Dedoimedo posted an article introducing Xen Live CD, which allows testing a preconfigured Xen virtualization setup on top of Debian 5 Lenny in a live session. Say, you liked my Xen introduction article and you are now looking to test its functionality. But you may be afraid of the long and complex configuration setup, which in the end, might not yield desirable results. Well, that's a justified concern. Luckily, there's a very simple solution. You can download and run Xen from a live CD! Based on Debian 5, it's a demonstration tool that allows users to roadtest Xen in a volatile live session before deciding whether they want or need Xen. Sounds fantastic. So let's see what this thing can do.
Axiomtek announced a fanless embedded PC that offers Intel's single-core Atom N455 or dual core D525 processors, along with a Mini PCI expansion slot. The eBOX620-801-FL supports up to 4GB of DDR2 RAM, includes a 2.5-inch drive bay and a CompactFlash slot, and has three serial ports, according to the company.
Despite a troubled global economy, there has been no lessening in demand for fanless industrial PCs. OK, that statement might or might not be a fact, but it's certainly the impression given by Axiomtek, which continues to pump out what seems like infinite variations of its eBox devices -- all passively cooled via impressive-looking heat sinks.
Axiomtek's eBOX620-801-FL
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The new eBOX620-801-FL (above) is closely related to the eBOX620-800-FL that was released in March, as the modestly incremented model number indicates. Specs are mostly the same, except that where that model employed Intel's Atom N450 or D510 , the newer device is offered with the single-core, 1.66GHz Atom N455 or dual-core, 1.8GHz Atom D525 (TDPs are 5.5 and 10 Watts, respectively, according to Intel).
We wouldn't expect to see much of a performance boost associated with this change in processors. However, Axiomtek points out that the D525-equipped model of the eBOX620-801-FL accepts up to 4GB of DDR3 RAM in its single SODIMM slot (the N455-equipped version still has the 2GB limit that's more typical for Atom-powered PCs).
As did its predecessor, the identically sized eBOX620-801-FL has room for a 2.5-inch SATA hard disk drive and a CompactFlash slot (the latter apparently externally accessible once a door is unscrewed). Again, the device also features a Mini PCI Express slot, and Axiomtek says there's also now room for an internal USB-based wireless LAN adapter.
Ports on Axiomtek's eBOX620-801-FL
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The PC's front panel (top, above) features a microphone input and line output, two USB 2.0 ports, plus two antenna connectors that were not present on the earlier eBOX620-800-FL. The rear panel is like the earlier PC's, with three serial ports (one RS232/422/485 and two RS232), a VGA port, two more USB 2.0 ports, and two gigabit Ethernet ports.
Axiomtek says that, as was the case with the eBOX620-800-FL, the eBOX620-801-FL is orderable with a second (DVI) video output, in which case dual monitors are supported. The company also claims the device has a PS/2 keyboard/mouse port, though we can't work out from the supplied images where this might be located (on the eBOX620-800-FL, it was between the Ethernet ports).
The eBOX620-801-FL supports a 14 to 122 deg. F (-10 to 50 deg. C) operating temperatures with the D525 and 14 to 131 deg. F (-10 to 55 deg. C) with the N455, says the company. Operating system support is said to include Linux, Windows CE, and Windows XP Embedded.
Features and specifications listed by Axiomtek for the eBOX620-801-FL include:
Processor -- Intel Atom N455 (single-core) or Atom D525 (dual-core) Chipset -- ICH 8M Memory -- up to 4GB DDR3 of RAM via 1 x 200-pin SODIMM on D525 version; up to 2GB of DDR3 RAMStorage -- 2.5-inch SATA bay and CompactFlash slot Expansion -- 1 x Mini PCI Express card; internal USB bay for wireless LAN adapter Networking -- 2 x gigabit Ethernet ports
Other I/O: 4 x USB 2.0 (2 front, 2 rear)
1 x RS-232/422/485 (COM 1) 2 x RS-232 (COM 2/3)
1 x VGA
1 x DVI (optional) audio -- mic in and line out 1 x PS/2 keyboard/mouse (claimed) Power -- AC adapter; 90-264 VAC input; 12 VDC output
Operating temperature -- 14 to 122 deg. F (-10 to 50 deg. C) with D525; 14 to 131 deg. F (-10 to 55 deg. C) with N455
Vibration endurance -- 2Grms with CompactFlash
Dimensions -- 7.87 x 4.7 x 2.2 inches (200 x 120 x 56mm)
Weight -- 4.36 pounds (1.98 kg) Operating systems -- Windows XP Embedded, Windows CE, Linux
Further information
Axiomtek did not cite pricing or availability for the eBOX620-801-FL, but the device appears to be available now. More information may be found at Axiomtek's eBOX620-801-FL page .
