Toshiba Thrive Specs

Hi guys, welcome back!

In the past couple of days, i’ve been showing you guys some of the tablets made by Toshiba under the flag Toshiba Excite series, which i recommended to you especially if you’re in the search for a good gaming tablet.

(Toshiba Thrive Specs)

The Toshiba tablets i just previously reviewed on this website were Toshiba Excite 7.7, Toshiba Excite 10 SE and Toshiba Excite AT305.

To be perfectly honest, it’s not that hard for me to say that these tablets are good for gaming given that these 3 Toshiba tablets are powered by Tegra 3 quad-core processor inside, which is still considered as a powerful mobile processor – but of course, not as powerful as its siblings, Tegra 4, let alone Tegra K1.

And that automatically makes these 3 Toshiba tablets great for gaming, with graphically demanding games like Modern Combat 4, N.O.V.A 3, Asphalt 7, Need for Speed Most Wanted or GTA Vice City running smoothly on these tablets in full high graphics (Asphalt 8: Airborne run in full graphics, but not so smoothly).


Anyway, after showing you guys those 3 Toshiba tablets aforementioned above, today i want to keep the engine going (engine going? Really?), i mean, discussion going about Toshiba tablets in this next reviews.

Actually, there is a couple of Toshiba tablets that i would like to show you in my next reviews.

And yes – 3 of them are Tegra-powered tablets, which is the main reason why i want to bring them up in my next reviews in the first place.

However, today, i’m gonna start with the first one that is sporting a 10-inch display with 720p resolution.

And similar just like the Toshiba tablets in my previous reviews, the one i’m about to show you right now is also powered by Tegra processor – Tegra 2 dual-core processor, to be exact.

This one is called Toshiba Thrive.

As a gaming tablet, it’s obvious that Toshiba Thrive will not be as great as 3 Toshiba tablets i’ve already showed you earlier – Toshiba Excite 7.7, 10 SE and 10 AT305.

However, having a dual-core Tegra 2 processor is still considered as pretty good (but not that great), especially for handling 3D games - older games to be more specific.

Well, if you’re interested to get to know everything about this tablet, especially its gaming performance and what games that would work perfectly in full graphics on this tablet, then here you go, my personal review of Toshiba Thrive.

Anyway, before you start reading this review, i wanna ask your help. Relax - i’m not going to ask your money here (lol).

But what i wanna ask from you is, if you feel that this review is helpful and informative to you (hopefully entertaining as well), i would really appreciate it if you could just spend a few seconds to share this review to your friends or family via your social media accounts. Your contribution here would be really appreciated.

Okay then, without further ado, here you go, my personal review of Toshiba Thrive.


Before i go straight to the review, i just wanna say thanks to everyone here who has contributed to this site – either by sharing my reviews, recommending my website to their friends, commenting, or even just bookmarking this website on their browsers.

That is so awesome guys. I totally appreciate every effort that you all throw on this website. It means a lot to me and of course, this community.

Hopefully, i can improve the quality and the depth of my reviews in the future.

Anyway, as i already mentioned above, Toshiba Thrive is a 10-inch – to be precise, 10.1-inch tablet sporting the 720p display and it’s powered by a dual-core Tegra 2 processor, which obviously is not as powerful as the other Toshiba tablets i’ve already showed earlier in the past couple of days ago – Toshiba Excite 7.7, Excite 10 SE and Toshiba Excite 10 AT305.



However, despite having a less powerful processor than its siblings, i think it’s amazing to see this tablet come with Tegra 2 processor.

Even though this processor is already considered as outdated even since 2 years ago - and it’s definitely not on par anymore with today’s flagship processors - like Tegra K1, Snapdragon 800/600/801 or Apple A7 chipsets -, it doesn’t straightly mean that this tablet will be inferior, especially in performance.

Toshiba Thrive is still a solid performing tablet in its class, even for gaming.

It may not be as powerful as other devices with Tegra 3 or Tegra 4, let alone Tegra K1, however, as a media-consumption tablet, Toshiba Thrive is still a good choice for that mater.

Besides the dual-core Tegra 2 processor, there are some other things to be liked on this device, such as its 10.1-inch display with 720p resolution, its 8-core GeForce ULP GPU, its 5MP and 2MP rear and front facing cameras respectively, its 3G cellular support, its 1GB of RAM or its 32GB of microSD card expandable storage.

