However, in tablets specifically my personal feeling is that, while Samsung is one of the leaders, the most exciting vendor using Android is ASUS. ASUS doesn’t have the recognition and attention of Samsung, but they’ve been doing some great work in tablets – and it looks like Google took notice as they took ASUS’s planned $249 Eee Pad MeMO 7-inch tablet and reworked it to become the $199 Nexus 7, Google’s first branded tablet. The first quad-core 7-inch tablet and the first device to launch with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean.

In the first generation of real Android tablets, those launched with Android 3.0 Honeycomb, the Galaxy Tab was well known for its sleek design. But the ASUS Transformer, and later Transformer Prime, we nearly as slim and light while keeping functionality like a microSD slot, which the Galaxy Tab did without. And, of course, they had the unique capability of effectively becoming a netbook with a purpose designed keyboard dock. They’re tablets have been competitively priced and have had a series of firsts. The first Android tablets designed with a keyboard dock, the first ‘slider’ tablet with the Eee Pad Slider SL101, the first quad-core Android tablet with the NVIDIA Tegra 3 powered Transformer Prime, the first HD Android tablet with the 1920×1200 10.1″ Transformer Pad Infinity, and more.

The the Transformer Pad Infinity’s display is 224ppi, effectively making it the Android market’s answer to the iPad’s 264ppi retina display. Though I personally feel the 10.1″ 1920×1200 16:10 aspect ratio display on the Infinity is preferable to the iPad’s 9.7″ 2048×1536 4:3 aspect ratio display when it comes to consuming content, especially HD video.

Of course, ASUS also has the Padfone which is a truly revolutionary design that I’ve been waiting for someone to build for years. I hope it finds its way to the US in an LTE model. ASUS also has a good track record for updating their devices to newer Android versions. It hasn’t been painless, but they’ve done a better job that a lot of the bigger names. And we’ve just heard that even the original Transformer and Slider will be receiving Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, along with the newer models.

All of these, IMHO, have been sleek, well designed products. I myself own the Transformer Prime (though I’m starting to feel the lust pangs for the Transformer Pad Infinity since I don’t see Verizon picking up the Padfone soon) and I couldn’t be happier with it. My wife & I gave our nephew the Transformer last xmas and he’s still using it regularly. He hasn’t lost interest or broken it – not bad considering he’s 13. I’ve recommended the ASUS Transformer line to many people, as I think they’re truly the best Android tablets out there.

The keyboard dock, or just the capability of using one, is a major advantage over other tablets for anyone looking to use a tablet for productivity. A keyboard case or Bluetooth keyboard just isn’t the same. The keyboard dock makes an effective case for the tablet in one solid, easy to carry, solid package. And the extra battery life is most welcome. I love the way ASUS designed it to keep the tablet battery charged, charging it from the keyboard battery when connected. That way the tablet is always topped up if you want to use it solo, and the keyboard provides a kind of portable charger if the tablet gets drained.

Performance is top notch and inclusion of memory card slots and ports makes the ASUS tablet more flexible than some of the competition. Personally I think the Galaxy Tab 2 line was something of a disappointment. It is really more of a refresh of the original Galaxy Tab than a next-generation tablet. Similarly the Motorola Xoom 2/Xyboard wasn’t a big jump from the original Xoom. With the ‘flagship’ vendors kind of dropping the ball it really left the market open to ASUS, and other vendors like Acer and Lenovo, to produce some of the best tablet values considering performance and price.

I think there is a strong argument to be made that ASUS is really the leading Android tablet maker when it comes to innovation, value, and functionality. I think they deserve more attention from consumers and the press covering the tablet market. Whether they get it or not, I hope they continue down the same road and continue to provide innovative products. If you’re considering an Android tablet purchase I think you’d be well served to carefully consider ASUS’s offerings. The second generation ‘low-end’ model Transformer Pad TF300T is a close match to my first generation ‘high-end’ Transformer Prime TF201, and the model I think most buyers will be looking at.

ASUS recently released a series of videos which gives us a peak into the design process and philosophy that shaped the Transformer products, especially the new Transformer Pad and Pad Infinity. I think they’re a nice look behind the scenes and not overly full marketing spin.

