Toshiba AT100 review

Fast Android 3.1 tablet has full-size USB and HDMI ports and Tegra 2, but also extra bulk

Toshiba Thrive
A 1GHz Tegra 2 processor plus Nvidia GeForce graphics card make this a fast tablet

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Toshiba thrive review

The Toshiba AT100 follows the lead of the Asus Eee Pad Transformer in including several extra third-party apps beyond those normally included with Android 3.1.

Interestingly, while the apps are different and helpful, they eventually match up to the Transformer in terms of overall value.

Toshiba includes QuickOffice on the Toshiba AT100, for opening documents and spreadsheets (the Asus Eee Pad Transformer includes the similar Polaris Office app).

Toshiba thrive review

There's also an app from Kasperky Labs for running a virus check on your files, which is helpful if you transport those files to a computer.

There's also a nice-looking Backgammon game and several card games, but no hardcore visually intense games from, say, Gameloft, are pre-installed for you.

Toshiba includes a file manager app, a Media Player app and a few extra utilities for getting support from Toshiba and an online manual.

Toshiba also includes the rather expensive app LogMeIn Ignition, which costs $14.99 on the Android Market, and enables you to access your main computer from the tablet. We tested a connection over Wi-Fi to a desktop in a home office and the app ran smoothly. Being able to attach a mouse meant we could run Windows quite easily in a virtual window.

Most third-party apps we tested worked well. Once again, the GeForce graphics pump up the speed, but the Android 3.1 operating system seemed to run about the same.

When you start the game Paradise Island, there's still a good 30 second load time. Android is designed to run well on Tegra processors, but load times are still CPU-intensive. The GeForce graphics adds some punch at times, but not for most of the typical UI operations.



John Brandon
Contributor

John Brandon has covered gadgets and cars for the past 12 years having published over 12,000 articles and tested nearly 8,000 products. He's nothing if not prolific. Before starting his writing career, he led an Information Design practice at a large consumer electronics retailer in the US. His hobbies include deep sea exploration, complaining about the weather, and engineering a vast multiverse conspiracy.