Toshiba Thrive 7″

“Although the Toshiba Thrive 7 eliminates a lot of its bigger sibling's bulk, it also eliminates some features that made the original Thrive stand out, like the full-sized ports and removable battery. The screen on the Thrive 7 is superb and most things work smoothly, but the difficulty navigating full-sized websites and the poor battery life are disappointing. If a high-resolution screen is a must, the Springboard has longer battery life, a more accurate touch screen, a cellular data option, and also sports a far superior all-aluminum construction, but all that comes at a higher price tag. This is a good tablet at a decent price, but it just doesn't do enough to beat some of its more-polished competitors like the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7, or more budget-friendly tablets like the Kindle Fire.”

“It's hard to say where the Thrive 7 fits in, or if it belongs at all. On the one hand, it's $130 to $180 more expensive than budget tabs like the Kindle Fire or Nook Tablet, and yet it offers little to justify its higher price: it isn't significantly thinner or lighter, its battery life craps out hours earlier and the build quality feels flimsier. The biggest advantage, so far as we're concerned, is that it runs Honeycomb and is ICS-ready. Even then, you may as well resign yourself to spending an additional $20 on the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus, which is slimmer, lighter, faster, longer-lasting and better-made. Regardless of what you're willing to spend, though, the Thrive 7 has issues, and that high-res display isn't nearly enough to make up for them.”

“The second installment of the Toshiba Thrive story ends better than the first, but that isn’t really saying much. The nice, pixel-dense 1280 x 800-resolution display can only do so much for this $349 tablet, it just isn’t enough to combat the creaking and poor build quality, the camera placement, and the lagging performance and battery life. The $399 Samsung's Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus may have a weaker display and TouchWiz skinning, but it’s a better, more well-rounded option for those looking for a 7-inch Honeycomb tablet. Of course, if you're looking for a 7-inch tablet for just basic browsing, media consumption, and access to a handful of Android apps, the $199 Kindle Fire will more than suffice. And there you have it: Toshiba’s going to have to think a lot harder about what progress really is to thrive in this new and fierce tablet market.”

“The Toshiba Thrive is technically proficient, with a good screen, decent connectivity and a design that, while not slick, feels comfy in-hand. However, it has arrived unfashionably late and lower-cost rivals are on our doorstep. It's better than the other 7in Honeycomb tablets we've reviewed, but we can't summon all that much enthusiasm for this water-treading tab.”