Seriously, this read like an upbeat funeral, sans the wake.
I think that is the sign of two things: The tablet market is about as exciting as a yawn and that maybe they need to get someone that doesn't dislike the platform they are reviewing before they even start the review.
There's a few interesting tablet products out there - every new iPad, the Nexus 7, Surface, the headlining ASUS and Samsung W8 and Android tablets, and not a whole lot else. Sony comes up with some interesting ideas, but the execution is rarely there so I'm not sure I can count them. Basically, there's a lot of tablets out there and not a whole lot of differentiation between most of them, so for the most part they're really not particularly interesting. With that said, I really like the 7.7" form factor so combining that with Tegra 3 results in an intriguing device that I would never want to pay for.
I think the timing here is pretty unfortunate. I bought a Galaxy Tab 7.7 just over six months ago, because I wanted a tab small enough to hold comfortably with one hand. Back then, the alternatives were Kindle Fire/Nook Tablet, which suffered from poor performance and middling 1024x600 panels, or the Galaxy Tab 7+, which had good hardware but suffered the same display woes as the ultra-budget tabs while still being around $400. In that landscape, it wasn't a hard decision to spend a bit more on a tablet that had a top-notch display (not to mention, I've always been a huge OLED fan) and solid internals. Also at that time, the Excite 7.7 wouldn't appear for another four months or so.
Today, things are much worse for premium, small tabs. When you can have a tegra3, 1280x800 Nexus 7 for $250, it's a lot harder to justify spending nearly twice as much just to get OLED in a slightly thinner package, instead of a perfectly good IPS LCD.
"There's a few interesting tablet products out there - every new iPad"
IMHO, personal preferences reveal bias which, after having read only the first page of this review, and the first few comments, has made me stop reading the review.
Where's the "rolleyes" smilie?
Whatever. I suppose it is almost impossible to get an unbiased review these days.
Yeah, the device is identical to a Nexus 7 - only swapping a 7" IPS for a 7.7" AMOLED. The additional cost of that display is a few dollars - not $250. Toshiba clearly isn't interested in selling these.
I fail to see how this is not an interesting product. The only thing that stops it from being truly competitive in my book is the price tag. Granted, Samsung came out with the Tab 7.7 a while back, but its internals weren't good enough, and Touchwiz remains the worst Android skin I've yet used.
Also, are we really complaining about having more product reviews on here? That's the only thing anyone could possibly take issue with in regards to this site: they don't have as many reviews as other sites do on mainstream products like tablets. Then again, they don't get sent as many tablets as places like Engadget.
As far as the reporting goes: if you don't like it, you don't have to read it. Honestly, it didn't read to me like he didn't care about the platform he's reviewing. He made disclaimers up front about the fact that he's not the go-to tablet guy here, and that he doesn't typically use a tablet. Even if his review had come across that way, I fail to see how you would take issue with it.
I think constructive feedback is more helpful than your "just don't read it" attitude.
The thing is, anything not written by Brian or Anand is pretty low standard stuff.
Disclaimers in a review are just verbose excuses for laziness or substandard content. If Brian did this review, in the comparison table in the "Storage" row, it won't just have 16GB or 8GB, but 16GB, 16GB+µSD, 16GB+µSDXC, etc.
Honestly, there are too many reviews for some of these devices. As for the review quality - I don't think it's a bad review, but it's definitely not enthusiastic either way. They're not going "OMG, this is a bad device" or "OMG, this rocks"... the review is going "Um... I had to do this review, but I hate the OS and really just want to go back to using my Windows Phone and wait for Win8 tablets to come out". I might as well go to MacAddict expecting a fair review of Win8 and Android tablets as reading this one.
For tablets and phones, I'd rather see a page long "highlights" review unless it's a review of an item that is seriously cool. Then once a quarter, see a more thorough review. Seeing the stats for all those devices in every single darned review for a tablet gets really old fast.
A nice quarterly spreadsheet that summarizes up the performance, memory, etc... of all the devices with their prices would be nice. Then I can come in here, look at the device, read the review of the various features and see if there are any deal breakers and make an informed purchase.
I think the AMOLED (not SAMOLED+?) display alone makes this tablet interesting. It would be interesting to see this thing in person and compare it to the Nexus 7.
