Discussion on:

Toshiba Thrive: The best business-grade tablet on the market

I don't see from this review how the Thrive stands out compared to other Tegra 2 tablets. The review seems to make a big deal about the Thrive having a Tegra 2 processor and 1Gb of memory. So do most Android 3.0 tablets, right such as Samsung, Asus, etc..

If performance is so important why not mention the tablet with a Tegra 3 Quad core.

And USB? Well that exists on many other tablets as well.

And as the review pointed out, Android helps IT departments so why not pick a Tablet with Android 4.0 instead of the older 3.0 that the Thrive runs??

If I had to choose a "Tegra 2" based tablet I would go with the Asus TF101 with the keyboard dock which provides many more hours of battery power. I've been on 9 hr flights and never had to worry about the charge (the specs say with the dock you get 16 hrs... but more like 13hours)...

Battery life is most important to me and to most everyone else in a large organization. You need to spend more time working and not worrying about where to plug in to get a charge.

Of course... if I could choose any tablet I'd go for the TF201 with the Tegra 3 processor and running Android 4.0 right now.

Thanks for your comments. Wondering if you can name any other tablet on the market, regardless of processor, can meet the other criterion listed? There are lots of great Android tablets on the market, no doubt and Asus is offering some truly interesting tablets these days. I appreciate your feedback.

but I'm truly digging my Asus TF201. Quad core processor, 1GB RAM, 32 GB storage, ICS...and from what I can tell, meets the criterion specified. The tablet has a microSD slot and a micro hdmi port, and the mobile dock (highly recommended) adds a full size USB port and SD card reader. Still working on the "business capabilities"...I've had it for only a week...but already know that Touchdown and Pocket Cloud are functional.

maybe not now.

when i purchased my Thrive last year, i did my research--and based on what i needed, the Thrive was the winner, hands down.

if i were to purchase a tablet today, Feb 3, 2012, i might get the Asus Transformer Prime.

they've basically got the same features--with standouts for the Prime being quad core and ICS, and for the Thrive being the price and the replaceable battery (which has saved my behind on a few occasions). they're pretty similar to me.

but current lack of ICS for the Thrive highlights a larger problem--Toshiba tech support for the Thrive has been pretty bad so far. that alone makes me lean toward the Prime and its "newer" technology (less than a year), tho i would sorely miss the user replaceable battery.

I'm the type that buys based on a purpose and that's why I bought a Toshiba Thrive. For as you mentioned above, I like the options of a full USB and HDMI, mini USB and the SD Card reader. I like the option of adding external devices and external storage. I currently have an 8gb Thrive with 2 16gb SD cards and will soon purchase a small keyboard and mouse.

I too have looked at the Toshiba Thrive last year but I found that I liked the Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet better for corporate use. It has all the same specs but also comes with the styles (does not have to bought after). Also, Lenovo having the backing and years of being a highly available business centered company. It made it an easier sell to the higher ups.

I don't see how you can evaluate the machine without determining which apps are essential to your mission. Our Enterprise evaluated Lenovo IBM Thinkpad tablets with Windows Tablet PC edition several years ago prior to the introduction of Apple's ipad and Droid competitors. At that time device was light weight, ran Office XP plus new on the block One Note and was able to convert hand written text with stylus to type written text. Good for VPN field connections. Draw back was short battery time, problem docking to DVD drive, changes to normal keyboard layout and only scroll button no trackpad. I was testing a Toshiba Satellite with Windows Tablet PC Edition with 14 inch screen. Drawback were too heavy, short battery time, keyboard layout, too many built-in memory hogging utilities. I recently came across a training video for Microsoft which features te Asus EEE Slate. Until I can test one it looks pretty good. It would be nice to have models by Lenovo, Toshiba and Asus that operate with Windows or if they would make a version of Microsoft One Note for the Apple iPad.

And the price looks good. My seat mate on a recent flight had a neat ASUS Windows tablet. Had a 13.5" screen too. It was about 2.5 lbs. It runs Windows 7 well and has a touch screen, a stylus, and multiple USB ports but I didn't ask about HDMI. And it will run all my Windows apps.

But it's two or even three times as expensive as the Thrive.

I've never tried 3LM but while BES does give me good manageability over clients it was a nightmare to keep running on the server side. So is 3LM better on that end? BES also significantly increases the IOPS necessary for an Exchange server. Does 3LM do that?

Thanks

I've been using an HP Slate 500, a tabletPC for nearly a year now. The hardware out spec all devices mentioned so far with full Windows 7 professional as the OS. I've installed and routinely use all of Office 2010 including Outlook and Access, Adobe Acrobat pro, Firefox, Thunderbird and Cisco's VPN client. WiFi allows for seamless integration with "mapping" to network servers. The docking station allows for second, independent monitor via HDMI port. The Slate allows for all Win 7 desktop applications to run on device weighing less than 1 pound.

When I read this, I swear, it sounded nearly the same as the Acer A501 - from the processor, to the USB and HDMI ports (I ise a full sized USB keyboard as well), size wise and all. Even the option to extend memory, and the available options for purchasing which comes at 16 or 32 GB.

However the only difference is the Toshiba accessory - the multi dock.

Acer, come on, you can do it better!

I couldn't agree with your more, but didn't you see Jason Hiner's article pronouncing Andriod Tablets Dead?

