PCWorld - Long before the Toshiba Excite 7.7 got its name, its prospects were
cause for excitement. The tablet's beefy Nvidia Tegra 3-powered specs,
its slim and lightweight design, its Android 4.02 Ice Cream Sandwich
operating system, and its high-resolution AMOLED display all made it a
front-runner challenger on paper.
Now
that it's here, I can report that this model fully lives up to its
potential. The only disappointment lies with its steep price: $500 for
the 16GB version--the same as the larger-screen third-generation iPad
costs--and $580 for the 32GB model.
Next to the iPad's pricing, the Toshiba Excite 7.7 (previously seen at Mobile World Congress as the
Toshiba AT270)
feels astronomically expensive. That said, it comes in priced just 11
percent higher than the next closest competitor, the Verizon Samsung
Galaxy Tab 7.7, which is $450 with a two-year contract. Granted, the
Verizon model handles 4G LTE wireless communications, but that tablet is
also stuck on last year's Android 3.
x Honeycomb operating system. And its dual-core CPU performance is notably slower than that of the Tegra 3-based Excite 7.7.
At least the design of the Excite 7.7 matches its premium price.
Aesthetically, it pleases the eye, and it's in keeping with the design
of the 10.1-inch and 13.0-inch models in the Excite lineup, sporting a
bronze-colored, textured aluminum back with matching plastic edges and
well-defined buttons for the volume rocker, power, and rotation-lock
slider.
The design is deceptive: Though the Excite 7.7 lacks the contour
of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7, the two models are of identical depth,
0.31 inch. The Excite 7.7 is slightly larger than the Tab, standing 8.1
inches tall to the Tab's 7.7 inches; and at 12.3 ounces (or 0.77 pound),
it's a bit heavier than the Tab, by 3.2 ounces (or 0.2 pound).
Interestingly, the Toshiba tablet feels lighter in the hand, probably
due to the balance of the components inside.
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