Toshiba unveils Thrive 7- the new Android tablet

Toshiba has unveiled its second tablet: the Thrive 7. Joining the original 10.1-inch Thrive, the new 7-inch tablet looks identical to its older brother, and internally is pretty much is the same. It has the highest resolution we’ve seen in a 7-inch tablet yet, cramming an 1280×800 pixel screen into its compact shell. In addition, it runs on the same dual-core Nvidia Tegra 2 processor, Android Honeycomb operating system, and 1GB of RAM that power the original Thrive.

At just about a half-inch thick, it’s the most sturdy looking 7-inch tablet since the BlackBerry PlayBook. Though it is styled almost identically to the Thrive, the rugged rubberized backing feels quite firm and the silver camera area looks more natural in this diminished size. The cameras are identical too, with a 2MP front and 5MP rear. Unfortunately, there are no full-size ports on the Thrive 7, but Toshiba has included a microSD card slot, Micro HDMI port, headphone audio jack, and a Mini USB port. And like rival PC-maker Acer, Toshiba has chosen to compete on its hardware instead of modifying Android 3.2 (Honeycomb) itself.

The big difference is in audio. Toshiba has moved the speakers and proprietary charging port to the bottom of the unit when held vertically. This makes sense as most people will be holding it more like a book than a computer, due to its size. This new default orientation has the added benefit of making the shiny silver camera look like a better design choice, as it has remained in the same location. The speakers aren’t going to fill a room, but thanks to SRS technology and a boost from some custom Toshiba software, sound was pretty loud compared to other tablets we’ve used.

The only big downside to the Thrive 7 is the same one that afflicted its predecessor. Like the 10.1-inch model, the Thrive 7′s screen is a fingerprint magnet. The tablet will hit shelves in December and will be priced “competitively”.

Samsung and Toshiba to launch Honeycomb 3.1 tablets

News about the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 spread across the web yesterday, leading to more questions about the upcoming tablet’s actual release date, its supported Android OS version, and its interface. The Galaxy Tab is expected to hit some Best Buy stores on June 8, with widespread availability on June 17. With Wi-Fi and 4G versions, an NVIDIA dual-core processor and an even thinner design than the iPad 2, Samsung’s upgraded quite a few features in its latest tablet offering. But questions still linger around its support of Honeycomb 3.1, Google’s most recent version of Android, as rumors surface that the platform upgrade may be facing delays, and whether Samsung incorporated its own TouchWiz skin in order to ship the Galaxy Tab with Honeycomb 3.1.

Either way, it seems a series of last-minute changes were made to the Galaxy Tab 10.1 release, emphasizing manufacturers’ dilemmas in producing Android-based devices for the masses. It boils down to fragmentation and consumer demand for OS upgrades, whether they occur before or after purchase. For Google, Android’s had a bumpy road in executing its smartphone and tablet platforms, delaying product releases in the past.

Toshiba wants it on Honeycomb 3.1
Samsung has been a supporter of Android’s platform for some time, among the first to launch a tablet for Google’s mobile OS. But Honeycomb 3.1 is encouraging other manufacturers to jump into the tablet game as well. Toshiba is seeking a smooth diversification beyond the laptop market with plans to release the Thrive, a 10.1-inch tablet running Honeycomb 3.1. The Thrive will feature a 2.1-megapixel front-facing camera, and a 5-megapixel rear-facing camera, though it’s on the thicker side at 0.6 inches. You have a built-in HDMI out port, USB, mini USB and an SD card slot to blame for the thickness of Toshiba’s tablet, incorporating many laptop ports into the Thrive.

Toshiba’s aiming the Thrive at laptop lovers and mobile workers, including a number of cloud-based services pre-installed on the tablet. It’s reportedly to come with Log Me In software, providing access to home computer desktops, along with a file manager built on top of Android for browsing files stored on a USB device or SD card. There’s PrintShare software also installed on the Thrive, enabling users to print directly from the tablet, a feature competitive with iPad’s AirPrint and Samsung’s MobilePrint. Expect three sizes for the Thrive, indicating Toshiba’s immediate ambitions to appeal to the entire range of consumers.