However, there’s no FM radio found on this tablet, although this feature might not be missed a lot by its users given that tablet users mostly don’t really need FM radio that bad, as opposed to smartphone users.

However, there are some questions remain about this tablet.

With all of those goodies and especially its hardware specs, does Toshiba Thrive have what it takes to be a good gaming tablet?

Is this tablet still relevant to be positioned alongside other devices on today’s tablet market?

Is it worth it to buy this tablet?

Back to Top

• 3G
• Mini-SIM
• Released July 2011,
• 725 g (Weight )
• 10.1 inch IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen, 1280 x 800 pixels, (~149 ppi pixel density), 16M colors
• 1 GB RAM
• Dual-core 1 GHz Cortex-A9 Nvidia Tegra 2 T20 Chipset
• ULP GeForce GPU
• Android OS 3.0 Honeycomb, upgradable to 3.2 Honeycomb
• microSD Memory Card slot for up to 32 GB
• 8/16/32 GB Internal storage
• 5 MP rear-facing camera, autofocus
• 2 MP front-facing camear
• No EDGE
• No GPRS
• Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n
• HSDPA, 7.2 Mbps
• USB
• GPS
• HTML5, Adobe Flash Brow
• Bluetooth ser
• No Radio
• Java MIDP emulator
• Black Color option
• HDMI port
• Accelerometer, gyro, compass Sensors
• Non-removable Li-Ion battery
• Up to 7 hours of Talk time

Compared to other Toshiba 10-inch tablet (which i just showed you in my previous review – Toshiba Excite Pure), then it’s really clear for us to see that Toshiba Excite Pure is definitely more superior than Toshiba Thrive, despite having no rear-facing camera.

That’s the reason why i personally think that Toshiba Thrive is more suitable to those people who are only looking for a media-consumption tablet in low price range (given its outdated hardware).

In terms of performance, Toshiba Thrive features a dual-core Tegra 2 processor clocked at 1GHz, coupled with 8-core GeForce ULP GPU and 1GB of RAM, which are adequate to handle the 720p resolution on its large 10.1-inch display.

There are 2 cameras, 2MP and 5MP back and front respectively (with autofocus but no LED flash, which is a bummer).

It comes with Android 3.0 Honeycomb out of the box, layered with Toshiba’s less-aggressive customized UI (near the stock Android UI).

You can also add up more space by using microSD card slot for up to 32GB to support 8/16/32 GB of internal storage.

There are also some basic features like Java emulator, Bluetooth, GPS, USB, HDMI port and some other more.

There is no 3G cellular support nor FM radio on this device.

The battery life is believed could last around 7 hours in talk time (multimedia) usage, which is less than the one offered by its sibling - Toshiba Excite Pure -, with its 13 hours in the same battery usage.


Similar just like the rest of Toshiba Excite tablets that i’ve been showing you in the past couple of days, Toshiba Thrive is also sporting the same 720p resolution on its 10.1-inch display, with standard pixel density of -149 ppi, which is the same exact screen specs on all of 10.1-inch tablets with 720p resolution.

Compared to today’s 10.1-inch tablets on the market right now, then Toshiba Thrive is not on the same level anymore with those rivals, especially in terms of sharpness.

However, having the 720p resolution on 10-inch display can still be considered as pretty sharp because even on laptop display, 720p resolution already looks insanely sharp.

So this tablet is still great for many things like reading contents, browsing the web, playing games, checking out photos, watching videos or just editing documents.

But of course, the pinch-to-zoom gesture is always needed especially when reading books or browsing the web.


It’s good to see that Toshiba Thrive (along with other Toshiba tablets) doesn’t come with such a heavy aggressive customization from the manufacturer – like, say, Sony Xperia or Samsung GALAXY tablets.

So it’s still close to the pure stock Android UI, of course with Toshiba’s homemade icons and some added features.

And this is great for this tablet, meaning that the Tegra 2 dual-core processor can perform fast and smooth with no lag whatsoever, and the battery life could last longer even in heavy use.

Back to Top
As a Tegra 2 tablet, there’s no doubt that Toshiba Thrive will excel really well in terms of performance. That’s thanks mostly to the 8-core GeForce ULP GPU that comes packed inside this dual-core processor.

And as you might have known already – despite being an outdated processor for today’s standards - Tegra 2 dual-core processor actually used to be the world’s first dual-core processor around the smartphone and tablet markets, which was awesome because the hardware of Android devices back then were not as impressive as the ones we see today.