So what do you think? Do you agree that ASUS is really the flagship Android tablet maker? Do you think someone else is? If so, why do you feel that way? Leave a comment!

Since the Transformer is $364.99 on Amazon, and the keyboard dock is $118.15, getting both for $319 is an excellent deal.

The TF300 Transformer Pad is closer to the TF201 Transformer Prime than the original TF101 Transformer. Like the TF201, the TF300 has a quad-core NVIDIA Tegra 3 CPU, 1GB RAM, 802.11b/g/b WiFi, and a 10.1? 1280×800 display. However, the display is IPS, not Super IPS+, and it is only available in 16GB & 32GB versions – instead of 32GB or 64GB. The TF300 has Bluetooth 3.0+EDR, up from 2.1+EDR. The TF300 loses the flash on the rear camera, though it is still 8MP, with a 1.2MP front camera.

While the TF300 is currently only available with WiFi, it will also eventually come in HSPA+ & LTE versions. Battery life is 10 hours, 15 with the dock – down from 12/18 on the TF201. And it is physically slightly larger. But it also has a $399.99 MSRP for the 32GB model, $100 less than the Transformer Prime. However, with the TF201 available for less than the MSRP, while the TF300, being new, isn’t available at much of a discount, the gap is currently smaller. It isn’t a clear choice – do you get the TF300 with most of the features and save a little, or go for the slicker TF201 with all of the features for just a bit more?

When the forthcoming Transformer Pad Infinity, effectively an HD Transformer Prime, launches it’ll be interesting to see if they keep the original Prime in the lineup or drop it to create more differentiation in the lineup. For now I’m happy with my Transformer Prime.

Thursday-Saturday Only: Best Buy Exclusive Asus Transformer 10.1″ Wi-Fi Tablet, $249.99.
Thursday-Saturday Only: Acer Iconia Tablet with 8GB Memory, $189.99.
Thursday-Saturday Only: Dell Streak 7″ Tablet, $149.99.
Thursday-Saturday Only: Barnes & Noble NOOK The Simple Touch Reader, $79.99.
Thursday-Saturday Only: Great Tablet Deals.
Thursday-Saturday Only: HP Laptop with AMD Vision Processor, 500GB Hard Drive, and 4GB DDR3 Memory, $429.99.
Thursday-Saturday Only: Lenovo Laptop with AMD Dual-Core E300 Processor, 250GB Hard Drive, 2GB Memory, $179.00.
Thursday-Saturday Only: HP All-in-One Computer has AMD E-Series Processor, 4GB Memory, 1TB Hard Drive, $399.99.
Thursday-Saturday Only: Toshiba Laptop with Intel Pentium Processor, 320GB Hard Drive, and 4GB Memory, $349.99.
Thursday-Saturday Only: Samsung Laptop with Pentium Dual-Core Processor, 320GB Hard Drive, 4GB Memory, $299.99.
Thursday-Saturday Only: Great Computing Deals.
Thursday-Saturday Only: 50% Off All M-Edge eReader Covers.

Thursday-Saturday Only: Only $999.99 Samsung 55″ Class LED 1080p HDTV. Best Buy exclusive.
Thursday-Saturday Only: Great Home Theater Deals.

Thursday-Saturday Only: Free $50 Gift Card with Apple iPod touch 8GB MP3 Player.
Thursday-Saturday Only: $20 Off Any $100 iTunes Gift Card.
Thursday-Saturday Only: $2.99 Music CDs.
Thursday-Saturday Only: Great iPod and MP3 Player Deals.
Thursday-Saturday Only: Great Entertainment Deals.

Thursday-Saturday Only: Xbox 360 250GB Holiday Bundle with Fable III and Halo: Reach, Only $199.99.
Thursday-Saturday Only: Nintendo 3DS Game Console, $179.99.
Thursday-Saturday Only: Select Games for $34.99.
Thursday-Saturday Only: Select Games for $29.99.
Thursday-Saturday Only: Select Game Accessories for $7.99.
Thursday-Saturday Only: Great Gaming and Gadget Deals.

There are many more deals, so be sure to check them out. The links should be live on Thursday.