Jonathan Angel can be reached at jonathan.angel@ziffdavisenterprise.com and followed at www.twitter.com/gadgetsense .
ARM Holdings has reported a 27 percent increase in year-over-year revenue, an 25 percent increase in pre-tax profit, and the signing of 29 processor licensees -- nine of them new. But both ARM and key licensee Texas Instruments have added a cautionary note about the rest of the year, given the shaky state of consumer confidence.
Reporting results for the second quarter of its 2011 financial year (ending June 30), ARM Holdings once again detailed increases in revenues and profits. At $190.2 million dollars, for example, revenue was up both sequentially -- the corresponding first-quarter figure had been $185.5 billion -- and year-over year.
According to ARM, its year-over-year revenue increase for the second quarter was 27 percent (relative to Q2 2010 revenue of $150.3 billion). Pre-tax profit was up too, to 54.2 million U.K. pounds, again handily beating the last quarter's figure (50.8 million pounds) and that of Q2 2010 (43.5 million pounds).
As the statement suggests, ARM makes its money from licensing its processor IP, not from actually shipping the chips. During the second quarter, the company says, it added 29 licensees to its installed base of more than 800. Of these, nine involved Cortex-A cores, including two for the advanced Cortex-A15 and two for "Kingfisher," a smaller version the company has said it is readying for "lower-end smartphones, feature phones, and cost-sensitive digital TV applications."
ARM added 29 licensees during the second quarter of this year
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According to ARM, nine of the 29 licensees signed during the second quarter were adopting ARM technology for the first time, in applications such as digital TVs, microcontrollers, and near field communication (NFC) chips. The Cortex-A15 core has now been licensed to ten companies, and "will enable the next generation of scalable computing from super-smartphones and mobile computers to servers and networking infrastructure applications," the company added.
More than 1.9 billion shipped
ARM says more than 1.9 billion chips based on its technology shipped during the second quarter, the "highest ever." (During the first quarter of 2011, 1.5 billion shipped, the company reported previously.) These shipments went into the following market segments, according to ARM:
mobile -- 58 percent embedded -- 22 percent enterprise -- 16 percent home -- 4 percent Cambridge, England-based ARM's fortunes have been boosted not only by booming smartphone and tablet sales, but also by Microsoft's well-publicized announcement that it will port Windows 8 to run on ARM SoCs (systems on chip). Google, too, has announced that its Chrome OS will soon be ported, ARM noted in its earnings report.
Nearly two billion ARM-based processors shipped during the second quarter of this year
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Last December, meanwhile, ARM acknowledged its plans to move into the server market , claiming that its designs could halve the power consumption of the low-end servers increasingly being used for tasks such as virtualization and cloud computing.
Server-related developments since then have included:
Calxeda's announcement that it will ship ARM Cortex-A9 server chips later this year Marvell's introduction of the server-targeted quad-core Armada XP Nvidia's plans to build server CPUs and ZT Systems' release of a power-sipping R1801e rackmount serverARM divides its business into a processor division (PD) centered on microprocessor cores -- including specific functions, such as graphics and video IP, fabric IP, and embedded software IP -- and a physical IP division (PIPD), focused on building blocks for translation of a circuit design into actual silicon.
According to the company, PD licensing and PD royalties were up year over year by 59 percent (to $58.1 million) and 16 percent (to $84.4 million), respectively. (We note, however, that PD royalties fell sequentially from the last quarter's $87.9 million.) At the same time, PIPD licensing went up 19 percent year over year to $12.3 million, ARM added.