At 349g, it's basically the same weight as the N7 (340g) and you get a 20.7% screen area increase, which is not too shabby.
This tablet's got a 5mp rear camera and 2mp front camera - better than the N7's single 0.3 mp front camera (although cameras on tablets, aside from their usage in Skype and other video chatting programs, have always seemed unnecessary to me).
It's interesting (and unfortunate) to note that there's a proprietary charger for this device; HP, Blackberry and Google had no problems making micro USB chargers; why can't everyone else? ---
The pricing for this Toshiba tablet does leave something to be desired; even in the $399-429 price range, clearly the 16GB Nexus 7 at $249 is a better buy.
Does this Toshiba tablet even come with Android 4.1? The Nexus, as a Google flagship, will be one of the first devices to get subsequent Android updates in a timely fashion. Bit players like these are not at all guaranteed to be updated.
"although cameras on tablets, aside from their usage in Skype and other video chatting programs, have always seemed unnecessary to me"
I completely agree with this statement.... which is why I was somewhat shocked when I went to an aquarium a few weeks ago and saw quite a few people walking around taking pictures with iPads. To me, this makes no sense, but that doesn't mean it doesn't happen.
Tablets in general are about as interesting as a funeral for someone I didn't know. Everybody's getting all emotional and I can't seem to care.
But seriously, there just isn't much innovation in tablet-land right now. We can expect something new when win8 hits in a few months, and significant android price-drops after that. The focus will shift from being as fast as possible to being as cheap as possible while remaining competitive performance-wise. ARM just can't keep up to an i5, so why even bother to try?
The reviewer also raises an interesting point in that he thinks Android isn't perfect for tablets. Too few people have commented on what I also see as careless GUI design in some tablets. On phones it's simple, you've got notifications at the top and buttons down below. Same for the Nexus 7 (at least in portrait) The way the buttons and notifications are placed on this tablet just seems less intuitive to me. The icons also appear too small, especially on this one. A 6x6 grid on 7"?
that is right, the tablet market is targeting high performance tablet but that doesn't mean this tablet is out you may check the further review @ http://toshiba-tablet.com/
that is right, the tablet market is targeting high performance tablet but that doesn't mean this tablet is out you may check the further review @ http://toshiba-tablet.com/
OLED screens are good on power until they display bright screen colors, especially white, when they draw more than LCDs.
I suspect the dynamic control is really about keeping power usage down. They brighter the screen colors, the more power it draws and the more dimming that kicks in to curtail that power draw.
If it was just about aesthetics, it would probably be easy to disable.
I wonder if the Samsung OLED tablet with this screen does the same thing?
Why do these amoled screens look so overly saturated? Maybe I just need to see some in person, but I would imagine it would handle everything on the image equally, too saturated. How can this remain consistent with someone that uses calibrated displays?
I'm not so sure that it is the OLED display that is too saturated. The content itself is designed for maximum brightness to compensate for the poor contrast of LCD, and this likely makes it look too saturated on OLED.
I would imagine the dynamic control is not so much for keeping power draw down as it is for adjusting to ambient lighting conditions. OLEDs are brighter and have a far greater dynamic range. Take them side by side out into direct sunlight and it will be obvious. The OLED will draw more power and be visible. The LCD will simply not be visible.
Displaymate tests back up what you are seeing. There is measurable oversaturation on many OLEDs, do to non standard wider gamuts, or just plain overboosted color.
Both are likely on purpose to give the impression that OLED has more vivid colors.
I prefer accuracy and standard gamuts, so colors look realistic.
You wrote "The only breakthroughs in this market seem to have been ASUS with their Transformers and Amazon's Kindle Fire..." In response, I have to ask if the Google (Asus) Nexus 7 slipped your mind? Various outlets are reporting that sales figures for the Nexus 7 (which in my opinion is a very good tablet and a great value for the price) are expected to be as high as 8 million units. For a device that wasn't even introduced until mid-year, that seems pretty dang respectable and I'd have to call it a market breakthrough. Sure broke through to me.
Never mind, I read some of the articles. I didn't realize the 8MM was through year-end 2012. I thought you were saying it was to-date. Still, 8 million is impressive.