There will be an 8GB, 16GB and 32GB tablet, priced at $429, $479 and $579 respectively. One major downside is all versions of the Thrive are Wi-Fi only.

Sony to buy back Toshiba chip line

Sony Corp is in talks to buy a Japanese microchip production line from Toshiba Corp for an estimated 50 billion yen ($598 million) to boost its output of chips for cameras and mobile phones.

Sony sold the facility to Toshiba, the world's No.3 chip maker behind Intel Corp and Samsung Electronics for 90 billion yen in 2008 as part of its "asset light" strategy.

Through the planned buy back of the production lines in southern Japan's Nagasaki prefecture, the maker of PlayStation games and Bravia TVs aims to boost its output capacity of image sensors used in digital cameras and cellphones.

The electronics and entertainment conglomerate is now aiming to raise its CMOS (complementary metal-oxide semiconductor) sensor production capacity due to brisk demand for digital cameras and smart phones.

Sony Executive Deputy President Hiroshi Yoshioka said that it was in the process of deciding how to cover a shortage in CMOS sensor output capacity.

Sony is the world's second-largest digital camera maker behind Canon Inc, and runs a mobile phone joint venture with Sweden's Ericsson.

The Nikkei business daily said the acquisition would double Sony's image sensor output capacity to the equivalent of 40,000 silicon wafers a month. Sony still owns the factory the chip line is housed in.

Toshiba launches WiMax-ready Laptops

Toshiba has announced that several of its premium laptops will have WiMax-ready chips built-in.

What's interesting is the WiMax chips are based on Intel's Kilmer Peak, a PCI-e adapter that was supposed to launch in 2011 with Intel's next-generation platform, codenamed Huron River. But because Sprint and Clearwire, the two companies betting on WiMax technology, have made good on their promise to deliver wireless 4G broadband nationwide, Toshiba is wasting no time jumping onboard.

WiMax is like a Wi-Fi connection that covers an entire city, with an average download speed of 2-3 Mbps and prices as low as $40 per month. By December, Clearwire is expected to roll out WiMax in New York and San Francisco.

WiMax wireless chips will be available in the Satellite A665 Series, the M645 Series, the Portege R705-P35, and the Satellite E205-S1908. These are portable mainstream laptops, with screen sizes ranging from 13 inches to 16 inches.

Toshiba to launch Android-Based Folio 100 Tablet PC

The rapidly growing category of Tablet PCs will soon have a new family member. Toshiba has announced that its Folio 100, a 10.1-inch, Android 2.2-based tablet computer, will be on sale in Europe by the end of October.

The tablet could capture as much as 15 to 20 percent of that market in Europe by the end of next year, says Gianluca Dianese, Toshiba's head of marketing for digital products in that region. He made the prediction at the IFA 2010 consumer electronics show now taking place in Berlin, Germany.

Wi-Fi, 3G, Bluetooth
The Folio, expected to sell for about $500, will come with Wi-Fi and 3G connectivity, Bluetooth and 16GB of storage. Toshiba will also release a model that plays 3-D video, which is beginning to emerge on portable computing devices.

Sony has already showed prototypes of VAIO laptops with 3-D.

The Folio can boot up in 30 seconds, runs on a Nvidia Tegra 2 CPU, and features a 1.3-megapixel camera, a display resolution of 1024x600, and battery life up to 7 hours. Ports include mini-HDMI, USB and a SD/MMC card reader. As with other new Android devices, it will support Flash 10.1, a competitive advantage against Apple's iPad. Apple is not allowing Flash to run on the iPad, preferring instead the emerging, standards-based HTML5.

