A slimster the Toshiba Thrive is not, but it's sure going to be more affordable than its competition when it goes on sale next month.

Toshiba executives Jeff Barney and Phil Osaka today confirmed that customers will be able to pre-order the dual-core Honeycomb tablet starting next week, though the parcel won't arrive until early July. The tablet, which we last saw at CES, will start at $429 for the 8GB version, while $479 will get you double the storage, and for $579, you'll be able to get your hands on the version with 32 gee-bees. All in all, very competitive pricing.

Fortunately, Toshiba hasn't made many trade-offs to reach the lower price tag; the Thrive's .66" shell houses some praise-worthy components:

  • 10.1" display (1280×800)
  • NVIDIA Tegra 2 dual-core processor
  • 2.0MP front-facing webcam
  • 5.0 MP rear camera with autofocus
  • Stereo speakers
  • USB, mini-USB, and HDMI ports
  • SD card reader
  • Bluetooth and Wi-Fi  connectivity
  • Gyroscope, Accelerometer, e-Compass, GPS and Ambient Light
  • Screen rotation lock switch
  • User-replaceable battery
  • Interchangeable rubber backplate, available in a variety of colors (each costs $19.99)

Better yet, This is my next reports that the Thrive will be running a relatively stock build of Honeycomb - and the few tweaks Toshiba has made (including some sort of Resolution + brightening technology and an "enhanced" file manager) might actually be useful. Good stuff - July can't come soon enough!

Source: This is my next