A cautionary note
ARM added to the above good tidings that it has a "healthy order backlog and a robust opportunity pipeline, which are expected to deliver strong performance in license revenues." But, it said, "relevant data for the second quarter, being the shipment period for ARM's Q3 royalties, points to a small sequential increase in industry-wide revenues." And, it cautioned, "Q4 royalties are harder to predict as continuing macroeconomic uncertainties may impact consumer confidence."
Separately, key ARM licensee Texas Instruments (TI) reported second-quarter revenue that, at $3,46 billion, was up two percent sequentially but down one percent year over year. Compared to Q4 2010, operating profit and net income were down 18 percent and 13 percent year over year, the company added.
Compared to the first quarter of its 2011 financial year, TI experienced higher revenue. However, operating profit declined because of "lower factory utilization, higher earthquake-related costs [in Japan], and higher operating expenses," the company added.
Rich Templeton, TI's chairman, president, and CEO stated, "We expect growth in the third quarter, but because of mixed macroeconomic and market signals we are prepared for a broader-than-normal range of growth possibilities. We note that production at some computing and consumer manufacturers appears lukewarm even though we're heading into the back-to-school and holiday seasons."
Further information
Links providing access to ARM Holdings' earnings release, presentation, and webcast -- including the company's predictions for the rest of the year -- may be found on ARM's investor relations website . More information on TI's financial results may be found on the company's website .
Jonathan Angel can be followed at www.twitter.com/gadgetsense .
Linux 3.0 has been released, featuring a storage backend for Xen virtualization and an antifrag and data-scrubbing features for the Btrfs filesystem. Meanwhile, Thomas Gleixner released a major new, real-time Linux patch that will ready Linux 3.0 for highly-deterministic applications.
Timed for release in conjunction with the 20th anniversary of Linux -- which will be celebrated Aug 17-19 at the Linux Foundation's LinuxCon event in Vancouver, BC -- Linux 3.0 is just another Linux kernel update, according to Linux creator and gatekeeper Linus Torvalds. Back in May, he warned not to expect too much from the birthday release when he announced the major numbering shift , the first second-digit jump since Linux 2.6 arrived back in 2003.
The next release will be Linux 3.1, whose release data may wind up being determined by Torvalds' vacation schedule, he explained. Torvalds, whose main job is to decide which updated code is ready to roll into each Linux kernel release, already had his vacation delayed by a last-minute bug that delayed Linux 3.0 by several days.
In what other major software project does the head honcho's vacation plans change the release schedule? Well, perhaps more often than one would think, but only in the wonderful Oz-like open source reality of Linux does the wizard cop to it. You gotta love it.
Depending on one's perspective, beyond the numbering change Linux 3.0 will be remembered either for the improvements to the Btrfs file-system, or for the new storage backend for the Xen hypervisor. If you're a real-time Linux industrial developer, meanwhile, the big news occurred outside the mainline kernel earlier this week with a major new real-time Linux patch for Linux 3.0 from Thomas Gleixner (see farther below).
Btrfs fights fragmentationBtrfs, which debuted in the Linux kernel in a preliminary version in the early 2009 Linux 2.6.29 release , has been steadily improved in subsequent releases including Linux 2.6.31 and 2.6.32 . Btrfs is touted for offering better fault tolerance and offering easier administration than the Ext file-systems, among other benefits.
The first Btrfs enhancement is found in new anti-fragmentation code. Because Btrfs is a COW (copy-on-write) filesystem, it is plagued by even more data fragmentation problems than other filesystems, explains Kernelnewbiews.org , which offers its usual semi-official changelog for kernel releases. Btrfs already has several mechanisms for fighting fragmentation, but now offers an autofragmentation mounting option as well as an option to turn off COW to reduce fragmentation, according to the overview.
Btrfs also gains a "scrubbing" feature to check the integrity of the data in the filesystem. As Thorsten Leemhuis explains it in his detailed kernel write-up on The H , the feature lets developers "instruct the kernel to read all data from the storage medium and run through all the checksums to ensure data integrity." Among other enhancements, Btrfs is said to boost performance by about 15 per cent when creating files, and by about 20 per cent during deletions.
