Help Need your suggestions please - Should I buy the Thrive? (need your inputs)

jamaljan · Oct 24, 2011

hi all...

I've been searching for a tablet-pc for a month now and all the choices available have made me crazy as whenever i finalized one, i found something else. I've finalized to buy Thrive mainly because of its ports etc. Now, i still have a few questions which i think can only be answered by the people actually using thrive.

I would be really thankful if people using thrive could answer it so i can finally buy the thrive this week as i would like to know if its really worth $500 (its expensive here in Pakistan compared to international markets)

1-File Formats: i want to use thrive to read books and watch movies & documentaries. Can i find free apps which can help me read and play all file formats?

2- Screen Resolution etc. a) Is the screen good enough to watch movies and read books for a long time? b) i read that the screen is not gorilla glass but also seen the scratch test video. i take extra care of my gadgets but still could anyone tell me some measures that i can take which can help protect my tablet to run longer as its expensive here in Pakistan then in International market rates.

3- Expansion slots etc. I would like to use an external 1TB hdd, a 126 GB SD card, 16GB flash drive. Would i be able to play movies etc directly from the SD card or will i've to move it to thrive internal memory to get it working?

4- Software bugs/issues etc. I've read that thrive has some problem waking up when its in sleep mode, but that can be easily fixed with a software update from toshiba, rite? I hope there aren't many other issues?

4- Sound. How is the sound on Thrive? Can i easily watch movies/documentaries and listen to music?

5- Finally, what made you bought thrive instead of other tablets apart from the reason that it has so many ports and expandability</SPAN></SPAN> features.

maerlim · Oct 24, 2011

1) The Thrive will play anything Android can play, plus a few more. There may be a few formats it can't play. I haven't found any.

2) Yes, the screen is pretty good. Probably not the best on the market (Galaxy Tab), but it's pretty good. My kids use my Thrive to play games on, and the screen has held up to them pretty well. No scratches.

3) The Thrive will not work with an external HDD. It'll work with USB flash drives though. Yes you can play movies directly from the flash drive.

4) The sleep problem was fixed 2 updates ago. I was someone who had it, and I haven't had a sleep problem for over a month.

4b?) The external speakers are very good (for a tablet). The headphone volume is relatively low, so you'll want something like noise cancelling headphones or you may have problems hearing your movies in a car or on a plane.

5) Well, my primary reason was the full sized ports. Other than that, I liked the rubberized back, the fact that the battery can be removed and replaced (and you can buy additional batteries), and the fact that the battery charges in 1-2 hours. Note that the Thrive's battery cannot be charged via USB, or a car charger. You can charge it from the AC power adapter only. By the way, I get 2 full days of battery life on a single charge (almost 3).

Darkseas · Oct 24, 2011

jamaljan said:
1-File Formats: i want to use thrive to read books and watch movies & documentaries. Can i find free apps which can help me read and play all file formats?

This is really an Android question, not a Thrive question. There are plenty of free apps available to do those things, and if they work on another Android tablet, they'll likely work on the Thrive.

2- Screen Resolution etc. a) Is the screen good enough to watch movies and read books for a long time? b) i read that the screen is not gorilla glass but also seen the scratch test video. i take extra care of my gadgets but still could anyone tell me some measures that i can take which can help protect my tablet to run longer as its expensive here in Pakistan then in International market rates.

Screen resolution is very good. For books, like any tablet, the Thrive doesn't do well in bright sunlight. If you're reading outdoors a lot, you've better off with a Kindle. As for "reading for a long time," that will depend on your vision and your age, just as with any other tablet.

To take care of your screen, you can either buy a case with a cover or use a screen protector or both. Not sure what's available to you in Pakistan, but Zagg and Armor Shield make good screen protectors, and there are a number of good inexpensive cases (check Amazon).

3- Expansion slots etc. I would like to use an external 1TB hdd, a 126 GB SD card, 16GB flash drive. Would i be able to play movies etc directly from the SD card or will i've to move it to thrive internal memory to get it working?

Unless you're rooted, the hard drive will have to be formatted as FAT-32 or ex-FAT, not NTFS. This issue supposedly goes away with Honeycomb 3.2.

Yes to playing movies from the SD or the thumb drive.

You didn't ask this, but USB keyboards work wonderfully with the Thrive using the full-sized port.

4- Software bugs/issues etc. I've read that thrive has some problem waking up when its in sleep mode, but that can be easily fixed with a software update from toshiba, rite? I hope there aren't many other issues?

Yes, it was fixed 3 updates ago. Only other issue is related to volume. See below.

4- Sound. How is the sound on Thrive? Can i easily watch movies/documentaries and listen to music?

Some people have had no sound problems. Others have reported issues with the sound volume being too low. It's a software issue. There are known work-arounds if it happens to you.

5- Finally, what made you bought thrive instead of other tablets apart from the reason that it has so many ports and expandability features.

The replaceable battery. Quick charging (I get recharged in 75 minutes when I have 10% remaining). The strong developer support (if you want to root). The good price, with lots of discount sales.

SoulTerror · Oct 24, 2011

I have been looking at getting this or the Samsung tablet.

What I like is the rubberized backing since my hyper soon to be 5 year old daughter will be playing around with it. I also like the idea of the SD card slot so that I can get a bigger SD card and put movies on it.