So basically, any task that you throw on this tablet – like browsing the web, checking Twitter or Facebook apps, checking emails, watching videos, reading contents or editing documents - all can be executed mostly in smooth lag-free performance.

Moreover, thanks to the 1GB of RAM that Toshiba has provided on this device, multitasking many apps even at once will not create such a massive impact to the overall performance of this tablet.

So everything will be fast and smooth with minimum amount of lags.

However, given that Tegra 2 processor inside this device can be considered as less powerful compared to its siblings – Tegra 3 or Tegra 4 -, the performance of this tablet usually starts showing lags or stutters especially when deploying live wallpaper on the homescreen.

The other downside of having Tegra 2 processor is, as i’ve heard lately (or read lately on Wikipedia), despite being a dual-core processor, unfortunately Tegra 2 has this annoying issue that won’t allow you to do HD video playback especially on YouTube (720p) on any Tegra 2 tablet.

So if you love watching HD videos or movies, you might want to think a little bit deeper about this because not being able to watch HD videos really sucks man!

But for watching HD offline videos, i've already seen that Tegra 2 tablets are able to do that with no issue whatsoever.

The good thing is, apart from that HD video playback issue, there is still a lot of things to be liked from the Tegra 2 processor inside this tablet.

Toshiba Thrive features a dual-core Tegra 2 processor clocked at 1GHz, coupled with 1GB of RAM and 8-core GeForce ULP GPU, meaning that this tablet will perform pretty good especially for gaming.

So if you love playing games, there are many games that would work perfectly and smoothly, plus in full graphics on this tablet – like Modern Combat 1 and 2, Asphalt 5 and 6, NOVA 1 and 2, ShadowGun, Need for Speed Undercover and SHIFT, PES 2012 and many other games released around 2012 or before that year.

However, given that Tegra 2 is now already considered as outdated and not on par anymore with today’s mobile chipsets, then there will be some limitations regarding which games that would work smoothly in full graphics on this device.

So for the latest and the most graphically demanding games like Asphalt 8: Airborne, Modern Combat 4, NOVA 3, Modern Combat 5 or GTA San Andreas, don’t expect this tablet to perform great when running these games in full graphics – because that’s not gonna happen.

But thankfully, some of these games provide users or gamers the option to set their graphics to even the lowest level.

So you probably have luck in playing these games on this tablet, although not in full graphics.

Overall, as a gaming tablet, Toshiba Thrive can be considered as pretty good, but not that great, let alone the best.

However, for playing older games released around 2012 or before that year, this tablet definitely is more than capable to handle these games smoothly, even in full graphics.

And the fact that this tablet is a 10-inch tablet with good battery life also makes Toshiba Thrive worth considering for a gaming tablet.

And i’ve already seen on some reviews that Tegra 2 processor is not that power hungry – compared to Tegra 3 or Tegra 4 -, even with medium capacity of battery.

So you can expect to see this tablet last in pretty great long hours of intensive gaming.


It’s too bad that i haven’t found any information about the exact battery capacity of this tablet. According to GSMarena, Toshiba Thrive is able to survive around 7 hours for talk time.

And if we compare the battery life on that usage with Acer Iconia Tab 500 (the same Tegra 2 tablet with 10-inch 720 display and 3260mAh battery) – which could last in 6 hours in talk time -, then i can take conclusion that the overall battery life of Toshiba Thrive will probably be as great as Acer’s tablet.

As a matter of fact, i’ve already seen on some reviews of Acer Iconia Tab 500 and this tablet proved could last in 2 days in moderate use on one full charge – which is great because that means this tablet will be reliable as a media-consumption tablet, or even gaming tablet.

However, the battery life of Toshiba Thrive will likely drop drastically if it’s used for doing some heavy intense tasks.

So if you are a type of power user and would use this tablet intensively without resting the screen at all – like for watching movies in marathon or playing games in the row, then you could only expect to see this tablet last probably around 4 to 6 hours, which is good for a media-consumption tablet.

This is due to the fact that Tegra 2 dual-core processor is not that power hungry – given its 2 only set of cores and low 1GHz clock speed -, not to mention its medium resolution 720p display, which consumes less power from its battery given its less amount of pixels compared to 1080p or 2.5K display.


So my final word about this tablet is, i think my impression of Toshiba Thrive is similar with my impression of Acer Iconia Tab 500 which i’ve already showed you a couple of months ago.

