet feels solid and substantial. The rubber case at the back makes it feel rugged and tough. The screen is great and seems receptive although it looks like it works a bit better in landscape mode. The Toshiba Tablet has a very serious and corporate and feel to it but this is softened when you pop in one of the colourful replacement rear cases. Below is the official announcement and press release.

--PR

Toshiba’s Digital Products Group (DPG), a division of Toshiba of Canada Limited, confirmed today the arrival of the Toshiba Tablet, the company’s first Android™-powered tablet, to the Canadian market this August.  The Toshiba Tablet is set to deliver a more complete tablet experience, offering Canadian consumers superior performance, features and connectivity options.

The Toshiba Tablet is designed to deliver a next-generation experience.  Powered by the NVIDIA^® Tegra™ 2 processor and Android 3.1 Honeycomb, this cutting-edge tablet offers a convenient new way to connect, browse and enjoy videos, movies, games, photos, books and more. Featuring a 10.1-inch multi-touch LED backlit display, the Toshiba Tablet gives consumers a more complete web experience with fast browsing, plus hardware-accelerated support for Adobe^® Flash® content -right out of the box.  Surf without restrictions.

The Toshiba Tablet is picture perfect thanks to Toshiba’s exclusive Adaptive Display and Resolution+^® video enhancement technologies[i] that enhance image clarity and sharpness. A comfortable virtual keyboard with Swype™ technology makes typing easy, while a full suite of sensors, including a Gyroscope and Accelerometer, allow for rapid and smooth 360-degree screen rotation and control.

The Toshiba Tablet is equipped with a pair of high-resolution cameras, including a 2MP front-facing webcam and 5MP rear-facing camera. Stereo speakers tuned with sound enhancement technologies from Toshiba and SRS^® Labs deliver more natural sound and enhanced clarity for entertainment and video chatting.

Toshiba’s new tablet keeps you connected to the things you love.  Combining Toshiba’s technical and design expertise with laptops and televisions, the new tablet not only complements the capabilities of the Android platform, it also complements the way that today’s consumers are using their PCs. Designed for easy connectivity and continuity with other digital devices, the Toshiba Tablet comes equipped with a robust collection of full-sized ports, including USB 2.0, HDMI® and a SD Card slot. Preloaded applications such as Toshiba File Manager and PrintShare™, make managing files and connecting to a printer over the wireless network effortless.

The Toshiba Tablet delivers the robust multi-tasking and customization capabilities of Android 3.1, Honeycomb. Optimized for tablets, Honeycomb delivers a simple holographic UI, five customizable Home screens, plus a full suite of popular Google™ Mobile Service applications, including YouTube™, Gmail™, Google Maps™, Music, Videos and more, in addition to Android Market™.

The Toshiba Tablet doesn’t just look good. It feels good too.   The Toshiba Tablet offers consumers a slip-resistant Easy Grip finish that is soft to touch and comfortable to hold. It is also the only tablet with removable, interchangeable back covers.  Consumers can easily personalize their tablet with colour since back covers will be available in five fun and vibrant colours- Blue Moon, Raspberry Fusion, Lavender Bliss, Silvery Sky and Green Apple.  A removable battery pack offers further flexibility, offering consumers the option to swap out the battery as needed.

Availability and Pricing 

The Toshiba Tablet and corresponding accessories will be available in Canada in August.  Available memory configurations include 8GB, 16GB and 32GB models.

Participating Retailers:

Best Buy, Future Shop, Staples and Walmart.

Also available at Shoptoshiba.ca      

Pricing:

8GB version - $429

16GB version - $479

32GB version - $579

Accessorize your Toshiba Tablet this August.  Toshiba will offer a diverse suite of accessories for the tablet, including two docking stations, multiple cases and more at select retailers.

The Toshiba Multi-Dock with HDMI is perfect for movie watching, web surfing or enjoying HD content. The dock includes a full-size HDMI port for connecting an HDTV or LCD monitor, two USB 2.0 ports for connecting a keyboard or external hard drive and a 3.5mm stereo audio port to take advantage of external speakers or headphones. The dock makes it easy to securely store and charge the Toshiba Tablet using the AC Adapter included with the tablet. The Multi-Dock is priced at $59.99 SLP.

The Toshiba Standard Dock with Audio Out features built-in 3.5mm stereo audio port that connects to external speakers or headphones and has a small footprint — so it fits virtually anywhere. When docked, users can still easily access all the tablet’s built-in ports. The dock provides an ideal viewing angle to write emails and more using a Bluetooth^® wireless keyboard (sold separately) and also charges the tablet. The Standard Dock is priced at $39.99 SLP.

The Portfolio 360 Case features a patent-pending rotating design that enables users to position the tablet at multiple viewing angles in both landscape and portrait modes without removing the tablet from the case. It’s perfect for movie watching, viewing photos and emailing while in landscape mode and then easily rotates into portrait mode for e-book reading, web surfing and video chats. The case’s elegant design in protective synthetic black leather is stylish and the hard-shell exterior construction and retractable magnetic snap closure helps keep the Toshiba Tablet safe and secure. The Portfolio 360 Case is priced at $59.99 SLP