There are new specials each day, so be sure to check back in.

In addition to the current sale, they’ve also published a preview of what they’ll be offering on Black Friday – in stores and online.

In stores only you’ll be able to grab a Sharp LC-42SV49U 42″ Class LCD 1080p HDTV for $199.99, a Toshiba BDX2150 Smart Blu-ray Player for $39.99, a 15.6″ Samsung Laptop with an Intel Pentium CPU, 4GB RAM, and a 320GB HDD for $299.99, and the one I think is the most tempting, the ASUS Eee Pad Transformer Android tablet for only $249.99.

Also available in stores, the HTC ThunderBolt 4G LTE on Verizon for free with a 2-year activation and the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 Blu-ray just $9.99. These will also be made available online – the Thunderbolt on Thursday and the Blu-ray on Friday.

They’ve listed specials that will be available online starting Thursday, 11/24, without revealing the prices. There will be deals on the Dynex 32″ Class LED 720p HDTV, a 15.6″ Gateway Laptop with Intel Core i3 CPU, 4GB RAM, and a 320GB HDD, the Dell Streak 7″ Android Tablet, a Dell desktop PC with Intel Core i3 CPU, 4GB RAM, 1TB HDD, and an 18.5″ widescreen LCD monitor, the FujiFilm FinePix AX350 16MP Camera, a Mr. Coffee 12-Cup Programmable Coffeemaker, the Tritton AX120 Headset, and the Nintendo Wii Console with New Super Mario Bros. Wii Game and Music CD. Check back Thursday for the pricing.

There are yet more deals, way too many to list here, so check out their webpage for the full listing. More HDTVs, laptops, PCs, phones, tablets, cameras, hard drives, flash drives, washers & dryers, PlayStation 3, games, etc.

The Tegra 3 has its own teaser, which reveals even less. The original posting was pulled, but, unsurprisingly, someone has already reposted a copy:

I’m looking forward to the official announcement on November 9th, especially pricing and a release date. As you may recall from earlier posts, a few months ago I was trying to decide between which Android tablet to pick up. In the end I decided the Transformer was the one for me. But I had some other things to deal with and I put off buying it, and then the Osborne Effect kicked in as rumors of the Transformer 2 launching before the end of the year with Kal-El and Ice Cream Sandwich appeared. And now we know it will have Kal-El, and reports are it will ship with ICS. I haven’t seen any other tablet that swayed me from the Transformer form factor, and the Transformer Prime looks like more of the same – only better. I might be tempted to hold out for the Padphone, since I love the concept, but it looks like it won’t happen until at least the first quarter of 2012, and that’s tentative. It isn’t enough to make me wait, so I’ll probably be picking up a Galaxy Nexus when it hits Verizon and then most likely a Transformer Prime.

Via Liliputing. Also here. And AllThingsD.

While the name is a little strange, the hardware looks very cool. It is an Android smartphone that can become a tablet, netbook, handheld gaming console, or a media set top box. They unveiled the new phone as the just-ended IFA conference in Germany, and the phone itself is quite a little powerhouse. Dual-core 1.5GHz Qualcomm MSM8260 CPU, 1GHz RAM, 16GB on-board storage expandable by up to 32GB with microSD, 8MP rear camera and 3MP front camera – both with autofocus, Full HD 1080p 30fps video recording, SRS WOW 3D sound, microHDMI and microUSB, and a shockingly high-res display – 4.5″ 1280×800 WXGA. Just as a phone it is at the high end of the Android range. The specs are up there with the Samsung Galaxy S II and the Motorola Droid Bionic, better in some areas.

With the growth in power of smartphones they’ve reached the point where they can legitimately compete with tablets and netbooks, even low end laptops. We’re seeing dual-core CPUs of up to 1.5GHz, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth, 3G & 4G data, etc. The only limitations have been screen size, input mechanisms, and battery life. And to a lesser degree port availability. The phone needs to stay small enough to fit in your pocket and be comfortable in the had.