I had the exact same thoughts. Why wasn't this compared to the Nexus 7? They are most similar and Nexus is arguably at the top of the 7" tablet heap right now. And the Kindle Fire? When the new Kindle Fire is announced next week, I hope you will include this Toshiba and the Nexus 7 as comparisons.
No way am I dropping $500 on a 7 inch tablet. This unit is DOA for that reason alone. I was hoping it would be competitive at least.
+1. There are exactly two 7.7" SAMOLED+ tablets on the market today, and excluding the one direct competitor from this review is frankly mind-boggling to me.
The P6810 (Galaxy Tab 7.7 wifi) can be had for under $450 online now, and it's (imo) a better device. Exynos4210 may not be quad-core but its day-to-day performance is at least as good as tegra3. Plus, it's available with a quad-band HSPA+ radio, which also includes full phone functionality, or you can spend up on the VZW version and forgo the phone for LTE.
As you mention, there's not much market for any >$200 tablet that doesn't start with i and end with Pad, and even here, the comments bear out that most consumers stop reading once they see that it's $500, not 10", and not an iPad. But as others have also pointed out, this is an unusual, niche device, and I'm glad to see any attention it gets.
I can't believe he left out the other SAMOLED+ based tablet in the exact same size
I have LTE version of the GT7.7 and it's been a real pleasure. Outside of knowing that verizon will hold me to HC for a very long time, it's been a gem. Great build quality, slim design, samoled+ and it can function as a hotspot. What more can i ask for?
Only the Verzion version lacks ICS at this point (thank you American carriers for your wonderfully smooth OS update process!). The international versions have both had ICS for almost two months, which is, admittedly, still pathetically slow from Samsung.
Interesting new tablet! The screen is definitely interesting. I am guite sure, that people are more easily to forgive the price if they can compare it directly with another tablet. Hopefully we see some other tablets with Oled screens soon!
I have mixed feelings about tablets in general, but I do have a 7" Acer A100. I only paid 200.00 for it on close out . For 200.00 it has its place for browsing and watching netflix. But for 500.00 with no 3G or 4G connectivity included-- absolutely not. Android tablets just have too many limitations to pay this much for one. I dont care how nice the screen is. I would get a smartphone or laptop or wait for a windows tablet and pay more.
What if you measure the brightness of a full red, blue, and green screen separately and add them together? That might get you closer to a brightness measurement more comparable with other tablets.
Was this review written back before the Excite 7.7 launched? The review contains several obvious anachronisms that undermine its usefulness. For example, the street price has dropped significantly ($430-$440 at a quick search), and it's been over a month since anyone who wanted a Nexus 7 didn't have one. I guess it shouldn't be surprising to find this sort of issue--the concluding line that "the Toshiba Excite 7.7 is probably going to wind up being lost in the shuffle" has already come true.
Sorry, but this is a substandard review for Anandtech. I expected it to be way better given how long this review took to arrive. I'd rather have it written by someone familiar with Android and tablets, and not NEITHER. It was a Cowboy move assigning this task to Dustin.
That said, the Nexus 7 DID kill the Toshiba Excite. $250 is too much to pay for a MicroSD (my only reason to buy this over the Nexus 7) and SAMOLED screen, expecially given the fact it won't come with 4.1, and Toshiba has a bad record updating its Android devices.
How are the OLED black spots/blobs on this screen? As far as I know, every OLED screen has or can have them and they can be very distracting ie. when watching video in the dark. For phones its tolerable since the screen is so small anyway but a tablet it would surely be very annoying.
It is not true that all OLED screens have black spots. It is simply a matter of binning. Screens that don't pass QC due to black spots are sold cheaper. It is just like LCDs. LCDs with a few dead pixels are sold cheaper and still end up in devices. It doesn't mean that all LCDs have dead pixels.
From reading various feedback on xda, the standard pattern (which mine also has) is four circles, each about 2" in diameter, and my device has these as well as maybe 3-4 other small (<0.5") blobs. However, I don't notice them even when watching movies in the dark at minimum brightness; for me to see them, it requires a solid black or dark gray screen at near-minimum brightness. The only times it comes up in actual use is when I'm reading and there is a page with almost no text--even the small illumination given by minimum brightness white text hides the irregularities.
I've read that some people have perfect screens, and I've read that some people's screens are worse, and of course, some people are just more and less sensitive to these issues. So YMMV.
