Skip to main content
Customer Review
Reviewed in the United States on August 15, 2011
In my experience, this product is frail, Toshiba does not stand behind it, and it does not deliver on its promise. I am sorry to write this -- because I was excited to receive the Thrive off pre-order -- but the tablet was not what I thought it would be. I bought the Thrive primarily for business use. I was encouraged by the presence of the various ports, which would allow transfer of information between the device and my work PC, and also by the ability to edit share Word-based documents. I also liked the replacable battery feature and the idea of carrying videos to watch when traveling for work.
In reality, once I got the Thrive, I regularly received error message that various applications were being forced to close. I don't know whether this is a symptom of Honeycomb or of the device. When I tried to edit and distribute Word documents using the Quickoffice application, my colleagues could not open and review the documents -- which showed up corrupted. The device did not work with Netflix or other video rental sites -- including the video aspect of the Android market. In fact, I could not find any legal site to rent movies from that worked on the Thrive. Worst of all, the product feels very cheap compared to my wife's Ipad. Removing the back to replace the battery is nerve-wracking and it feels like the flimsy back cover is going to crack. This is a disincentive to making use of the replaceable battery. Then, when my Thrive dropped 18 inches from a bench to the floor (while in a padded case), the glass shattered. I called Toshiba to make a warranty claim and they refused to stand behind the product. Now I am making an insurance claim through my credit card -- but I will not be replacing the Thrive with another Thrive. For use in the real world, I need a product that has the bugs worked out and that is reliable and strongly built. It is too bad, but my experience is that the Trhive is not that product. Just be forewarned if you nonetheless want it. I would keep shopping.
In reality, once I got the Thrive, I regularly received error message that various applications were being forced to close. I don't know whether this is a symptom of Honeycomb or of the device. When I tried to edit and distribute Word documents using the Quickoffice application, my colleagues could not open and review the documents -- which showed up corrupted. The device did not work with Netflix or other video rental sites -- including the video aspect of the Android market. In fact, I could not find any legal site to rent movies from that worked on the Thrive. Worst of all, the product feels very cheap compared to my wife's Ipad. Removing the back to replace the battery is nerve-wracking and it feels like the flimsy back cover is going to crack. This is a disincentive to making use of the replaceable battery. Then, when my Thrive dropped 18 inches from a bench to the floor (while in a padded case), the glass shattered. I called Toshiba to make a warranty claim and they refused to stand behind the product. Now I am making an insurance claim through my credit card -- but I will not be replacing the Thrive with another Thrive. For use in the real world, I need a product that has the bugs worked out and that is reliable and strongly built. It is too bad, but my experience is that the Trhive is not that product. Just be forewarned if you nonetheless want it. I would keep shopping.