As I’ve said all over the net for the past few years, the smartphone can be the ‘CPU’ module for other devices. It contains the CPU, RAM, connectivity, primary storage, etc. If you want a larger display in tablet format you ‘dock’ the phone with a tablet sleeve. The sleeve has nothing but the larger screen and a battery. When docked the phone provides all of the brains, and the camera on the back of the phone is now on the back of the tablet. Depending on the design the front camera on the phone could also see through a hole or transparent section on the tablet bezel, or the tablet could have it’s own front facing camera. Connectivity is simple – microUSB for device support and microHDMI for the display. And this is exactly what KT has done.

Want a more productivity oriented system, something like a netbook or laptop, then there are two options. One is an Asus Eee Pad Transformer-style dock where the above described tablet docks with a keyboard base to form a netbook. This is elegant because you only have one larger display. And you could dock everything into one unit for a fairly compact carry – like carrying one netbook.

The other option is actually the one I thought of originally, and that KT is using. Simply another sleeve, a netbook this time of course, in which the phone docks just as with the tablet. KT is doing exactly what I’ve suggested in the past – you dock the phone where the touchpad is on most laptops, in front of the keyboard. The phone *is* the touchpad, and it could even be a small secondary display for custom controls for programs, etc. Imagine doing some editing work with your customized shortcuts available on command on the touchpad display (aka the phone). With modern touchscreens and a stylus it could act as a small digitizing tablet, etc.

What about when you’re done being all productive and just want to relax and frag something? Gaming on smartphones is huge, but most games have been fairly simple, largely due to control limitations. Sony has their PlayStation Phone, but that’s a compromise. You’re carrying around the slide-out controls all the time, and they’re a little cramped. What about a sleeve that turns the phone into a handheld game console that looks quite a bit like a PSP (or maybe an Atari Lynx)? Pop in the phone and take advantage of the CPU and display that a better than any dedicated handheld game system, with controls better than any phone.

Finally, a bit more conventional for today’s smartphones, you can use the phone as a streaming media STB. Connect it to your HDTV via the microHDMI and stream HD video from the phone, online streaming services, etc., right on your big screen.

A couple of blogs have posted videos of the Spider Phone being demo’d at IFA 2011. The first video is from AndroidPIT and the second is from Areamobile. AndroidPIT has several great photos of the phone and sleeves in their post as well.

KT is the only company I’ve seen announce the full suite of sleeves, with a very powerful phone at heart. Before this the closest we’ve come is the Asus Eee Pad Transformer tablet-slash-netbook and the announced Asus Padfone smartphone-slash-tablet. In fact, the Asus Padfone tablet design and the KT Spider Phone tablet design are very similar. If only Asus would combine the Padfone with the Transformer and give it a keyboard dock (perhaps the same one), we’d have two smartphone/tablet/netbook options.

The Spider Phone has a few downsides however, at least from my perspective. The first, and largest, is that it is running Android Gingerbread. Gingerbread is a phone-centric OS and is not optimized for use on tablets, especially larger ones. It has been used on some tablets, but that was really a stopgap until Honeycomb was available. Honeycomb is the tablet-centric version of Android, but it lacks full phone support. So the right release for this would be Android Ice Cream Sandwich, which merges Gingerbread and Honeycomb and runs equally well on phones or tablets. In fact, that’s the version the Asus Padfone will be running. Since ICS isn’t due out until later this year, KT may have decided that launching with Gingerbread was expedient. But I really hope they have plans to upgrade to ICS once it is available. That would really unlock the potential of this hardware.

The other downsides aren’t as substantial, and may well be temporary. But the Spider Phone is currently only slated for the domestic market – South Korea – where it will launch in November or December. KT currently has no plans to release the phone in other markets. The phone is also a GSM device, and I really need something that’s CDMA/LTE for Verizon. (My employer’s corporate carrier.) So I probably won’t end up with a Spider Phone unless they bring it to Verizon in the US, but if they did I’d be sorely tempted even if it meant upgrading out of contract.

I’m just happy to see someone finally building the concept I’ve been pining for for several years. It is encouraging, as it means others may follow suite and that would increase my odds of finally owning such a system.

So, what I really want is something like the KT Spider Phone or an Asus Transformer/Padfone hybrid, available on Verizon with LTE support. Who’s going to build me my dream phone/tablet/netbook?

