Toshiba Folio 100

Available now
2nd September 2010

The Toshiba Folio 100 is an Android tablet with a 10.1" display, competing directly against the Apple iPad.. and just like the iPad, this comes in 3G and non-3G versions.

Unlike the Samsung Galaxy Tab that was also announced today, the Toshiba Folio 100 is what you might call a "full size" tablet, centred around the large 1024 x 600 pixel multitouch panel. Inside is an NVIDIA Tegra 2 Processor (which we guess is clocked at 1GHz). The Folio 100 comes preinstalled with the Android 2.2 operating system which supports full Flash video.

WiFi is supported, with 802.11 b, g and n compatiblity. A 3G version is slated to be available during Q1 2011 although we don't know any more details other than that. The Folio 100 also supports Bluetooth 2.1.

On the front is a 1.3 megapixel camera for video calling, but no camera on the back. Media can be played back through the mini HDMI port and the Folio supports DLNA. Internal memory is a useful 16GB, and there's an SD/MMC card reader too which should allow for plenty of storage space. Toshiba don't make any mention of GPS, but it would be useful if they were to include it in the 3G version.

It's a big device, coming in at 281 x 181 x 14mm and weighing 760 grams for the non-3G version, which makes it a bit bigger and heavier than the iPad. Toshiba say that the internal battery can power the Folio 100 for up to 7 hours in mixed use.

Because this is an Android device then you can choose from thousands of different applications from the Market. The Folio 100 also comes preinstalled with Fring (for videoconferencing), the Opera web browser and Evernote.

But perhaps the best thing of all is the price - Toshiba say that the non-3G version should be available in October for just £329 including VAT (about €400), where a similarly specified iPad costs around £480 (or €580). In other words, you can do pretty much anything that the iPad can do but for a third less money.. and that certainly seems appealing.