Toshiba challenged the Apple-dominated tablet market with the release of its latest gadget called Thrive. Priced at $429, the entry level model appears cheaper than the base model of Apple’s iPad 2.

The Japanese company says that its base model has Wi-Fi ability and targets consumers who use tablets at the comfort of their homes. As what is expected, the Thrive holds the following features: a 10.1-inch screen, up-to-date version of the Android operating system, Honeycomb 3.1, front-facing 2.1-megapixel camera and 5-megapixel rear-facing camera for photos and video conferencing, a gyroscope, rotation lock, and a 7- to 8-hour battery life (that's continuous hours of playing HD video).

Thrive weighs 1.6 pounds and is a little on the thicker side at 0.6 inches because of the features which Toshiba thinks customers will go for like built-in HDMI out port, USB, mini USB, SD card slot. These are the ports that you will find in regular computers which users cannot do away from.

Vice President and General Manager of Toshiba digital products division, Jeff Barney said, “There are two approaches you can take to a tablet. One approach is as a smartphone with more functionality and a bigger screen or more from a laptop down to a tablet. We're laptop people, so we took that approach."

On the other hand, Samsung has launched its Galaxy tab, while Sony has also its upcoming entry level release with two new models.
Toshiba said demand for other products was increasing gradually even though the Apple market share seems unaffected by their presence. "There is a market out there of folks who want to buy non-Apple products," said Jeff Barney of Toshiba America.