If you want to be compatible with the office environment, why run a tablet with a phone OS that isn't a phone?
There are at least 21 tablets on the market right now that tun M$ Windows 7.
For your performance requirements listed the Samsung XE700 and the ASUS eeeSlate are the top performers as both use intel Core i5 processors. The slate also supports a TPM module.
If Android is your choice then the TF-201 from ASUS is the leader of the pack. (Transformer Prime).

Having all of the ports is meaningless if the OS isn't ready. My current tablet has three USB ports, a full sized HDMI and microsd. It's also running a hacked OS to make it somewhat functional.

This all high praise for a product that the Mother ship won't admit has a serious flaw in the latest version of the OS. Since the rollout of 3.2.1, there has been a problem with accessing an external 32 Gb SD card. Whether its a case of saving face or just don't care Toshiba has not addressed this problem in any manner.

Should I recommend this company's product for corporate use? Let's see, November, December, January and now February with not so much as a "we understand that there is a problem. We are working on a solution and will publish as sonn as we have a solid solution." I think not.

So, you are recommending last year's tablet (specification wise) because it has a user replaceable battery? Did you check out the Asus Transformer and Transformer Prime? The Prime outclasses the Toshiba... 5-core CPU vs 2, optional keyboard, 64GB of onboard Flash memory, Clean (no crapware) Android 3.2.x with a guaranteed upgrade to ICS. I have both and they are great.

We have been looking seriously at the iPad and using remote desktop, for the simple reason of the battery life. I didn't see any comments about that with the Thrive. Because this is a tablet, the important thing is that it can be used away from a desk for extended periods of time.

It seems that there may be an issue with the display.
There have been unfortunately more than several instances of the glass screen cracking in a corner. This has not been caused by abuse (dropping, banged against a surface, etc.)
It is just happening spontaneously. I believe it may be being caused by expansion/contraction due to temperature changes (from outdoors to indoors). It may be that Toshiba did not allow for this, and the glass display fit is too tight. The more disturbing thing, is that from everything I can gather, Toshiba is NOT honoring this under their warranty. They have been telling consumers that they will repair it for a cost of approx. $150 to $400 dollars!!!!! I find this totally unacceptable. I hope that Toshiba has/will change this policy, and also rectify the design flaw in future units. Joshua, you may want to check with Toshiba on this to verify both the issue and their handling of it. Other than that I have personally setup a NEW Thrive recently for one of my clients, and it is otherwise quite impressive. I agree with you on the lack of installed bloatware. My only issue was with Printer Share app. It is the trial version (5 pages and it stops working). I DO recommend purchasing the Printer Share Premium Key. YOU MUST purchase this app from the Toshiba app store (Printer Share for any other Android based system can be purchased from the Android Market). Toshiba does not necessarily tell you that Printer Share for the thrive is unique, and if you purchase it from the Android Market, it will NOT work!!! Kinda silly to have a printer app that works fine for the rest of the Android World, and has a version that is ONLY for the Toshiba??? Other than that, I think it is a very well designed and productive Tablet (with all the features you mentioned) and should be considered.

It seems that there may be an issue with the display.
There have been unfortunately more than several instances of the glass screen cracking in a corner. This has not been caused by abuse (dropping, banged against a surface, etc.)
It is just happening spontaneously. I believe it may be being caused by expansion/contraction due to temperature changes (from outdoors to indoors). It may be that Toshiba did not allow for this, and the glass display fit is too tight. The more disturbing thing, is that from everything I can gather, Toshiba is NOT honoring this under their warranty. They have been telling consumers that they will repair it for a cost of approx. $150 to $400 dollars!!!!! I find this totally unacceptable. I hope that Toshiba has/will change this policy, and also rectify the design flaw in future units. Joshua, you may want to check with Toshiba on this to verify both the issue and their handling of it. Other than that I have personally setup a NEW Thrive recently for one of my clients, and it is otherwise quite impressive. I agree with you on the lack of installed bloatware. My only issue was with Printer Share app. It is the trial version (5 pages and it stops working). I DO recommend purchasing the Printer Share Premium Key. YOU MUST purchase this app from the Toshiba app store (Printer Share for any other Android based system can be purchased from the Android Market). Toshiba does not necessarily tell you that Printer Share for the thrive is unique, and if you purchase it from the Android Market, it will NOT work!!! Kinda silly to have a printer app that works fine for the rest of the Android World, and has a version that is ONLY for the Toshiba??? Other than that, I think it is a very well designed and productive Tablet (with all the features you mentioned) and should be considered.

I bought the Thrive for myself (not an enterprise) for almost all of the reasons you listed. The only thing you didn't mention was the ability to add an SD card which is able to expand the memory even more than a USB flash drive and it is always there in the inside. The file manager is indeed a valuable "app" and in answer to the above comment - I have had no issues with the glass screen cracking.

I am a very satisfied Thrive customer!

I am not yet a Thrive user but looking for a better tablet with a reliable sleep mode. So can I safely save my state and turn off for some time, then power on and instantly restore my state with any tablet(s)?

Well I do not know if the Toshiba has voice over (Screen reader) out of the box (Most Tablets do not)!
There are 161 million Blind and low-vision users and the ageing population is estimated to increase Blind and Low-vision users by an additional 25%!
Not that I Love Apple or anything like that but, Appel includes screen reader in the I-Phone & I-pad out of the box by default!
However some of the Android can install a screen reader for more $ and to the best of my knowledge you will need a sited person to do that for the end users!