Other Linux filesystems have also been spruced up in various ways. The now mainstream Ext4, for example, gains a "punch hole" function that identifies areas that lack data so it can de-allocate them. This is said to be particular useful in virtualization environments.
Xen adds storage backendThanks to contributions from Xen.org , the Xen virtualization system offers the long-awaited full initial domain ("dom0 ") support, essentially enabling a storage backend for Xen . As a result, explains Leemhuis, Linux "has finally acquired all the essential components for hosting guest systems as a Dom0 together with the Xen hypervisor." He notes, however, that this is a "cut-down" version of Dom0 support and lacks extras found in commercial Xen products like Xen Server, such as suspend-to-RAM and enhanced USB support.
Here's a brief rundown of other features listed as "prominent" in the Kernelnewbies.org changelog:
Sendmmsg() -- syscall batching for send messages, said to offer speed improvements in light virtualization systemsCleancache -- optional feature for improving page cache performance, said to be aimed primarily at virtualization environments
Berkeley Packet Filter -- just-in-time, memcached-like filtering technique, similar to FreeBSD feature, that can generate native code when filter is loaded in memory. (Writes Leemhuis: "It generates assembler code at runtime that carries out some of the network packet filtering tasks set by sniffer tools.")
Wake on WLAN -- similar to Wake-on-LAN, enables system to nap while Wi-Fi stays active
unprivileged ICMP_ECHO messages -- MAC OS X-like technique for pinging without special privileges, now offered as default, enabled at boot-up
Setns() syscall -- improved namespace handling for resources like filesystem directory structure, network resources, and IPC
alarm-timers -- improved, hybrid-style POSIX timers "inspired by the Android Alarm driver" and other high-resolution timers
driver enhancements -- Drivers include Radeon DRM/KMS driver with support for AMD Llano graphics cores, and a i915-DRM/KMS driver for graphics in upcoming Intel "Ivy Bridge" Core processors. Other drivers include the Microsoft Kinect, Intel iwlwifi 105 and 135, Intel C600 serial-attached-scsi controller, Ralink RT5370 USB, several Realtek RTL81xx devices, and the Apple iSight webcam. BeagleBoard users who want to check out the new Linux 3.0 kernel can download it here .
Gleixner releases real-time patch for Linux 3.0
This "long awaited" patch "is a major milestone of integrating it into mainline," writes Carsten Emde at OSADL (Open Source Automation Development Lab). PREEMPT_RT provides guarantees for hard timing deadlines, as required by many mission-critical applications in industries like telecom, military, healthcare, music recording, and financial trading.
OSADL , which coordinates the development of open source projects in the areas of embedded and industrial design, including real-time and safety-critical Linux, has benchmarked the new patch and found it to offer very low latency. The latest patch, which Emde calls "a major milestone of integrating it into mainline" Linux kernel, is said to be much smaller in size, in part due to upstreaming infrastructure patches. Other enhancements are said to include solving the "preemptible MMU gather problem" as well as various scheduler improvements.
Since its merger with the Real-Time Linux Foundation (RTLF), OSADL has regularly released "Latest Stable" industrial real-time Linux kernels based on the PREEMPT_RT patch series. In February, 2010, OSADL released Kernel 2.6.31.12-rt21, based on Linux 2.6.31, and in December, OSADL released Kernel 2.6.33.7.2-rt30, based on Linux 2.6.33. With the new patch, the RTL developers have finally caught up with the mainline kernel release.
Aaeon has added to its line of fanless embedded controllers with a model sporting ten serial ports. The AEC-6872 has a 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor, two Ethernet ports, a CompactFlash slot, four USB ports, and a slot that can hold a PCI or PCI Express card, the company says.
Aaeon's AEC-6872 is the latest in a long line of fanless embedded controllers from this company. The one we most recently covered is the AEC-6924 , released at the end of April with a Core 2 Duo SL9400 processor.
Aaeon's AEC-6872
The AEC-6872 returns to a more typical Atom CPU (specifically, the dual-core D510 , which has a 13-Watt TDP). It's exceptional, however, in including a total of ten serial ports.
