Toshiba announces Excite 10, 7.7 and 13 tablets, Thrive slates on their way out
You complained, Toshiba listened. After its Thrive tablets were widely panned for their short battery life and chunky, cheap-feeling design, the outfit decided to put those models out to pasture and start anew. So bid goodbye to the Thrives, then, and say hello to the Excite 7.7, 10 and 13 (yes, 13). If you've been paying attention, these are the same tablets we first saw in prototype form at CES (and again at Mobile World Congress), complete with their slim builds and textured aluminum backs. Now, though we know that all three will pack NVIDIA's Tegra 3 SoC, and ship with unskinned Ice Cream Sandwich. The 7.7, in particular, sports the same AMOLED display inside the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7, while the 13-incher steps up to 1600 x 900 resolution (as opposed to 1280 x 800). Oh, and for those of you who think you'll miss the 10-inch Thrive's full-sized SD slot, that feature carries over to the Excite 10 and 13. (As you can imagine, there was no room for the full-sized USB and HDMI ports on tablets this thin.)
Before we go any further, though, we're sure you want to hear more about that 13-incher in particular. First off, no, we're not joking. This is a 13-inch ARM-powered tablet. Not a 13-inch slate with Ultrabook specs; just a really big Android tablet. Why would you want such a thing, you ask? Well, Toshiba's banking on you using this indoors, particularly in the kitchen where you might want to glance at recipes or the weather forecast. In conversations about the product, company reps emphasized the tablet's tough Gorilla Glass display, though they seem oblivious to the fact that you could do all of the above with a $400 iPad 2, or any other mid-range tablet, for that matter. It's an important thing to consider, given that the Excite 13 will set you back a princely $650 for 32GB when it goes on sale June 10th.
In addition, the Excite 13 will be available with 64GB of storage for $750 (!). The Excite 7.7 is also coming June 10th, at which point it'll cost $500 for the 16GB flavor and $580 for the 32GB configuration. The 10-inch will beat them both to market, arriving May 6th starting at $500 for 16GB of built-in storage. There will also be a 32GB version for $530 and a 64GB number for $650. For now, we've got photos below, and you can check out our hands-on from CES if you prefer your gadget porn have some video.
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TOSHIBA SET TO EXCITE THE TABLET MARKET WITH NEW 10-, 13- AND 7.7-INCH TABLETS
Toshiba Introduces Three New Android-powered Tablets, Giving Consumers More Choice
IRVINE, Calif. - Apr. 10, 2012 - Toshiba's Digital Products Division (DPD), a division of Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., today announced the expansion of its Excite™ family of Android™-powered tablets with three new display sizes – 13.3-inch, 10.1-inch and 7.7-inch. The new Excite tablets boast thin-and-light designs, brilliant displays, quad-core performance as well as a full range of essential ports and smart features.
"One size does not fit all, so we are carefully considering how and where people are using tablets and designing form factors to best suit various needs," said Carl Pinto, vice president of product development, Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., Digital Products Division. "With amazingly thin and light designs, our new Excite family of tablets continues to incorporate what consumers have come to love about Toshiba tablets: essential ports for a more complete tablet computing experience plus durability that ensures they can go the distance."
Powered to Perform, Built to Last and Designed to Excite
The three new tablets – Excite 10, Excite 13 and Excite 7.7 – feature elegant and sturdy aluminum shells and scratch-resistant Corning® Gorilla® Glass displays, making them not only stylish, but also durable. Powered by Android 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich, which builds on the things people love most about Android – the tablets offer a simplified UI, easy multitasking, customizable home screens, resizable widgets and a full suite of familiar Google™ mobile services applications – as well as powerful new ways of communicating and sharing.
From scrolling and swiping the web, to the fast action of the latest games, the Excite tablets' all-new NVIDIA® Tegra™ 3 processorsi deliver amazing multitasking, web, gaming and video. This innovative mobile processor features the world's only 4-PLUS-1™ mobile quad-core CPU, providing users outstanding performance for even the most demanding applications. Apps run faster, games are played at console-quality, HD video is smoother, plus it features a unique 5th battery-saver core to handle everyday apps – extending battery lifeii.
Each tablet is equipped with a 5-megapixel camera on the back, along with a 2-megapixel front-facing shooter for convenient photography, video capture and chat. The tablets also include stereo speakers with exclusive sound enhancements by Toshiba and SRS® Labs, as well as Wi-Fi® and Bluetooth® connectivity.