KT makes it seemingly impossible to link directly to press releases on their site, so here is the one for the Spider Phone:

KT reveals new smartphone All with one ; ‘Spider Phone’2011.09.02
? KT reveals ‘Spider Phone’ turning into various IT devices at IFA in Berlin, Germany
? Solving difficulties in high costs of buying multiple IT devices, complicated usage of each devices and managing data.
? It can also link with ucloud to provide N-Screen service.
? Expecting the device ecosystem cooperating with many manufacturers.

KT(www.kt.com), the leading telecommunication company in Korea, announces that the company unveils Spider Phone, a smartphone that can be turned into various IT devices at IFA (Internationale Funkausstellung Berlin) 2011 Consumer Electronics Fair in Berlin, Germany, from September 2 to 7.

Spider Phone can be connected with various different screens such as tablet PC, laptop and game kit etc. Those devices do not function stand alone, because they are not loaded with neither CPU, OS nor memory. However they do function with physical connection with Spider Phone.

Not only Spider Phone can provide mobile office environment linked with ucloud service but also connect with tablet PC or laptop, which enables to edit and manage documents. Additionally it can give a wide variety of game experiences for users through its 4.5-inch screen and well optimized keys to control the game kit comfortably and easily. Spider Phone will be launched this November developed by KT who started the project last November.

With the launch of Spider Phone, KT expects to solve many issues, including high costs of buying multiple IT devices such as a mobile phone, a laptop and a tablet. Also it can relieve the possible stresses of complicated usage of IT devices such as difficulties in managing data.

The company also stresses that Spider Phone can surmount the small screen problems of smartphone by combining with external kits. KT expects that Spider Phone will help the company and other manufacturers to enhance their global competitive edge based on the phone’s capability to expand into the N-Screen service easily and affordably.

Especially the key sources of hardware and software interface are disclosed, making any company manufacture external kits that can be connected to Spider Phone and ultimately helping promote the industry – Device Ecosystem.

KT plans to pave to create an environment where a single smart phone can control all information and devices around it by even linking with non-IT industry products such as health care devices etc.

Run by Android OS, the phone features a 4.5 inch wide WXGA(1280*800) high-resolution display to offer tablet PC and laptop-like experiences and a 1.5GHz Dual-Core high-performance CPU that allows fast document editing, web browsing, and video playing. Additionally it has large-capacity battery(1710mAh) and Full HD supported camera.

“Spider Phone is an innovative device that can impress the global smartphone market, and I’m sure it will draw a lot of attention at IFA,” said Kyeong-Soo Lee, Executive Vice President of Device Strategy Department, who supervised the development of Spider Phone. “KT has already offered leading companies in Korea to build a new device ecosystem together, and I hope we will get a lot of favorable responses at the event”

KT also presents the ucloud storage service along with Spider Phone at IFA. KT launched ucloud service which for individual users, in July last year, and subsequently ucloud servers, VDI(virtual desktop interface), CDN(Contents Delivery Network) and storage. DB and backup services are under open beta test.

KT’s cloud service features full line-up infrastructure, which cannot be found in any other local competitors’ services. Any service related to IT infrastructure is available, and IT infrastructure can be established over the net within five minutes, which would otherwise take a whole week when using IDC hosting service.

Besides speed, ucloud’s rates and performance are equally impressive. Cloud Harmony, a cloud market research firm, revealed that KT ranked first or second in five performance areas among 20 major cloud service vendors including Amazon and Rackspace.

? For more information

– In Won Lee : Deputy Director at PR Dep.(at IFA)
: +82-10-7221-0552, inona@kt.com
– Hyun Wook Jung : Assistant Manager at PR Dep.(at IFA)
: +82-10-9693-1009, hwway@kt.com
– Yoon Jeong Kim : Assistant Manager at PR Dep.(Seoul, Korea)
: +82-10-3010-2618, kate1@kt.com
: +82-2-730-6292(Seoul office)

Spotted via Engadget.