What I don't like is the battery life. From the reviews I read it's about 7 hours max of constant use compared to the Samsung which is around 9 hours.

As for the sound issue I heard if you turn up the bass and treble from 25% to about 80% it fixes the low volume issue.

jamaljan · Oct 25, 2011

thanks maerlim & Darkseas for your comments

droidnoob67 · Oct 25, 2011

jamaljan said:
hi all...

I've been searching for a tablet-pc for a month now and all the choices available have made me crazy as whenever i finalized one, i found something else. I've finalized to buy Thrive mainly because of its ports etc. Now, i still have a few questions which i think can only be answered by the people actually using thrive.

I would be really thankful if people using thrive could answer it so i can finally buy the thrive this week as i would like to know if its really worth $500 (its expensive here in Pakistan compared to international markets)

1-File Formats: i want to use thrive to read books and watch movies & documentaries. Can i find free apps which can help me read and play all file formats?

2- Screen Resolution etc. a) Is the screen good enough to watch movies and read books for a long time? b) i read that the screen is not gorilla glass but also seen the scratch test video. i take extra care of my gadgets but still could anyone tell me some measures that i can take which can help protect my tablet to run longer as its expensive here in Pakistan then in International market rates.

3- Expansion slots etc. I would like to use an external 1TB hdd, a 126 GB SD card, 16GB flash drive. Would i be able to play movies etc directly from the SD card or will i've to move it to thrive internal memory to get it working?

4- Software bugs/issues etc. I've read that thrive has some problem waking up when its in sleep mode, but that can be easily fixed with a software update from toshiba, rite? I hope there aren't many other issues?

4- Sound. How is the sound on Thrive? Can i easily watch movies/documentaries and listen to music?

5- Finally, what made you bought thrive instead of other tablets apart from the reason that it has so many ports and expandability</SPAN></SPAN> features.

ok lets see. I bought one since it's release in July. the ONLY problem i have with it is the price drop they did about a month after release. bad for me good for you.
The more I use it the more I like it and I use it every day.

Not sure on all file formats but I"ve had no trouble so far. watching anything I want.

I run a 500 gig HD on mine with no trouble but I haven't tried to watch movies through the hard drive. with the hd you have to reformat to fat.

the reason i chose it was ports and toshiba. ive never had trouble with their products. the screen looks great and the bugs were minor and have been fixed with updates.

hope this was a little helpful.

maerlim · Oct 26, 2011

SoulTerror said:
What I don't like is the battery life. From the reviews I read it's about 7 hours max of constant use compared to the Samsung which is around 9 hours.

YMMV, but I get much better than this. With average "real-life" use, I get 2 full days of battery. I suppose if I was watching movies or playing games for 7 hours straight, it would be less (though I can't imagine only 7 hours). But if that's the case you can charge it to full in just over an hour or buy an extra battery and carry it in your briefcase or backpack.

jamaljan · Oct 26, 2011

droidnoob67 said:
ok lets see. I bought one since it's release in July. the ONLY problem i have with it is the price drop they did about a month after release. bad for me good for you.
The more I use it the more I like it and I use it every day.

Not sure on all file formats but I"ve had no trouble so far. watching anything I want.

I run a 500 gig HD on mine with no trouble but I haven't tried to watch movies through the hard drive. with the hd you have to reformat to fat.

the reason i chose it was ports and toshiba. ive never had trouble with their products. the screen looks great and the bugs were minor and have been fixed with updates.

hope this was a little helpful.

Thanks but i'm not getting it cheaper, i'll have to pay 500$ for this

SoulTerror · Oct 29, 2011

maerlim said:
YMMV, but I get much better than this. With average "real-life" use, I get 2 full days of battery. I suppose if I was watching movies or playing games for 7 hours straight, it would be less (though I can't imagine only 7 hours). But if that's the case you can charge it to full in just over an hour or buy an extra battery and carry it in your briefcase or backpack.

Toshiba Thrive review -- Engadget

They tested it and only got 6 hours 25 minutes.

Battery Life
Toshiba Thrive 6:25 Apple iPad 2 10:26 Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 9:55 Apple iPad 9:33 HP Touchpad 8:33 Motorola Xoom 8:20 T-Mobile G-Slate 8:18 Archos 101 7:20 RIM BlackBerry PlayBook 7:01 Samsung Galaxy Tab 6:09

maerlim · Oct 31, 2011

SoulTerror said:
Toshiba Thrive review -- Engadget

They tested it and only got 6 hours 25 minutes.

Battery Life
Toshiba Thrive 6:25 Apple iPad 2 10:26 Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 9:55 Apple iPad 9:33 HP Touchpad 8:33 Motorola Xoom 8:20 T-Mobile G-Slate 8:18 Archos 101 7:20 RIM BlackBerry PlayBook 7:01 Samsung Galaxy Tab 6:09

Well, I've never hit my Thrive for 6.5 hours straight gaming or movie looping (nor can I imagine ever doing so). The difference between the Thrive and all the other devices listed is that when the Thrive's battery dies, you can swap in a fresh one.

jimwww · Nov 6, 2011

Yes you should buy thrive.. full size ports, netfix to your tv', SD card, etc. It acts like a real laptop w twice the batt life and I have tried most tablets.. and took them back to the store.

Help Need your suggestions please - Should I buy the Thrive? (need your inputs)

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