Toshiba Unveils World’s Thinnest Tablet

Japanese electronics manufacturer Toshiba has released its ultra-thin 10.1 inch tablet in the UK. The AT200 is available exclusively online at the Carphone Warehouse and will arrive to retail stores on 15 February.

The device is just 7.7mm thin and weighs 558g, about the average weight of a hardcover book.

Size Zero

Toshiba’s first foray into the market, the AT100 Thrive, failed to compete with the likes of the iPad 2 and Galaxy Tab 10.1, but its latest tablet generated a lot of interest when it was demonstrated in January at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, under its American name, the Excite X10.

Pricing starts at £399 for the 16GB model, exactly the same amount of money Apple asks for an entry-level iPad 2, with the 32 GB version costing another £50. However Toshiba’s tablet also includes a micro-SD slot, which means you can upgrade the device’s capacity with another 32 GB at a later date.

AT200 features a multi-touch 10.1 inch capacitive LCD screen with LED backlight and can support a resolution of up to 1,280 x 800. Its case is made out of brushed aluminium, and the screen is protected by scratch-resistant, anti-fingerprint Gorilla Glass.

It is powered by a 1.2GHz ARM dual-core A9 processor, supported by 1GB of DDR2 RAM. Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity is included but there is no support for a 3G connection. Also on board is a five megapixel rear-facing camera and a two megapixel front facing camera, while the battery will run for eight hours while in use or 120 hours in suspended mode.

Unlike the iPad, the AT200 comes with extensive connectivity options, including micro-HDMI and micro-USB ports, enabling you to expand storage, connect to a TV or transfer files from other devices.

HD video playback is also supported and even if content is not HD, Toshiba’s upscaling technology, Resolution+, ups the standard definition content to add resolution and increase quality. The device ships with android 3.2 Honeycomb, although it is possible that it may be updated with the latest version of Android, 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.