As seen below left, eight RS232 ports are lined up on the device's front panel, along with a 25-pin parallel port. There are two more serial ports (1 RS232, 1 RS232/422/585) on the rear panel (below right), along with two gigabit Ethernet ports, four USB 2.0 ports, a VGA output, two PS/2 ports, audio I/O (mic in, line out) and a power input, says Aaeon.
Aaeon's AEC-6872
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Aaeon says the AEC-6872 accepts up to 4GB of RAM via two SODIMM slots, while fixed storage is via a bay (2.5-inch, we presume, though this wasn't stated) and an internal CompactFlash slot. The device also has a Mini PCI slot and a "mini card" (Mini PCI Express?) slot, according to the company.
There are four different SKUs for the AEC-6872, Aaeon notes. For example, the device is available with a choice of externally accessible expansion slots -- either PCI or PCI Express x 1. Apart from this, it's orderable either in a version that uses 12VDC input power, or one that accepts voltages ranging from 9 to 30VDC.
According to Aaeon, the AEC-6872 may be operated in temperatures ranging from 14 to 131 deg. F. When employing only CompactFlash storage, it resists shocks of up to 5G while in operation, the company adds.
Specifications listed by Aaron for the AEC-6872 include:
Processor -- Intel Atom D510 clocked at 1.6GHz Chipset -- ICH 8M Memory -- up to 4GB DDR2 RAM in two DIMM slots Storage -- CompactFlash slot (internal) and bay for SATA hard disk drive Expansion: 1 x PCI or 1 x PCI Express x1 1 x Mini PCI 1 x "mini card" Networking -- 2 x gigabit Ethernet Other I/O: 9 x RS232 (8 front, 1 rear) 1 x RS232/422/485 (rear) 4 x USB 2.0 VGA 2 x PS/2 1 x parallel audio -- mic lin, line out Power -- 12VDC or 9~48VDC; consumption n/s Operating range -- 14 to 131 deg. F Dimensions -- 9.4 x 8.4 x 3.7 inches Weight -- 12.8 pounds (5.8kg) Further informationAaeon did not cite pricing or operating system support for the AEC-6872. More information on the device, which appears to be available now, may be found on the company's AEC-6924 product page .
Jonathan Angel can be followed at www.twitter.com/gadgetsense .
Oracle released a new version of its free virtualization software, now offering an easy way to clone virtual machines (VMs). VirtualBox 4.1 also includes a memory limit increase to 1TB for 64-bit hosts, guest support for Windows Aero, a new UDP networking tunnel for interconnecting VMs, and support for SATA hard disk hotplugging, among other cited new features.
Oracle's VirtualBox 4.x is a type 2 ("hosted") hypervisor, which requires a host operating system and then allows virtual machines to run on top of that host. It's distinct from type 1 ("bare metal") hypervisors, which theoretically offer more robustness and require less physical memory to operate.
As such, VirtualBox is similar to hypervisors from companies such as Parallels and VMWare, with comparable ease of use. Unlike these, however, it is offered for free -- a tradition that Sun began when it bought developer Innotek, and which is now being continued by Oracle.
VirtualBox supports several host operating systems, including Windows, Mac OS X, most flavors of Linux (including Oracle Linux) and Oracle Solaris. It gained an easier-to-user interface and other new capabilities (see later in this story) when it was updated to version 4.0 last December .
The VirtualBox user interface (below), called VirtualBox Manager, provides a graphical preview of suspended virtual machines. In addition, virtual machines -- including snapshots, saved states, and disk images -- could be deleted in a single step as of version 4.0.
VirtualBox Manager
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However, in Virtual Box 4.0 users could also make snapshots of a virtual machine, preserving an operating system state they could fall back to in case of subsequent mishaps. But there was no way to copy these snapshots to servers or otherwise share them with others.
Version 4.1 now provides users with an easy way to create clones (below) of virtual machines. These become independent entities that have a life of their own, according to Oracle.
Cloning a virtual machine
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Wim Coekaerts, senior vice president of Oracle Linux and Virtualization Engineering, was quoted by eWEEK as saying , "Right now, when you have a virtual machine running, you create a snapshot, which is a child of the current virtual machine. But that's not something that can independently grow afterwards. With a clone, you have a new entity that can then have its own life and, subsequently, its own snapshots."