And no Android tablets are interesting anymore as far as i'm concerned. I totally agree with the reviewer in that the OS is an unintuitive mess that gets bogged down easy and needs excessive processing power in order to function remotely well. Android was the only option before to anyone smart enough to not buy Apple. But now that Win 8 or even RT tablets are coming i have zero interest in a Android tablet.
The reason we cannot root the Toshiba Excite currently, is because Toshiba decided to LOCK THE BOOTLOADER!In order to be able to root, Toshiba needs to get their developers to unlock the bootloader! To get Toshiba to agree to do this, we need to get this petition signed!
Please sign it for yourself and the benefit of all Toshiba Excite (AT300, AT305, etc.) owners so we can get this tablet rooted!
You need root to:
* Increase battery life (JuiceDefender) * Improve battery life (AutoKiller Memory Optimizer) * Restore/make backups (Titanium Backup) * Manage startup (Startup Auditor) * Manage autorun programs (Autorun Manager) * Increase SD speed (SD Speed Increase) * Use full features of Ad-Blockers (Droid Ad-Free) * Use Firewall* Compile apps * Pair PS3 controller * Connect as bluetooth keyboard for PS3 (BluePutDroid) * And many more things you need root access for!
Toshiba Excite 7.7 is one of the best small Android tablets currently available. It's also thin, light, boasts the latest version of Android (4.0), and includes a microSD slot for storage expansion. I like this tablet capable for gaming.www.toshiba-tablet.com
Toshiba learned a lot from the Thrive and they're clearly willing to experiment a bit with the technology if the AMOLED display is any indication.www.toshiba-tablet.com
that is right, the tablet market is targeting high performance tablet but that doesn't mean this tablet is out you may check the further review @ http://toshiba-tablet.com/
The Toshiba Excite AT305T64 runs the Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) operating system, which builds on the things people love most about Android–a simplified UI, easy multitasking, customizable home screens, re-sizable widgets, and a full suite of familiar Google mobile services. http://toshiba-tablet.com/
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solinear - Wednesday, August 29, 2012 - link
Seriously, this read like an upbeat funeral, sans the wake.I think that is the sign of two things: The tablet market is about as exciting as a yawn and that maybe they need to get someone that doesn't dislike the platform they are reviewing before they even start the review.
VivekGowri - Wednesday, August 29, 2012 - link
There's a few interesting tablet products out there - every new iPad, the Nexus 7, Surface, the headlining ASUS and Samsung W8 and Android tablets, and not a whole lot else. Sony comes up with some interesting ideas, but the execution is rarely there so I'm not sure I can count them. Basically, there's a lot of tablets out there and not a whole lot of differentiation between most of them, so for the most part they're really not particularly interesting. With that said, I really like the 7.7" form factor so combining that with Tegra 3 results in an intriguing device that I would never want to pay for.teiglin - Wednesday, August 29, 2012 - link
I think the timing here is pretty unfortunate. I bought a Galaxy Tab 7.7 just over six months ago, because I wanted a tab small enough to hold comfortably with one hand. Back then, the alternatives were Kindle Fire/Nook Tablet, which suffered from poor performance and middling 1024x600 panels, or the Galaxy Tab 7+, which had good hardware but suffered the same display woes as the ultra-budget tabs while still being around $400. In that landscape, it wasn't a hard decision to spend a bit more on a tablet that had a top-notch display (not to mention, I've always been a huge OLED fan) and solid internals. Also at that time, the Excite 7.7 wouldn't appear for another four months or so.Today, things are much worse for premium, small tabs. When you can have a tegra3, 1280x800 Nexus 7 for $250, it's a lot harder to justify spending nearly twice as much just to get OLED in a slightly thinner package, instead of a perfectly good IPS LCD.
wiyosaya - Thursday, August 30, 2012 - link
"There's a few interesting tablet products out there - every new iPad"IMHO, personal preferences reveal bias which, after having read only the first page of this review, and the first few comments, has made me stop reading the review.
Where's the "rolleyes" smilie?
