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Confident Toshiba execs have been talking up the company’s forthcoming slate as “superior” to Apple’s iPad 2, but we’ve been waiting for actual specs to judge whether they’re all mouth and no tablet-trousers. Now we’ve got full details, courtesy of an Amazon product page for Toshiba’s new device.
There’s no confirmed name or release date for the tablet — Amazon refers to it as just ‘Toshiba 10.1-inch Android Tablet’ in the listing. As that makes clear, the device will have a 10.1-inch screen, with a 1,280×800-pixel resolution capable of playing video at 720p.
Lurking inside is an Nvidia Tegra 2 dual-core processor, while there’ll be a 5-megapixel rear camera and 2-megapixel front camera, plus stereo speakers. Ports will include USB, mini-USB and HDMI, with an SD-card slot, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity, and support for Adobe’s Flash Player.
The listing also refers to an “easy grip non-slip interchangeable rubber backplate”, hinting that customisation will be part of the tablet’s selling points. GPS, a compass and an accelerometer are also built-in, and the device’s battery will be replaceable.
There’ll be a dedicated Toshiba App Place store for apps, as well as Google’s Android Market. (App Place? Really, Toshiba? Have we already scraped that barrel so dry?) Toshiba says it “complements the Android Market by providing a wide selection of widgets ranked by quality and popularity”, screening out apps that don’t work on the device.
The listing does not refer to a specific version of the Android OS, but it would be strange to say the least if the tablet isn’t running Android 3.0 Honeycomb.
A prototype version of the tablet was first shown off at the CES show in January this year, before Aussie exec Rob Wilkinson rode into battle against Apple on its behalf earlier this month.
“We are confident that we can match Apple pricing for their new iPad 2 while delivering a device that is richer in features,” he said. “We believe that our device is superior to the Apple device, it may be a little heavier (773g) but it does have a lot of features that the iPad 2 does not have.”
Has Toshiba got a shot at taking on the iPad 2? Let us know your thoughts in a comment.