A host of other new features and fixes noted in the VirtualBox 4.1 changelog include:
an enhanced wizard for creating new virtual disks an memory limit increase to 1TB for 64-bit hosts an experimental WDDM graphics driver that supports Windows Aero and provides Direct3D support using a "cleaner approach" (no need to install the guest drivers in Safe Mode any more a new UDP networking tunnel that "allows interconnect VMs running on different hosts easily and transparently" support for SATA hard disk hotpluggingBackground
As noted above, Oracle released a significant VirtualBox 4.0 upgrade at the end of last year. At the time, improvements in performance and functionality are said to include:
the ability for 32-bit hosts to offer more than 1.5GB or 2GB of RAM to guest operating systems emulation of Intel's ICH9 chipset, with PCI, PCI Express, and MSI (message signaled interrupts) Intel HD audio support for limiting a virtual machine's CPU time and I/O bandwidth Oracle said at the time that Virtual Box 4.0 could now resize disk images, as well as exporting virtual machines from one format to another more rapidly. It can also package disk image files and their associated XML descriptions into the OVA (open virtualization format archive) format, the company added.
VirtualBox 4.1 running Windows 8, Linux, and Android virtual machines (with Apple's OS X as the host OS)
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The way Virtual Box 4.0 is distributed and its licensing details also changed somewhat. Previously, Oracle offered an Open Source Edition (OSE), whose source code was available and which needed to be complied before use, and a main release with a ready-to-go-installer: Only the latter had full USB functionality and RDP (remote desktop protocol) support.
Now, Virtual Box is available in both source code and installer formats (covered by the GNU GPL v2 license), but USB 2.0 and RDP support have been moved to a separate extension pack, which is released under the Personal Use and Evaluation License (PUEL). Users whose existing virtual machines have USB 2.0 drivers will have to download and install the extension pack, as we discovered in our testing.
While Virtual Box and the one available extension pack remain free, it's possible Oracle (or third parties) will be releasing paid packs with additional hardware support. Meanwhile, Coekaerts said in December, the continuing investment Oracle is making in its Sun Microsystems-related open source-based products such as VirtualBox and OpenOffice is quite apparent.
Further information
Comprehensive documentation and downloads may be found on Oracle's website or at VirtualBox.org .
Toshiba's Thrive is a decent, if unspectacular, entry to the trundling Android "Honeycomb" tablet market, according to this eWEEK review. However, the availability of multiple ports will please enterprise users, who might also like the removable battery better than did author Clint Boulton.
I began using the Toshiba Thrive Android 3.1-based "Honeycomb" tablet last week with some reservations, after all of the negative attention the 10.1-inch tablet garnered over what I'll call SleepmodeGate.
I've been using this hefty, WiFi-only device (my version was the 16GB model, with 1GB of RAM) for over a week and I haven't experienced the surely annoying experience of having to reboot every time I want to wake the device from sleep mode. But dozens of Thrive owners are experiencing this, according to Engadget .
Toshiba Thrive
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Let me tell you what I have experience with: The Thrive, which weighs 1.6 pounds, is over .06 inches thick, compared to the thinner, lighter Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1.
The Thrive is speedy, as powered by the Nvidia Tegra 2 1GHz dual-core processor. It's also got a solid-but-not-great LED backlit widescreen display.
The device boasts 1280-by-800 resolution, just like the Tab 10.1, but its screen is not as crisp. I played several YouTube videos and movies side-by-side and the Tab won every time.
Toshiba Thrive in portrait mode
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One area where the Thrive whips the Tab 10.1 (and even the vaunted iPad) is the availability of ports, letting users connect their Thrive to other devices for content sharing and device-to-device communications. It has a USB port, a mini USB port, an HDMI port for putting content on bigger screens, a headphone jack, and an SD slot for flash memory cards.
There is also a docking connector to let users access latch on to a Toshiba Multi-Dock ($59.99), with an additional HDMI port, two more USB 2.0 ports, and another audio port. The Toshiba Standard Dock with Audio Out ($39.99) provides just an 3.5mm stereo audio port, apparently for connecting to a home stereo.