Whatever. I suppose it is almost impossible to get an unbiased review these days.
wiyosaya - Thursday, August 30, 2012 - link
Opps. My fault. Not the reviewer's comment. Just someone enamored in the iWorld. Again, where's the "rolleyes" smilie?EnzoFX - Wednesday, August 29, 2012 - link
Also, why not compare this directly to the Nexus 7? 7" is more the target audience with a 7" tablet, be it amoled or not.RamarC - Thursday, August 30, 2012 - link
"can it really justify the $499 starting price?"No. Twice as much as Nexus 7 but only slighty different -- not really any need to beyond that...
mcnabney - Thursday, August 30, 2012 - link
Yeah, the device is identical to a Nexus 7 - only swapping a 7" IPS for a 7.7" AMOLED. The additional cost of that display is a few dollars - not $250. Toshiba clearly isn't interested in selling these.smartypnt4 - Wednesday, August 29, 2012 - link
Seriously?I mean, seriously?
I fail to see how this is not an interesting product. The only thing that stops it from being truly competitive in my book is the price tag. Granted, Samsung came out with the Tab 7.7 a while back, but its internals weren't good enough, and Touchwiz remains the worst Android skin I've yet used.
Also, are we really complaining about having more product reviews on here? That's the only thing anyone could possibly take issue with in regards to this site: they don't have as many reviews as other sites do on mainstream products like tablets. Then again, they don't get sent as many tablets as places like Engadget.
As far as the reporting goes: if you don't like it, you don't have to read it. Honestly, it didn't read to me like he didn't care about the platform he's reviewing. He made disclaimers up front about the fact that he's not the go-to tablet guy here, and that he doesn't typically use a tablet. Even if his review had come across that way, I fail to see how you would take issue with it.
Origin64 - Thursday, August 30, 2012 - link
"Just keep scrolling" is a mantra that few take the trouble to remind themselves of, sadly.fmcjw - Thursday, August 30, 2012 - link
I think constructive feedback is more helpful than your "just don't read it" attitude.The thing is, anything not written by Brian or Anand is pretty low standard stuff.
Disclaimers in a review are just verbose excuses for laziness or substandard content. If Brian did this review, in the comparison table in the "Storage" row, it won't just have 16GB or 8GB, but 16GB, 16GB+µSD, 16GB+µSDXC, etc.
solinear - Thursday, August 30, 2012 - link
Honestly, there are too many reviews for some of these devices. As for the review quality - I don't think it's a bad review, but it's definitely not enthusiastic either way. They're not going "OMG, this is a bad device" or "OMG, this rocks"... the review is going "Um... I had to do this review, but I hate the OS and really just want to go back to using my Windows Phone and wait for Win8 tablets to come out". I might as well go to MacAddict expecting a fair review of Win8 and Android tablets as reading this one.For tablets and phones, I'd rather see a page long "highlights" review unless it's a review of an item that is seriously cool. Then once a quarter, see a more thorough review. Seeing the stats for all those devices in every single darned review for a tablet gets really old fast.
A nice quarterly spreadsheet that summarizes up the performance, memory, etc... of all the devices with their prices would be nice. Then I can come in here, look at the device, read the review of the various features and see if there are any deal breakers and make an informed purchase.
jiffylube1024 - Wednesday, August 29, 2012 - link
I think the AMOLED (not SAMOLED+?) display alone makes this tablet interesting. It would be interesting to see this thing in person and compare it to the Nexus 7.At 349g, it's basically the same weight as the N7 (340g) and you get a 20.7% screen area increase, which is not too shabby.
This tablet's got a 5mp rear camera and 2mp front camera - better than the N7's single 0.3 mp front camera (although cameras on tablets, aside from their usage in Skype and other video chatting programs, have always seemed unnecessary to me).
It's interesting (and unfortunate) to note that there's a proprietary charger for this device; HP, Blackberry and Google had no problems making micro USB chargers; why can't everyone else?
---
The pricing for this Toshiba tablet does leave something to be desired; even in the $399-429 price range, clearly the 16GB Nexus 7 at $249 is a better buy.
Does this Toshiba tablet even come with Android 4.1? The Nexus, as a Google flagship, will be one of the first devices to get subsequent Android updates in a timely fashion. Bit players like these are not at all guaranteed to be updated.
nafhan - Thursday, August 30, 2012 - link
"although cameras on tablets, aside from their usage in Skype and other video chatting programs, have always seemed unnecessary to me"I completely agree with this statement.... which is why I was somewhat shocked when I went to an aquarium a few weeks ago and saw quite a few people walking around taking pictures with iPads. To me, this makes no sense, but that doesn't mean it doesn't happen.