The Slider was originally shown at CES in January, but the release date for the US has been pushed back a few times, and it is currently slated for fall. It did recently get the thumbs up from the FCC, so the launch is probably fairly close now. I think Asus has been a bit overwhelmed by their success in the Android tablet market. We know they’ve had supply issues with the Transformer, which appear to be ironed out now, perhaps this contributed to the delays with the Slider. They may have decided to work out the issues before launching another model.

US pricing on the Slider is unknown at this time, but the Transformer’s MSRP is $399.99 for the 16GB model, and the keyboard’s MSRP is $149.99. I’d hope the 16GB slider comes in under the $550 mark – maybe $499.99? It’d be a $100 premium over the Transformer to have a built-in keyboard, and a $50 savings over the Transformer + keyboard. Obviously the lower the price the more competitive it will be.

Via Liliputing.

Liliputing uncovered some info that indicates note everyone may be getting it at the same time. It seems that German users may not receive 3.2 until August 2nd, but that’s not a long wait.

In addition to the standard enhancements brought by Android 3.2, Asus is also adding support for multitouch gestures on the touchpad of the optional keyboard dock.

Via Liliputing.

How things can change in a year.

For the second quarter of 2011 the iPad’s share of the market dropped to 61.3%, while Android tablets had clawed their way up to claim 30% of tablet sales. You might’ve noticed that, jointly, they claimed 91.3% this year – but 96.9% last year. So where did the rest go? Well, coming in at number three, Windows tablets claimed 4.6%. Yes, Windows tablets. What about RIM’s PlayBook, which launched during the quarter? It managed a measly 3.3%. These figures are according to a study by market research firm Strategy Analytics.

We’ll have to see how they all fair this quarter, and we have a new entrant in the fight, the HP WebOS Touchpad. But the wave of Android tablets also continues to build. The best selling Android tablet, and second best selling tablet overall, the Asus Eee Pad Transformer could’ve sold even more if not for supply issues. Asus seems to have ironed out the issues, and the supply of Transformers has already begun ramping up and will continue to do so. The T-Mobile G-Slate (aka LG Optimus Pad) shipped just before the end of the last quarter. The Toshiba Thrive has just launched.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 is slated to launch next month, sliding in between the 7 and 10.1 inch models, giving consumers more choice. Lenovo has just announced the IdeaPad K1, aimed at consumers, and the ThinkPad Tablet, which is aimed more toward business users – right at the RIM PlayBook. The delayed Cisco Cius, also aimed at businesses, will ship at the end of the month. Archos has a couple of models pending, Vizio has their tablet, etc.

The reality seems very different from the impression you’d get reading articles about the tablet market. From the articles you’d think that everyone wants an iPad and no one is buying anything else. Sales of Android tablets have been weak, makers are even considering pulling out of the market, it is all doom and gloom. Android Honeycomb, the first version of Android optimized for tablets, only released in late February with the Motorola Xoom. That’s when the Android tablet market kicked off for real.

Remember how dismissive articles about Android phones were in 2009 – right up until the Motorola Droid hit the streets with Android 2.0? In the year and a half since then which mobile OS has taken the top spot in sales? It’s been less than five months since Honeycomb hit the streets. 30% of the global tablet market. Let’s see what things look like at the end of the year, by which time Ice Cream Sandwich will be out too.

Report figures via Boy Genius Report.

Do I want a tablet that’s more like a PC? No. Especially not when “more like a PC” includes pre-loading my device with piles of bloatware that I’ll never use, proprietary crapps that I can’t delete. I do not want to visit your App Place, Toshiba, or your Book Place or any Place you want to take me. I don’t get in cars with strangers. The display? Your scan lines are showing. Do I mention its fatty, awkward size and the shape? Thrive feels like you’re holding a GoKart steering wheel. If this is what it takes to get MiniUSB on a tablet, I’ll pass on the MiniUSB.

I think they’re overly harsh, frankly, and the other reviews are more balanced. But it doesn’t matter too much to me, I’ve pretty much decided to go with the Asus Eee Pad Transformer. I’d already decided to go with that when the Thrive caught my eye, but I think the Transformer is what I really want.