The Thrive's bevy of ports
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In other words, the Thrive is very PC-like -- it even has an AC Adapter included with the tablet. Yes, the Thrive comes with a laptop-style power cord!
Toshiba really showed its enterprise leanings with the Thrive by including its proprietary File Manager and PrinterShare apps on one of the five customizable homescreens. The File Manager (below) is useful for people storing, managing and accessing lots of content: I used it to put photos, documents and videos from thumb drives onto the Thrive.
The Thrive's File Manager
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PrinterShare enables printing via Android phones. The LogMeIn remote desktop and QuickOffice productivity apps were also preinstalled on this homescreen.
Conversely, Toshiba also wants to be consumer-friendly, offering proprietary Toshiba Start Place news aggreggator, a Book Place digital bookstore, and an App Place application store that is pretty poor and ugly, mixing both enterprise and consumer apps. Stick with the Android Market for apps.
YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and the new Google+ mobile app rendered well. The stereo speakers worked well for music, video content and games, such as NFS Shift from EA, which is included on the Thrive. Switching between apps was super -imple, as Google intended Honeycomb to be.
Typing on the virtual keyboard was a breeze, and I used Gmail quite a bit on the Thrive to compose messages or respond to Google+ comments. You'll get used to the clacking keyboard sound, I promise. Swype gesture technology is available for folks who prefer it.
The Thrive has a standard five-megapixel rear-facing camera for average pics, though the two megapixel front-facing Webcam will give users a nice face-to-face video chat session, as my testing with Skype Mobile showed.
OK, it's rugged, but ...
My biggest issue with the Thrive is the hardware. I strongly dislike the ruggedized, rubberized and texturized Easy Grip removeable cover. I don't care that you can swap out the battery with this feature; it feels like a military-grade machine.
In fact, I moved recently and I showed the AT&T U-Verse installer the Thrive and joked that it would go great with his work Panasonic Toughbook. He agreed. You can drop it, kick it or sit on, it and you won't hurt it. (Or so it seems: I didn't do it to this test model -- I break it and I buy it.)
Seriously, I'm okay with the idea of a removable cover, but this plastic shell feels awkward on or off. Moreover, the cheap metal camera bezel on the cover is an eyesore. I wish it were rubber, too.
Speaking of rubber, you can buy Blue Moon, Raspberry Fusion, Lavender Bliss, Silvery Sky and Green Apple covers for $19.99 if you don't like the black one with which it comes.
Here's a smaller, more niggling point. While I appreciate all the various ports and the way they're rendered in the Thrive's hardware, I believe you should never clutter the power button. It must be pronounced and easy to access.
No dice here; the Thrive's power button is grouped with the volume buttons and a screen rotation lock in a rubber bezel on the right side of the device (when in portrait mode). Try manipulating these in the dark or without looking. They're not pronounced enough in my opinion.
Battery life averaged five to six hours of solid use each day I tested it -- not as good as the Tab 10.1 or the iPad at all -- even though Toshiba professes 11 hours on a full charge. With the Thrive, you need to make sure that the tablet switches off WiFi when you're not using it or you will drain power fast.
In conclusion, I found the actual software experience of the tablet enjoyable, but I'm not comfortable with the Easy Grip removable back cover.
I appreciate what Toshiba was going for, but I don't want a tablet with removable parts. I don't take the cover off my laptop; why would I remove my tablet's cover? For fashion's sake? Pshaw.
At 1.6 pounds, it's also too heavy for my tablet experience. I couldn't use the Thrive as my primary device for media consumption, but that's me.
There are plenty of people who like the look and feel of it. And it's hard to beat the user interface and overall software experience, assuming you're one of the Android aficionados who doesn't hate Honeycomb. The 16GB Thrive I tested costs $479, but if you're feeling less storage hungry, go for the 8GB model for $429.99. More greedy customers can buy a 32GB monster for $579.99.
Further information
More images of the Thrive may be found in an eWEEK slide show , and further information may be found on Toshiba Direct's Thrive site .
Clint Boulton is a writer for eWEEK.