Origin64 - Thursday, August 30, 2012 - link
Tablets in general are about as interesting as a funeral for someone I didn't know. Everybody's getting all emotional and I can't seem to care.But seriously, there just isn't much innovation in tablet-land right now. We can expect something new when win8 hits in a few months, and significant android price-drops after that. The focus will shift from being as fast as possible to being as cheap as possible while remaining competitive performance-wise. ARM just can't keep up to an i5, so why even bother to try?
The reviewer also raises an interesting point in that he thinks Android isn't perfect for tablets. Too few people have commented on what I also see as careless GUI design in some tablets. On phones it's simple, you've got notifications at the top and buttons down below. Same for the Nexus 7 (at least in portrait) The way the buttons and notifications are placed on this tablet just seems less intuitive to me.
The icons also appear too small, especially on this one. A 6x6 grid on 7"?
pandemonium - Thursday, August 30, 2012 - link
Because reviews should be full of sparkly vampires, pop-tart rainbow fliers, and lots of campy one-liners?medi01 - Saturday, September 1, 2012 - link
This reads as a funeral because of, cough, level of "journalizm" at anand, cough...AMOLED screen doesn't even get color gamut benchmarks eh? GL benchmark is all we care about? Seriously?
Article image is showing GREY screen, seriously?
You suck guys...
Jenaii - Wednesday, May 1, 2013 - link
that is right, the tablet market is targeting high performance tablet but that doesn't mean this tablet is out you may check the further review @ http://toshiba-tablet.com/Jenaii - Wednesday, May 1, 2013 - link
that is right, the tablet market is targeting high performance tablet but that doesn't mean this tablet is out you may check the further review @ http://toshiba-tablet.com/guidryp - Wednesday, August 29, 2012 - link
OLED screens are good on power until they display bright screen colors, especially white, when they draw more than LCDs.I suspect the dynamic control is really about keeping power usage down. They brighter the screen colors, the more power it draws and the more dimming that kicks in to curtail that power draw.
If it was just about aesthetics, it would probably be easy to disable.
I wonder if the Samsung OLED tablet with this screen does the same thing?
EnzoFX - Wednesday, August 29, 2012 - link
Why do these amoled screens look so overly saturated? Maybe I just need to see some in person, but I would imagine it would handle everything on the image equally, too saturated. How can this remain consistent with someone that uses calibrated displays?Jaybus - Thursday, August 30, 2012 - link
I'm not so sure that it is the OLED display that is too saturated. The content itself is designed for maximum brightness to compensate for the poor contrast of LCD, and this likely makes it look too saturated on OLED.I would imagine the dynamic control is not so much for keeping power draw down as it is for adjusting to ambient lighting conditions. OLEDs are brighter and have a far greater dynamic range. Take them side by side out into direct sunlight and it will be obvious. The OLED will draw more power and be visible. The LCD will simply not be visible.
guidryp - Thursday, August 30, 2012 - link
Displaymate tests back up what you are seeing. There is measurable oversaturation on many OLEDs, do to non standard wider gamuts, or just plain overboosted color.Both are likely on purpose to give the impression that OLED has more vivid colors.
I prefer accuracy and standard gamuts, so colors look realistic.
Romberry - Wednesday, August 29, 2012 - link
You wrote "The only breakthroughs in this market seem to have been ASUS with their Transformers and Amazon's Kindle Fire..." In response, I have to ask if the Google (Asus) Nexus 7 slipped your mind? Various outlets are reporting that sales figures for the Nexus 7 (which in my opinion is a very good tablet and a great value for the price) are expected to be as high as 8 million units. For a device that wasn't even introduced until mid-year, that seems pretty dang respectable and I'd have to call it a market breakthrough. Sure broke through to me.bplewis24 - Wednesday, August 29, 2012 - link
$8MM seems awfully high. I have one and so does my brother, but still I would be surprised with that number. Any sources for that?bplewis24 - Wednesday, August 29, 2012 - link
Never mind, I read some of the articles. I didn't realize the 8MM was through year-end 2012. I thought you were saying it was to-date. Still, 8 million is impressive.Souka - Wednesday, August 29, 2012 - link
$499 for a 7.7 tablet?And I like how the Nexus 7 (which is $199) is left out of most of the discussion and hardware comparisions.
