We had the pleasure of testing the new Toshiba AC100. Maybe you’re wondering what AC100 is. Well Toshiba AC100 is the company’s smartbook we talked about earlier this month.
Even if 2010 was announced as “year of the smartbooks”, the recent massive launch of tablets proved otherwise. Toshiba took a huge step in mixing the Android operating system with the processing power of the nVIDIA Tegra platform.
Toshiba tries to place this product between smartphone and netbook, thus the name of smartbook. From the first it takes connectivity and battery autonomy, and from the second the shape, having a larger screen and a full-size clamshell keyboard for ease of use. The battery can last for up to 7 days when the smartbook is in standby, and for up to 8 hours when it’s in use.
Toshiba’s smartbook has instant-on capabilities, the system being launched in less than a second.
We can say that it’s a “strange” toy. It has no air-vents and no function keys like we’re used to. In exchange it offers a lot of multimedia-keys. I was surprised by the fact that it doesn’t need a cooling s
ystem, has no cooler and makes practically no noises. AC100 is extremely thin – 262.0 x 189.80 x 14.0/21.0 mm, and also very light – 0.87 Kg.
Even if it runs on an nVIDIA Tegra TM250 1 GHz CPU, the Android operating system runs astonishingly well, without freezing or crashing. It takes about 30 seconds to launch the OS, and goes from standby to operational in less than a second. The system sports a 16 GB memory and a SSD hard drive for better speed and data protection.
Toshiba AC100 runs on Android 2.1. I can tell that it’s the same OS smartphones use. However, Toshiba made a few adjustments and installed a few personalized applications. We should also mention that only Android applications can be installed.
During the time we spent with Toshiba AC100, we browsed the Web, used the integrated webcam and ran some office applications. Toshiba claims that the smartbook can even run Full HD 1080p videos.
There are a lot of pre-installed applications: Documents To Go which is meant for opening and editing Microsoft Office files, e-mail client that supports POP3, IMAP and Exchange, instant messaging client, Opera Mobile for Web navigation and Media Player Toshiba applications for video, images, and music.
In other words, Toshiba AC100 is a revolutionary product. It has a simple stylish design and is extermely light and thin. The system is capable of running Android 2.1 seamlessly, but problems appear when installing certain applications. AC100 is not yet on the list of software manufacturers for Android, and this can be a minus.
Talking connectivity, Toshiba AC100 offers: 1 x USB port, 1 x mini USB port, 1 x DC-in port, 1 x HDMI port, 1 combo port for microphone/headphones, and a card reader. It also features wireless and Bluetooth.
Toshiba AC100 was launched in the UK this month and is now available for sale.
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