![]() Media Player aggregates all media on the tablet or on the network you're connected to, making it accessible from one interface. Start Place is a well-designed news aggregator, and Book Place is Toshiba's e-reader and book market. Toshiba also includes some propriety software: App Place is filled with mostly cloud-based applications (already available via the Android Market) that Toshiba recommends for use with the Thrive. Some preinstalled software includes LogMeIn, PrinterShare, Quickoffice HD, and Need for Speed Shift. All the usual tablet bell and whistles are here, including a gyroscope, accelerometer, ambient light sensor, GPS, and digital compass. Under the hood, the Toshiba Thrive houses a 1GHz dual-core Nvidia Tegra 2 processor with a 10.1-inch capacitive touch screen and a 1,280x800-pixel resolution. Also, the edge where the back panel meets the end of the bezel feels a little sharp and was distracting when our fingers rubbed it. Overall, the device feels solid and durable, and we found it comfortable to hold, if slightly bulky. We think the Thrive's rear camera is ill-placed as evidenced by the fact that our fingers covered it virtually every time we turned it on. While you'd likely get used to the lights after a while, they're not typical of the tablet experience and can be distracting if you're looking for a completely clean interface. Near the power button, on the bezel, are three LED indicator lights that glow to indicate when the power is on, when the battery's charging, or when wireless or Bluetooth is switched on. On the opposite end of the top edge is the full-size SD card slot, which accepts cards of up to 128GB in capacity. It's nowhere near as bad as the BlackBerry PlayBook's, which requires a pen to access properly, though. Both the volume rocker and rotation lock are easily accessed, but the power button is embedded a tad too deeply and requires a more focused press to actually click. When held in landscape mode, the top of the tablet holds, from left to right, the power button, volume rocker, and rotation lock. It's the large light gray plate on the left. The back panel is removable and swappable with up to five other colors. ![]() There's also the option to lock the back panel into place, which seems unnecessary since it's pretty firmly attached once placed properly, and if locked and forgotten could easily cause someone to break it by trying to pull the panel off while it's in a locked state. Removing the battery is simpler and easier than removing the back panel, although replacing both battery and panel is easy. The battery measures 5.1x5.5 inches, with about a 0.25-inch depth. Once the panel is off, the removable battery can be accessed, removed, and finally swapped with an extra battery Toshiba has priced at $80. Given the manner in which the panel is connected to the tablet, when pulling it off you may get the impression that you're breaking something, and although we didn't break anything, we can't rule out the possibility and we wish the panel came off more easily. Removing the panel requires that you dig your fingernails into the speaker indentations and then carefully, but firmly, pull back. While our model's panel was black, the panel is removable and can be swapped out for a panel in one of five other colors (green, purple, blue, pink, and silver), available for $20 each. Upon picking up the Thrive, the first thing we noticed was its grooved back panel, which provides an easy-to-grip texture.
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