But ohhhh... glad the Kindle Fire is included... an old outdated tablet.
nathanddrews - Wednesday, August 29, 2012 - link
The review lost me at "$499".Bonesdad - Wednesday, August 29, 2012 - link
I had the exact same thoughts. Why wasn't this compared to the Nexus 7? They are most similar and Nexus is arguably at the top of the 7" tablet heap right now. And the Kindle Fire? When the new Kindle Fire is announced next week, I hope you will include this Toshiba and the Nexus 7 as comparisons.No way am I dropping $500 on a 7 inch tablet. This unit is DOA for that reason alone. I was hoping it would be competitive at least.
nerd1 - Wednesday, August 29, 2012 - link
Wonder why the writer didn't include GT 7.7 with 7.7" SAMOLED.teiglin - Wednesday, August 29, 2012 - link
+1. There are exactly two 7.7" SAMOLED+ tablets on the market today, and excluding the one direct competitor from this review is frankly mind-boggling to me.The P6810 (Galaxy Tab 7.7 wifi) can be had for under $450 online now, and it's (imo) a better device. Exynos4210 may not be quad-core but its day-to-day performance is at least as good as tegra3. Plus, it's available with a quad-band HSPA+ radio, which also includes full phone functionality, or you can spend up on the VZW version and forgo the phone for LTE.
As you mention, there's not much market for any >$200 tablet that doesn't start with i and end with Pad, and even here, the comments bear out that most consumers stop reading once they see that it's $500, not 10", and not an iPad. But as others have also pointed out, this is an unusual, niche device, and I'm glad to see any attention it gets.
ph00ny - Wednesday, August 29, 2012 - link
Amen!!!I can't believe he left out the other SAMOLED+ based tablet in the exact same size
I have LTE version of the GT7.7 and it's been a real pleasure. Outside of knowing that verizon will hold me to HC for a very long time, it's been a gem. Great build quality, slim design, samoled+ and it can function as a hotspot. What more can i ask for?
metafor - Wednesday, August 29, 2012 - link
The only thing holding me back from the Samsung 7.7 is the lack of ICS. Samsung just seems to have forgotten about it when it comes to updates.teiglin - Thursday, August 30, 2012 - link
Only the Verzion version lacks ICS at this point (thank you American carriers for your wonderfully smooth OS update process!). The international versions have both had ICS for almost two months, which is, admittedly, still pathetically slow from Samsung.haukionkannel - Wednesday, August 29, 2012 - link
Interesting new tablet! The screen is definitely interesting. I am guite sure, that people are more easily to forgive the price if they can compare it directly with another tablet.Hopefully we see some other tablets with Oled screens soon!
frozentundra123456 - Wednesday, August 29, 2012 - link
I have mixed feelings about tablets in general, but I do have a 7" Acer A100. I only paid 200.00 for it on close out . For 200.00 it has its place for browsing and watching netflix. But for 500.00 with no 3G or 4G connectivity included-- absolutely not. Android tablets just have too many limitations to pay this much for one. I dont care how nice the screen is. I would get a smartphone or laptop or wait for a windows tablet and pay more.I am just astounded at the price of this.
mike55 - Wednesday, August 29, 2012 - link
What if you measure the brightness of a full red, blue, and green screen separately and add them together? That might get you closer to a brightness measurement more comparable with other tablets.teiglin - Wednesday, August 29, 2012 - link
Was this review written back before the Excite 7.7 launched? The review contains several obvious anachronisms that undermine its usefulness. For example, the street price has dropped significantly ($430-$440 at a quick search), and it's been over a month since anyone who wanted a Nexus 7 didn't have one. I guess it shouldn't be surprising to find this sort of issue--the concluding line that "the Toshiba Excite 7.7 is probably going to wind up being lost in the shuffle" has already come true.TareX - Wednesday, August 29, 2012 - link
Sorry, but this is a substandard review for Anandtech. I expected it to be way better given how long this review took to arrive. I'd rather have it written by someone familiar with Android and tablets, and not NEITHER. It was a Cowboy move assigning this task to Dustin.That said, the Nexus 7 DID kill the Toshiba Excite. $250 is too much to pay for a MicroSD (my only reason to buy this over the Nexus 7) and SAMOLED screen, expecially given the fact it won't come with 4.1, and Toshiba has a bad record updating its Android devices.
