Sneak peek Toshiba tablet commercial fuels “Thrive” name

We’ve seen Toshiba rake up domain names, trademark filings and actually mention the “Thrive” name in the source code of their Toshiba Tablet homepage for their upcoming 10-inch slab of Honeycomb and now there’s more material that fuels our thoughts that Toshiba will name the tablet the “Thrive” outside of Japan.

Several tweets (one above) dated between May 4 – May 6 from a pair of identical twin musicians, Camille and Kennerly, were published last week mentioning that they were shooting a commercial for the “yet-to-be released Toshiba ‘Thrive’”. There’s a picture from the set but it doesn’t show any tablet.

Last we heard of the Toshiba tablet, it had been delayed to the “very end of summer” or the end of August in the UK. We’re not sure about the US but the tablet showed up at the FCC at the end of last month and I would expect it to go on sale next month if it’s not delayed there as well (It goes on sale in Japan towards the end of June).

We also saw prices leaked last month via Newegg, although they aren’t official and may change. Price starts at $450 for 8GB, $500 for 16GB and $599 for 32GB of storage. A glance at the specs don’t reveal that much different from other current slates of Honeycomb but we’ve seen a few unique features shown off in hands on previews such as a removable back plate and battery and “resolution+” which just makes upscales images look less blocky. Those specs - a 10.1″ 1280 x 800 display, 2MP / 5MP front and rear cameras, Nvidia Tegra 2 chip, b/g/n Wi-Fi, Flash preloaded, GPS, full sized USB, mini USB, HDMI and SD card reader.

Amazon.com, Staples, Newegg and B&H all have product / promo pages ready but no pre-orders open yet.

Twitter: @CamilleKennerly

Source: Whirlpool Forums

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OGT Eros “world’s thinnest Android tablet” gets promo video

Back in February, some company named OGT Mobile had their few internet seconds of fame when they teased a photo of a tablet on Twitter. The tablet once again showed up last month in a short video (further below) with the claim of being the “world’s thinnest Android tablet” at 7mm thin. Now, the tablet has a name, the “Eros” along with an official promo video that promises this slate will be “beyond magical” and “one of a kind”.

Official promo video for the Eros tablet. Be warned you’ll probably want those 42 seconds back.

The only other thing that stands out besides the thinness in the specs is a 188 PPI display. No size mentioned but I’d assume it’s 10-inch.

The specs as we know them – a 1GHz processor of some sort, microSD card slot, a 188 PPI display, 3MP and 5MP front and rear cameras and various models that include 16GB or 32GB internal storage with either Wi-Fi or 3G connectivity. It’s 17mm thin and weighs 550g.

From April, short video (via Android Central) showing the tablet. Beyond magical to you?

One of the images tweeted back in February:

Website: OGT Mobile

Via: Android Central

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Microsoft’s tablet plans do not include Nokia

Nokia entering the tablet game has been a hot topic for several weeks. At a Taiwan launch of the Pink Nokia N8, Micheal Hsu, General Manager Market Taiwan shed some light on Nokia’s tablet intentions.  According to Hsu “Microsoft’s tablet plans do not include Nokia” to be more specific he added that Ovi maps will not be featured on Microsoft’s up coming tablet operating system.

When we tried to dig deeper into why a Microsoft/Nokia alliance around tablets was not being forged Hsu noted that “Nokia has a lazer focus on what they do the best and that’s making great mobile handsets”.

This is a still inline with comments made by Nokia CEO Stephen Elop on the Finnish Program A-List who stated they are still discussing which of the Nokia-backed operating systems (Symbian, Microsoft or MeeGo) they would choose to support. Microsoft might not have plans to work with Nokia on its up coming tablet operating system but it seems Nokia is still considering Microsoft.

Another interesting tidbit that Hsu alluded to was a mystery alliance of manufacturers with unknown players in the automotive and technology space around MeeGo.  He wouldn’t give any details on who was taking part what Nokia’s involvement would be if any, only that they have chosen MeeGo as the OS of choice for in-vehicle infotainment.

Its seems like I was attending a meeting of mysteries, what I learned that was concrete was that they’ve got a Pink N8 that they are planning on taking Taiwan by storm with! I believe it, the N8 is a great phone and with its fashion appeal in a market where bedazzeling your phone is considered normal, this is a classy alternative!

Here are a few photo’s of the handset and the runway show:

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HTC’s 7-inch tablet with Sense UI now selling in Europe for £600 and £480

For our friends in several European countries who have been waiting for the HTC Flyer to become available, well the day has finally arrived. HTC’s 7-inch tablet running Android OS with HTC’s very own Sense UI on top can now be had in two versions, 3G and Wi-Fi only. You can either get any of this HTC Flyer on contract for a subsidized price of as low as £129 or free of any carrier obligation which will cost you £600 for the 3G version with 32GB storage and £480 for the 16GB Wi-Fi only version. However you want to get it, your tablet will come with the HTC Flyer Magic Pen. Other features of the HTC Flyer, in case you’re not aware include - 1.5GHz processor, 1GB of RAM, 5 MP camera with auto-focus, 1.3 MP front-facing camera, GPS, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

The HTC Flyer is available in the following countries - UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Greece, Portugal, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Romania. You can either purchase your HTC Flyer in-store or from HTC.com. Incidentally, only the 32GB 3G variants is available on the HTC site right now, while the 16GB Wi-Fi only version is still listed as pre-order.

Via [HTC Flyer] and [Engadget]

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Bezos says ‘stay tuned’ for an Amazon tablet

When asked about the possibility of an Amazon tablet, company President and CEO Jeff Bezos said to “stay tuned” as plans are unveiled. In an interview with Customer Reports, Bezos claimed that an Amazon tablet would simply act as a supplement to the wildly popular Kindle eReader.
This could also be Amazon’s way to split their user base by supporting both a stand-alone eReader in addition to a tablet.  But what would the release of a tablet mean for the fate of the Kindle’s one-dimensional offerings?

“We will always be very mindful that we will want a dedicated reading device,” Bezos said. “In terms of any other product introductions, I shouldn’t answer.”

A dedicated reading device, eh? And what’s the likelihood that consumers will want to purchase both an eReader and a tablet? Let’s think about this. The tablet, while a tad bit more expensive, is capable of performing the same tasks as an eReader and then some. So what would drive consumers into purchasing a Kindle? Also, what ever happened to good old paperback books? There’s just something that’s far more dignifying about a shelf full of books when compared to a single digital device containing written material.

Are you an old school reader or a Kindle user? Let us know what you think in the comments section.

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