Asus was largely responsible for the explosion of the netbook market, with their Eee PC line. The Eee PC was one of the most popular, and best selling, netbook lines. So it probably shouldn’t be a big surprise that the Eee Pad Transformer is doing well in the tablet market. It has a solid combination of features, on par with the other leading Android tablets (same screen size & resolution, same CPU, same OS) and arguably better HW specs than the iPad 2, a relatively low price – lower than the other Android tablets and the iPad 2, and great flexibility with the available keyboard dock – which basically makes it a netbook, something Asus knows how to do well.

Asustek’s tablet shipments are expected to grow further in the third quarter, the sources said. The company has requested its touch panel providers supply a monthly target of 400,000-500,000 units during the quarter, the sources noted.

Asus has apparently set an even loftier stretch goal of shipping 4-4.5 million tablets in the second half of the year, based on reported contract orders.

As you’re probably sick of hearing me say by now, I’m kind of stuck in an indecision loop between buying the Transformer or the Toshiba Thrive. They both have features the other does not that I find appealing.

Via PC World.

Ars Technica has busted out a review of the Toshiba Thrive Android Tablet which comes across as generally favorable. I recommend reading the full review, and watching the video below, but as they summarize at the end of their review:

The Good

• Hardware runs Honeycomb 3.1 well, with no skinning or annoyances
• The array of full-sized ports makes connecting your Thrive to existing devices a snap
• SD card slot makes expanding the Thrive’s memory easy, not to mention it’s simple to move files to the hardware
• The File Manager gives you a lot of control over the content on your device, including the ability to cut, copy, delete, and launch files at will
• The battery gives you 7+ hours of heavy use, and can be removed and replaced easily by the user
• Ribbed plastic back is comfortable to hold

The Bad

• No support for 3G or 4G connectivity
• Thicker and heavier than its competitors
• Toshiba’s built-in apps are either demos or nearly useless, and can’t be removed without rooting
• The built-in cameras are nice for candid snaps or video calls using Google Talk, but won’t replace your dedicated camera
• The back panel is tricky to remove without using a wince-inducing level of force
• The volume and power buttons on the side of the unit can be hard to hit
• The LED lights on the unit’s face are annoying
• The rear camera’s placement makes it easy to cover the lens when you’re holding the tablet in landscape view
• The interface can be jerky on occasion, and is much less smooth than what we’re used to from the iPad

The Ugly

• The fact that a SD card slot is such a major selling point. C’mon, everyone else, catch up.

Verdict: Buy

As I’ve said before, I’m torn between the Toshiba Thrive and the Asus Eee Pad Transformer, and I still haven’t made up my mind. They both have some very appealing features.

No, I haven’t lost it, product names have just gotten a bit silly. I’m talking about Android tablets. Let me say right now that I’m both a user and fan of Android. I picked up an original Droid at launch and that’s what I’m still using – albeit rooted and running Cyanogenmod 7.1-RC1. It isn’t a religious war for me – iOS and WebOS are fine operating systems. (I’ve never played with the QNX-based TabletOS RIM is using on the Playbook, but I have used Blackberry OS and actively dislike it.) But I have a decent investment in Android apps (yes, I pay for apps – the stereotype that Android users don’t buy apps really bugs me), and it just doesn’t make sense to me to use another OS on a tablet. Plus I just plain like Android so why switch? So don’t suggest the iPad, etc. Thanks.

Anyway, I decided a while ago to get an Android tablet, but to wait for Android 3.x Honeycomb. I don’t have a pressing need for one, mainly technolust for a new toy, so there was no reason to rush out and buy one. I decided not to pick up a Motorola Xoom because I tend to avoid the first in any product family to let them work out the bugs, and the pricing was kind of high. I also figured there would be interesting options coming later – and I was right, there are. A friend of mine has a Xoom and I’ve played with it. It is nice, but I still think some of the newer options are better.

So now the Asus Eee Pad Transformer, Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, and Toshiba Thrive are all out, or coming very soon. The Galaxy Tab 10.1 looks great, very thin and light, but to get that Samsung cut a lot – no USB & HDMI ports, no expandable storage (no SD/microSD), etc. You basically have to do everything via their proprietary docking connector – very iPad. I don’t want to be that limited, so that’s out of the running.