dishayu - Thursday, August 30, 2012 - link
Thank you for the tablet coverage but Plextor M5 Pro now, please!Kegetys - Thursday, August 30, 2012 - link
How are the OLED black spots/blobs on this screen? As far as I know, every OLED screen has or can have them and they can be very distracting ie. when watching video in the dark. For phones its tolerable since the screen is so small anyway but a tablet it would surely be very annoying.Jaybus - Thursday, August 30, 2012 - link
It is not true that all OLED screens have black spots. It is simply a matter of binning. Screens that don't pass QC due to black spots are sold cheaper. It is just like LCDs. LCDs with a few dead pixels are sold cheaper and still end up in devices. It doesn't mean that all LCDs have dead pixels.teiglin - Thursday, August 30, 2012 - link
From reading various feedback on xda, the standard pattern (which mine also has) is four circles, each about 2" in diameter, and my device has these as well as maybe 3-4 other small (<0.5") blobs. However, I don't notice them even when watching movies in the dark at minimum brightness; for me to see them, it requires a solid black or dark gray screen at near-minimum brightness. The only times it comes up in actual use is when I'm reading and there is a page with almost no text--even the small illumination given by minimum brightness white text hides the irregularities.I've read that some people have perfect screens, and I've read that some people's screens are worse, and of course, some people are just more and less sensitive to these issues. So YMMV.
B3an - Friday, August 31, 2012 - link
Way too expensive.And no Android tablets are interesting anymore as far as i'm concerned. I totally agree with the reviewer in that the OS is an unintuitive mess that gets bogged down easy and needs excessive processing power in order to function remotely well. Android was the only option before to anyone smart enough to not buy Apple. But now that Win 8 or even RT tablets are coming i have zero interest in a Android tablet.
sos_sifou - Saturday, September 1, 2012 - link
sir, the main device you should compare the Toshiba 7.7 with, is the original samsung galaxy tab 7.7adsgasdgsadg - Friday, October 26, 2012 - link
Dear Fellow Excite Owners:PLEASE SIGN THE PETITION! Only 177 more signers to go!https://www.change.org/petitions/toshiba-america-i...
The reason we cannot root the Toshiba Excite currently, is because Toshiba decided to LOCK THE BOOTLOADER!In order to be able to root, Toshiba needs to get their developers to unlock the bootloader! To get Toshiba to agree to do this, we need to get this petition signed!
Please sign it for yourself and the benefit of all Toshiba Excite (AT300, AT305, etc.) owners so we can get this tablet rooted!
You need root to:
* Increase battery life (JuiceDefender)
* Improve battery life (AutoKiller Memory Optimizer)
* Restore/make backups (Titanium Backup)
* Manage startup (Startup Auditor)
* Manage autorun programs (Autorun Manager)
* Increase SD speed (SD Speed Increase)
* Use full features of Ad-Blockers (Droid Ad-Free)
* Use Firewall* Compile apps
* Pair PS3 controller
* Connect as bluetooth keyboard for PS3 (BluePutDroid)
* And many more things you need root access for!
PLEASE SIGN THE PETITION!https://www.change.org/petitions/toshiba-america-i...
my baby - Friday, April 26, 2013 - link
Toshiba Excite 7.7 is one of the best small Android tablets currently available. It's also thin, light, boasts the latest version of Android (4.0), and includes a microSD slot for storage expansion. I like this tablet capable for gaming.www.toshiba-tablet.commy baby - Monday, April 29, 2013 - link
Toshiba learned a lot from the Thrive and they're clearly willing to experiment a bit with the technology if the AMOLED display is any indication.www.toshiba-tablet.comJenaii - Wednesday, May 1, 2013 - link
that is right, the tablet market is targeting high performance tablet but that doesn't mean this tablet is out you may check the further review @ http://toshiba-tablet.com/Jenaii - Thursday, May 2, 2013 - link
The Toshiba Excite AT305T64 runs the Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) operating system, which builds on the things people love most about Android–a simplified UI, easy multitasking, customizable home screens, re-sizable widgets, and a full suite of familiar Google mobile services.http://toshiba-tablet.com/