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The new iPad vs. the tablet elite: ASUS Transformer Pad Infinity 700, Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 and Toshiba Excite X10 LE
You may be thinking, how does that new iPad stack up against the best slates we've seen? Well, you're about to find out. Truth be told, two of these behemoths -- the ASUS Transformer Pad Infinity 700 and the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 -- were just announced, but impressive spec sheets earned them a seat at the table. We'll cut out the jabbering and get right down to business. Follow us down past the break for a breakdown of features before you decide which tablet will soon be yours.For more coverage of Apple's iPad event, visit our hub!
Toshiba 13- and 7.7-inch tablet prototypes hands-on (video)
Thought you found out everything you could ever possibly need to know about new Toshiba tablets with the announcement of the Excite X10? Think again, sucka. Toshiba showed off two new prototypes on the showroom floor alongside the recently announced 10-incher. The devices are both in the too-early-to-be-named stage right now, so let's just call them the 13- and 7.7-inch tablets. In fact, that company isn't even sure it's actually going to bring either to market at any point -- according to a spokesperson, the Toshiba just brought them along to the show to gauge crowd interest in the form factors. Unfortunately, this being so early in the development process, the company didn't have many on hand. The two we spent time with wouldn't actually power on, though we were able to peep powered on units, though, sadly, they was hanging out behind pieces of glass. But even from that vantage point, the display on the 7.7 was a thing to behold, a really gorgeous AMOLED panel. The device is a nice size, as well -- it's extremely thin, with rounded corners and a border running around the entire perimeter, pressing up against the slightly convex textured aluminum rear. A small back facing cam sits on the top. Two small speaker grills sit on the bottom of the device, with a SD slot and microUSB port on one of the sides. It's really a terrific industrial design -- this is what those Thrive tablets should have looked like. We asked a Toshiba representative whether the bulky Thrives could peacefully co-exist with this kind of design, and he told us that it can indeed, as more of a budget alternative to these high end devices. The 13-inch tablet features a similar design, albeit much larger. Like the 7.7, it feels relatively light for its size, but there's just no way to hold a tablet that size in one hand. It really is extremely thin for a tablet of that size, as well. The company tells us that the slate it is intended for families, and really, at this size, it does feel a bit like a small TV. Check out a video of the devices after the break.
Toshiba AT200 tablet coming to the US as the Excite X10, starting at $530 for 16GB
When Toshiba said its skinny AT200 tablet wouldn't be available until January, anyone with a casual interest in gadgets could have guessed that meant a splashy CES launch was in order. Sure enough, everyone's favorite trade show has rolled around, and the company is finally ready to talk pricing and availability, four months after it first announced the thing. As we've suspected for some time now, it'll go on sale in the US under the name "Excite" (Excite X10, to be exact), starting at $530 for the 16GB model, with a $600 32GB flavor also available. To recap, this is supposed to be the premium slate the Thrive wasn't, with a 1280 x 800 Gorilla Glass display, 178-degree viewing angles, TI OMAP 4430 chip, an anti-smudge coating and a 7.7mm-thick chassis, making it the thinnest 10-inch tablet on the market. It'll also ship with Android 3.2, though Toshiba says it's ICS-ready. And don't let that serious metal exterior fool you: for all its gravitas, the 1.2-pound tab is lighter than it looks. (We should know: we got hands-on ages ago.) So is a super slim design enough to make this Tegra 2 slate worth choosing over the Tegra 3-packing Transformer Prime which starts at $500 with 32GB of storage? To be honest, we suspect not, given that the Prime isn't much thicker and is also due for an upgrade to ICS. And besides, who knows what other Android tablets will surface at CES this week?