The Transformer is the one I’ve been eyeing for a while, just waiting for supply issues to get worked out so they’re a) in stock and b) not overpriced to rip off impatient suckers. The Transformer has some nice features, but the most notable is the keyboard dock which basically turns it into a netbook. The tablet itself has a miniHDMI port and a microSD slot. No USB ports on the tablet, but another proprietary 40-pin docking port with a cable for USB and charging. I’m a little unhappy about the dongle for USB again, but that’s starting to feel inescapable. But the miniHDMI and expandable storage are a plus. And the keyboard dock adds two full-size USB ports to connect other devices and a full-size MMC/SD/SDHC/SDXC card slot.

So I was thinking of finally ordering this, as pricing has settled down, but decided to check what else is out there – and saw the Toshiba Thrive.

Like all of these, it has the same processor (NVIDIA Tegra 2), same display size and resolution (10.1” 1280×800), same OS (Android Honeycomb 3.1 (the Transformer shipped with 3.0 but has an update)), front & rear camera (front camera is 2.0MP to the Transformer’s 1.2MP, 5MP rear on both), 1GB RAM, 32GB storage (I’m comparing 32GB models, both also have 16GB, and Thrive has an 8GB model), 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1, etc. The Thrive also has a full size MMC/SD/SDHC/SDXC card slot right in the tablet, and generally all of the features of the Transformer – except it doesn’t have a keyboard dock.

But the Thrive has some unique features too. It has a full-size HDMI port, not miniHDMI, so you can use any standard HDMI cable. It has a full size USB port and a miniUSB port right on the tablet, to act as a USB host device for cameras, etc. No dongles needed, no need for a dock (like the keyboard on the Transformer to get the USB ports & full-size memory cards). The entire back of the Thrive is swappable for different colors, designs – and, more importantly, to provide access to the swappable battery, the only one on an Android tablet. There is a dock connector, and charging appears to be via the dock or the dedicated power port. Just no microUSB charging on these tablets I guess. That would be nice since that’s what phones use and one charger could handle both. Though with the USB port on the Thrive maybe I could charge my phone from it via USB while it charges from the wall.

The Thrive also includes Swype, which I love on my Droid, and has some nice included extras like a file manager to handle the SD & USB mass storage devices, and a printer utility to allow it to easily print to printers via WiFi (the USB port doesn’t have printer drivers it seems), and the USB port apparently handles standard USB keyboard & pointer devices. Though I’d expect Bluetooth to work as well.

While the Thrive is a bit more expensive than the Transformer, tablet to tablet ($580 vs. $480 for 32GB models), the Transformer’s keyboard dock is $150 and up, so even if I buy the $60 multimedia dock for the Thrive (USB, HDMI, audio, and power connectors), the Thrive is competitive on price overall.

I don’t know, I thought the keyboard would be cool and useful to have, but then again I bought my Droid thinking I’d use the keyboard a lot – and now I’m planning to get a touchscreen-only phone on my next upgrade as I ended up using the keyboard less and less, until I didn’t use it anymore (especially once I had Swype). And having all of the ports right on the tablet is very convenient, as well as having the option to have a spare battery. I thought I’d made up my mind, but now I’m re-thinking my choice.

So right now I’m kind of leaning toward the Toshiba Thrive, but what do you think? Am I missing out on something critical with the Transformer – or the Xoom, Tab, or anything else? (Again, please don’t try to sell me on iOS, WebOS, etc. Really, that decision has had all due consideration already.) Of course, there are also rumors of an Amazon Android tablet coming this fall, but if I keep waiting for the Next Big Thing I’ll never buy anything! There is always a Next Big Thing just around the corner.

I still have a small grudge against Toshiba over their back of HD-DVD, but I should probably finally let that go. After all, they got whupped but good.

And I have to start thinking about replacing my Droid, I’m up for renewal this month. I’m tied to Verizon through work, so only phones on their network qualify. I definitely want LTE support, dual-core processor, and a good size screen – qHD would be nice. The Droid Bionic drops soon, but the rumored Nexus Prime sounds like it could be quite the phone, and there are a few other options out there. I’m just starting to look at those.

So if you have any Android tablet thoughts, leave a comment. Especially if you have one and want to share your experience.