The iPad, whose popularity has jump-started the tablet category, is beginning to acquire rivals, although no major competitor has yet emerged. A variety of companies, including Hewlett-Packard, Research In Motion and Google, are expected to release tablets in the next few months. Dell, ASUS and Samsung have already done so.

Apple's iPad success has been largely driven by its ecosystem of a large library of third-party applications that run on the tablet, in addition to the vast number of music and other entertainment offerings in its iTunes Store. Toshiba is similarly preparing its own ecosystem with music, online radio channels, and applications available through the Toshiba Marketplace, and it has said it is planning to offer streaming movies and a digital book service.

Laptop Recall
But even as Toshiba takes one step forward into tablets, it's being forced to take a step backward in laptops.

The computer maker announced it is recalling 41,000 laptops because of possible overheating problems that could present a burn hazard. The recall involves the Toshiba Satellite T123, Satellite T135D, and Satellite Pro T130 models, and the overheating reportedly occurs at the point where the AC adapter plugs into the computer. The recall is based on 129 reports of overheating laptops.

Toshiba has suggested that owners of those models should download a BIOS update from the company's web site, enabling a scan to determine if the laptop is overheating. If it is, information about a free repair is also available on the web site.

Toshiba announces TG01 - the latest iPhone Challenger

Toshiba has formally announced the latest challenger to the iPhone: A slick-looking Windows Mobile-based touch screen phone with super-high screen resolution powered by a new, high-performance Qualcomm mobile chipset.

This iPhone challenger from Toshiba has been named TG01. The device will be unveiled at Mobile World Congress at Barcelona which begins on Monday.

Slated to appear in Europe this summer, the TG01 will boast a 4.1-inch screen with 800-by-480-pixel resolution. In fact, the TG01's display specifications are more similar to those of Sony Ericsson's debut Windows Mobile handset, the Xperia X1.

Toshiba says the screen uses fine-tuning technology developed for its Regza line of LCD-TVs to ensure vivid colors and quality playback of fast-moving video images.

The TG01 will be the first handset based onQualcomm’s Snapdragon Technology, which integrates a 1GHz CPU with support for GPS, multimedia, Wi-Fi and quad-band 3G networks with HSDPA/HSUPA data support in order to enable the handset's super-skinny and lightweight profile.

While based on Microsoft's ubiquitous Windows Mobile 6.1 platform for handhelds, the TG01 will have its own custom user interface, including a couple of imaginative innovations. You'll be able to shake the phone to answer it, and you'll be able to switch between applications by tilting the phone.

Toshiba rates the phone's 1000mAh battery life as up to 11 days standby time and 5 hours talk time.

The TG01 will have 512MB of ROM and 250MB of RAM, but its micro SDHC slot will support up to 32GB of additional storage. Other features include a 3.2-megapixel camera and Java support.

The TG01 boasts excellent multimedia support. It will play H.263, H.264, MPEG4, and WMV videos, and MP3, AAC, AAC+, AMR-NB, AMR-WB, WMA, and WAV audio files.

At launch the TG01 will be available in two colors- white and black. However, information about the cost of the TG01 is not available yet.

Panasonic, Sharp and Toshiba launch gadget recycling program

Panasonic, Sharp and Toshiba - the three of the biggest names in consumer electronics have launched a joint nationwide recycling program in the U.S. that allows consumers to return end-of-life gadgets at no cost for recycling.

Sharp, Toshiba and Panasonic began offering the program last week through their joint company, Electronic Manufacturers Recycling Management Co. (MRM). They are offering the program at 280 collection points in the US.

According to President of MRM, David Thompson, “the joint venture company has plans to envisage 400 collection points open by the end of 2009, rising to 800 by the end of 2011”.

Consumers can drop-off televisions, VCRs, computers, laptops, MP3 players, cell phones and other consumer electronics products produced by the three partners for no cost and most centers also accept products from other manufacturers, although there may be a cost for some products. That typically depends on if the state has a recycling law and if a manufacturer has contracted with MRM to handle its products.