Excite 10: Smart, Speedy, Durable
An all-around tablet designed for home and away, the Excite 10 tablet delivers an exceptional visual experience, featuring a bright, high definition 10.1-inch diagonal AutoBrite™ LED Backlit display with 1280x800 resolution and 10-finger multi-touch support, making it an ideal choice for web browsing, reading, games and apps. Measuring just 0.35 inches thin and weighing just 1.32 poundsiii, the Excite 10 tablet is extremely portable and delivers up to 10 hours of battery lifeiv and seven days of stand-by.
Delivering more performance than previous generation tablets, the Excite 10 tablet is powered by a quad-core NVIDIA® Tegra™ 3 processorv with GeForce graphicsvi and 1GB of RAMvii, opening up new possibilities for everyday multi-purpose use and next generation mobile games. Built to do more than the average tablet, users can enjoy easy syncing and sharing between all of their favorite devices, with a selection of built-in ports, including Micro USB, Micro HDMI® and a full-size SD card slot.
Excite 13: More Screen for More of Everything
Delivering more screen real estate than any other tablet on the market, the Excite 13 tablet offers a big, bright, higher resolution display, while delivering more room for everything else – from sharing photos and web browsing to playing games and watching movies with a group. Ideally suited for the home, from growing families to empty nesters, the Excite 13 tablet is only 0.4 inches thin and weighs 2.2 poundsviii, so it is still easy to carry.
With a 13.3-inch diagonal AutoBrite™ LED Backlit display with 10-finger touch support, the tablet boasts a cinematic 16:9 aspect ratio and 1600x900 native resolution, perfect for watching HD movies and videos. A four-speaker sound system with exclusive sound enhancements by Toshiba and SRS Labs delivers amazing audio and an included tablet stand makes it easy to prop up on a table, kitchen countertop or coffee table to share videos with friends and family.
Not only great for movies, the Excite 13 tablet can power through the latest games and multitask with ease. Powered by the quad-core NVIDIA Tegra™ 3 mobile processorix with GeForce graphicsx and 1GB of memoryxi, the large display tablet offers smooth, console-quality gaming plus the performance for high definition entertainment. Extremely power efficient, the Excite 13 tablet is targeted to deliver up to 13 hours of battery lifexii and seven days of stand-by. The Excite 13 tablet includes Micro USB, Micro HDMI® ports and a full-size SD card slot for syncing and sharing content.
Excite 7.7: A Brilliant AMOLED Display
Toshiba's first tablet to feature an AMOLED display, the Excite 7.7 tablet is ideal for consumers on the go and is perfect for the mobile gamer and movie lover alike. The tablet's brilliant 7.7-inch diagonal display brings games, movies, books and photos to life like never before with rich colors, deep contrast and amazing sharpness. Extremely thin at just 0.3 inches and light at only 13.4 ounces, Excite 7.7 fits easily into a bag or jacket.
Exceptionally powerful and able to tackle the latest games and HD content, the Excite 7.7 tablet is powered by a quad-core NVIDIA® Tegra™ 3 processor with GeForce graphicsxiii and 1GB of memoryxiv. The tablet includes a Micro USB port and a Micro SD card slot for syncing and sharing content.
The Convenience of Android and Exclusive Toshiba Apps
The new Excite tablets include a full suite of familiar Google™ Mobile Service applications, including Google Play™, YouTube™, Gmail™ and Google Maps™. Additionally, the tablets come pre-loaded with a useful mix of Toshiba software and third-party applications, including TOSHIBA Book Place, which offers more than 3 million e-books, the TOSHIBA Media Player that supports content sharing, TOSHIBA File Manager, as well as Netflix™ and Zinio™, the ultimate app for magazine lovers and more.
Pricing and Availability
The Excite 10 tablet will be available for purchase on May 6, 2012 for $449.99 MSRPxv for the 16GB model, $529.99 MSRPxvi for the 32GB model and $649.99 MSRPxvii for the 64GB model.
The Excite 7.7 tablet will be available for purchase on June 10, 2012 for $499.99 MSRPxviii for the 16GB model and $579.99 MSRPxix for the 32GB model.
The Excite 13 tablet will be available for purchase on June 10, 2012 for $649.99 MSRPxx for the 32GB model and $749.99 MSRPxxi for the 64GB model.
These tablets will be available at major retailers, e-tailers and direct from Toshiba at ToshibaDirect.com.
Image Gallery: http://bit.ly/excitetablets.
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