CES 2011: Tablets at CES 2011 Toshiba Tablet
CES has been awash with tablets this year, including high-profile offerings from the likes of BlackBerry, Asus, Motorola and Samsung. Not to be left out, Toshiba displayed their tablet.
It was behind glass on the show floor at CES, but we managed to get an up-close demo from the man from Toshiba.
It’s some way from being a final product. The real deal – when it gets here – will run on Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) OS.
The demo model we saw wasn’t running Honeycomb, but Toshiba was able demonstrate their Resolution Plus software designed to improve image quality and enhance standard definition video to make it look more like HD. It’s the same stuff they use on their TVs.
Toshiba 10-inch Tablet first look video
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The Toshiba Tablet is fitted out with an Nvidia Tegra 2 processor and two cameras – a 2Mp front facing camera and 5Mp rear facing one for taking photos and recording video.
It has wi-fi, Bluetooth and built-in GPS. For connectivity Toshiba have tried to give people what they want in the form of a regular size USB port in addition to the mini-USB, 1080p HDMI output and an SD card slot.
Many of the ports have covers which will help to prevent debris getting into them as you cart the tablet around. The uncovered docking port – along one of the long sides of the tablet – lets you dock the tablet for charging, either side of which are the tablets small speakers.
The 16:9 widescreen touch sensitive interface has Adaptive Display – so the brightness adjusts to the light in the room.
Replaceable battery
Toshiba's tablet will run Honeycomb OS and has a replaceable battery.
The back cover can be changed – there are a range of colours to choose from – and perhaps more usefully you can also replace the battery by removing the back– not something you can do with an iPad – but the Toshiba is 20g heavier.
The rugged looking finish on the back of the tablet isn’t part of a case – its the back cover of the tablet and it has an Easy-grip finish. We’re not in the habit of pinging tablets out of our hands, but the ridges in the plastic, like the tread on a tyre, do provide some reassurance of grip.
It’s difficult to have a strong opinion on the usability of the Toshiba Tablet when it’s not running the final operating system.
The screen will have some stylus capability and is likely to have haptic feedback - so you’ll get some feeling through your fingers when you press a control. If it does, you’ll be able to switch it off if you want.
Launch date for the Toshiba Tablet is looking like Spring 2011, but nothing’s confirmed.
Windows 7 tablet
Also on the Toshiba display stand at CES – in another glass case – was a very similar looking Toshiba Windows 7 tablet. At this stage, a Windows 7 version is somewhat aspirational for Toshiba, but it’s something the folks there are working on.
Whether it will come to fruition is hard to say, but let’s take it one tablet at a time – Honeycomb OS model first.
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