Thrive

The new Toshiba Thrives 7-inch LED screen offers the same level of touch-responsiveness users have come to expect from higher-end Android tablets on the market.

The 7-inch Thrive runs Android 3.2 (Honeycomb), with none of the aesthetic tweaks or twists found in tablets such as Samsungs Galaxy Tab (which features that companys unique TouchWiz interface) or Amazons Kindle Fire (with its virtual shelves home screen).

The 7-inch Thrives 5-megapixel camera offers clear images. Thanks to the devices smaller form-factor, its easier to hold in one hand and manipulate the camera controls with the other, unlike some larger tablets on the market. Theres also a 2-megapixel webcam in front.

The 7-inch Thrives textured backing makes it easy to hold, although the construction feels a little loose.

Googles Android Marketplace has steadily added apps over the past several months, making it more of a competitor to Apples App Store in terms of apps actually being offered.

The tablet weighs 13.2 ounces, making it a lightweight companion when on the road (or wandering around in circles looking for a new location).

The 7-inch Thrive offers a microSD card slot, paired with a micro-HDMI port, the latter for displaying media on a larger screen. Thats in contrast to the 10-inch Toshiba Thrive, which offered a greater selection of ports, but also more than some other tablets on the market.

The 7-inch Thrive comes loaded with the usual Google apps, including Google Music. In addition, Toshiba also offers a proprietary File Manager system.

The 7-Inch Thrive comes with an Nvidia Tegra 2 dual-core processor along with an Nvidia GeForce GPU, which is enough power for most applications.

The tablets 1280-by-800 resolution works well in conjunction with Netflix and other video-displaying apps.