So this tablet will be a great media-consumption tablet and pretty good gaming tablet.

It’s good for watching movies, listening to music, browsing the web, reading contents like books or magazines, checking out photo album or even for playing games.

But then again, as i already mentioned above in ‘gaming performance’ section, this tablet may perform fast and smooth when playing older games released around 2012 or before that year (even in full graphics).

However, for the latest graphics intense titles like Asphalt 8: Airborne, Modern Combat 4 and 5, Dead Trigger 2, GTA San Andreas or Horn, it’s obvious that this tablet will not be capable to handle these games perfectly and smoothly, especially in full graphics.

The other downside found on this tablet is its video playback.

Despite being a dual-core processor and sporting 720p resolution on its 10-inch display, Tegra 2 tablets like Toshiba Thrive usually have this kind of issue that prevents them from doing video playback in HD (720p) or full HD (1080p) videos, especially on YouTube.

As a matter of fact, i’ve already seen on YouTube lately that the other Tegra 2 tablet – Acer Iconia Tab A500 – runs really laggy when playing 1080p videos.

So that’s probably the same thing to expect on Toshiba Thrive given that this tablet also comes with the similar specs as Acer’s tablet – from 10-inch display, 720p resolution, Tegra 2 dual-core 1GHz processor, 1GB of RAM, GeForce ULP GPU, etc.

However, apart from that, Toshiba Thrive can still be worth considering especially for those of you who are only looking for a decent media-consumption tablet with good performance.

Toshiba Thrive is definitely a pretty good choice for you.

• It has large 10.1-inch display sporting the 720p resolution with pixel density of -149pp (which is not ground breaking),
• powerful Tegra 2 dual-core processor,
• 1GB of RAM (ensuring pretty good multitasking experience),
• 8-core GeForce ULP GPU (great for playing older games released around 2012 or before that year),
• complete set of cameras (5MP and 2MP back and front),
• 3G cellular connectivity,
• microSD card slot for 32GB to support the 8/16/32GB of internal storage,
• 7 hours of battery life for talk time
• and a couple of other standard features like Bluetooth, GPS, HDMI port, Java and more, excluding FM radio.

So basically, if you’re only looking for a good 10-inch media-consumption tablet with good gaming performance, good battery life and the support of 3G cellular connectivity, then Toshiba Thrive can still be such a good choice for you.

However, if you’re into tablet gaming and you always want to be able to play the latest tablet games perfectly in full graphics, you might want to pick up other Toshiba tablets with Tegra 3 processor, like Toshiba Excite Pure, Toshiba Excite 10 SE or Toshiba Excite 10 AT305, or even Toshiba Excite Pro or Excite Write with their Tegra 4 processor.

Anyway, to end this review, i’ll try to answer some of the questions i’ve already asked earlier above:

• Does Toshiba Thrive have what it takes to be a good gaming tablet? Yes – thanks to its Tegra 2 dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, 8-core GeForce ULP GPU, 10-inch display with 720p resolution, Toshiba Thrive can still be considered as a pretty good gaming tablet, but not that great compared to other Toshiba Excite tablets like Toshiba Excite 10 SE/10 AT305 or Toshiba Excite Pure - which all of these guys are powered by Tegra 3 quad-core processor along with its 12-core GPU. So for playing the latest and the most graphically demanding games like Asphalt 8: Airborne, Modern Combat 4, NOVA 3 or GTA San Andreas, it’s really obvious that this tablet will suffer in performance, especially in full graphics.
• Is this tablet still relevant to be positioned alongside other devices on today’s tablet market? No – given that Tegra 2 dual-core processor is already considered as outdated for today’s standards and not on par anymore with today’s 10-inch tablets - even the ones with Tegra 3 processor -, then Toshiba Thrive is not relevant anymore to be positioned alongside other 10-inch rivals on today’s tablet market.
• Is it worth it to buy this tablet? Yes, definitely - if you’re in the search for a decent 10-inch tablet with good performance, good battery life, pretty good gaming performance and 3G cellular connectivity, then Toshiba Thrive is still worth it to purchase. However, if you’re looking for a good gaming tablet, you should try pick up its siblings – like Toshiba Excite 10 SE/10 AT305/Pure given their Tegra 3 quad-core processor which is powerful for gaming, while Toshiba Excite Pro and Excite Write will be much better options given their Tegra 4 processor.

Have any question? Leave your comment here!