Toshiba 10.1 inch Tablet: A Tough Challenger for Apple iPad 2

Toshiba is coming up with its first tablet PC very soon and a product page for the 10.1-inch device has already been created at Amazon where interested users can sign up to be notified for the arrival of the device. The tablet, which Toshiba has not yet given any specific name to, is expected to be launched very soon.

You might wonder what made me consider the Toshiba Tablet to be a potential challenger for Apple’s iPad 2 which is now the most hot-shot product in the technology world. Well, to be honest, there is hardly any difference between Toshiba tablet and iPad 2, considering the hardware specs of the two devices.

The device from Toshiba comes up with a 10.1-inch multi-touch display featuring Adaptive Display technology and the screen supports 720p video. Powered by a dual-core NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor, the tablet features a 2-megapixel front-facing camera for video chatting and a 5-megapixel rear-facing camera with autofocus for capturing video and images. It seems to be clear that Toshiba tablet has an edge over its Apple counterpart.

Unlike iPad 2, the Tablet PC from Toshiba features USB, mini-USB, full-sized SD card reader. That means Toshiba enables users to expand memory and enjoy file sharing between the tablet and other electronic devices. This is definitely an advantage for Toshiba device over iPad 2 which does not provide the users with any USB or memory card slot.

Moreover, the Toshiba tablet supports Adobe Flash, a facility unavailable in iPad 2. So, Toshiba users would have access to Flash-required content on their device, unlike the iPad 2 users. In addition, Toshiba may not offer a unique feature like smart-cover which is available with iPad 2, but the Toshiba tablet comes with an easy-grip interchangeable backplate which is non-slip and will help the users to hold the device comfortably while on the go.

Apple app store is said to be one of the biggest advantages of iPad 2 as the online store for applications allows iPad 2 users to choose from more than 65,000 apps. Naturally, users can easily find the apps that could meet their interest. It is true that Toshiba’s Android-based tablet cannot provide its users with so many apps at the Android Marketplace, but then Toshiba itself has created an online store where the company has stored most popular apps which it believes would meet the need of the users.

Overall, it is pretty much clear that Toshiba Android Tablet could be a tough challenger for Apple iPad 2 tablet PC.

Features of Toshiba 10.1-inch Tablet

Like many other computer makers Toshiba is also going to bring out its first tablet PC this year which the company announced at CES 2011. It is true that the company has not given any specific name to the 10.1-inch device yet, but the features Toshiba is going to offer are pretty much clear.

Though it will take some time before it hits the market, a page at Amazon has already been created for Toshiba tablet. There you can find some detailed specification of the device. It runs on Android operating system (most probably Honeycomb) and is expected to provide the users with some good computing experience.

Toshiba tablet comes up with a 10.1-inch multi-touch widescreen display featuring 1280 x 800 pixel HD resolution and 16:10 aspect ratio. The device also features Toshiba Adaptive Display technology which can automatically adjust the display brightness according to the surrounding lighting environment. So, users can easily read even under sunlight too, and thus, making it a very good device for reading while on the go. They can also expect a very good touch response given the quality of the display.

Powered by dual-core NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor, the tablet is understood to be very good at multi-tasking. It has a 5 megapixel rear-facing camera for capturing good quality of pictures and video, and a 2 megapixel front-facing camera for video calling and video chatting.

For connectivity, Toshiba tablet comes with a built-in Wireless-N Wi-Fi which can also activate Wi-Fi tethering. Users will find Bluetooth too for using hands-free devices. However, it is not yet confirmed if the Toshiba tablet will support the 4G technology of any of the carriers like Verizon or T-Mobile USA.

Though Toshiba has not specifically revealed anything about the memory and storage, the device will definitely feature a full-size SD card reader which will enable the users to expand the storage capacity. There will be some other important ports too including built-in HDMI, full-size USB 2.0 and mini USB ports.

Applications are very important tools today as far as smartphone and tablet PC are concerned. No doubt, Apple is a way ahead of other on this issue, but Google is also trying to compete with Android Marketplace. So, the users of Toshiba Tablet would also be able to download the necessary apps from Android market.

Another special feature of Toshiba Tablet is that it will allow users to replace the battery by themselves. They device will also have a rubber-made anti-slip Blackplate to ensure easy and comfortable gripping. Users will find Blackplate in different colors. Some other features of the tablet includes Accelerometer, GPS, Gyroscope, e-Compass and ambient light.

It is true that Toshiba needs to provide more updates on the specifications of the device, but considering the features revealed so far it seems Toshiba Tablet would be able to stand very well alongside Apple iPad 2, Motorola Xoom, Samsung Galaxy Tab, and some others that are yet to arrive in the market.