Product Listing

Toshiba Regza Tablet AT270 - 7.7-inch of AMOLED Goodness

By Sidney Wong - 15 Nov 2012
Launch SRP: S$899

Overview, Design and Features

Overview

Toshiba is no stranger in the tablet scene as it has consistently unveiled new devices over the past two years. Some of the models introduced in 2011 are the AT100 and AT200, which are powered by Android Honeycomb and have 10.1-inch displays. 

Earlier this year at CES, Toshiba lived up to its promise of delivering the world's thinnest tablet (at that point in time) with the launch of the Excite X10. The Excite X10 is a 10.1-inch tablet with a sleek profile of 7.7mm and a lightweight form factor of 558g.

Besides revealing retail units for the mass market, Toshiba also took the chance to show off some prototypes and concept products, which include a waterproof table that charges wirelessly in water. Three months later, Toshiba took the wraps off a trio of tablets - the Excite 7.7, 10 and 13.3.  

In case you don't know, the Toshiba Regza AT270 is the Excite 7.7 model (as marketed in North America). The only differences are that the Regza AT270 comes with increased onboard storage capacity and an built-in 3.5G module. Here's a quick look at the specs of the Toshiba Regza Tablet AT270: -

Toshiba REGZA Tablet AT270 

  Key highlights of the Toshiba Regza Tablet AT270 (3G)

  • Android 4.0.3 (Ice Cream Sandwich)
  • 7.7-inch AMOLED display / 1280 x 800 pixels
  • NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core 1.2GHz processor
  • 1GB RAM
  • 32GB internal memory 
  • microSD card support up to 128GB
  • 5MP rear autofocus camera with LED flash 
  • 2MP front facing camera
  • 3940mAh battery
  • 350g
  • 204.5 x 135.2 x 7.85mm

  • Price and availability: Available now at S$899

 

Design and Build

Sporting a duo-tone aluminum chassis, the Toshiba Regza Tablet AT270 reminds us of the first generation ASUS Eee Pad Transformer, which has a bronze-black combination. While it is not obvious from the front, the back of the AT270 consists of two different shades of grey. The presence of dimples on the textured back also helps you to have a good grip of the AT270 in your hands although we prefer the feel of the Google Nexus 7.

The textured back dominates most of the rear of the tablet. The section where the camera and LED flash are situated is clad in a lighter shade.

Measuring just 7.85mm thin, the AT270 is one of the thinnest tablets in the market with the Apple iPad Mini taking the crown at 7.2mm. The AT270 barely edged out its closest competitor, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 which boasts a side profile of 7.89mm. Frankly speaking, the difference is almost negligible to the human eye. 

It's quite hard to see the difference in thickness between the Toshiba Regza AT270 (left) and Apple iPad Mini (right)

It's amazing how Toshiba is able to fit in a SIM card slot, microSD slot and microUSB port in the 7.85mm chassis of the AT270. The microUSB port is used for file transfer but charging is unfortunately not supported.

Two speakers flank the proprietary dock connector of the Toshiba Regza Tablet AT270. As mentioned earlier, this is the only way you can charge the tablet.

 

Features 

Preloaded on the AT270 is Android 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich, an OS which is increasingly dated as a result of Google's rapid release cycles. At point of publication, the latest Android OS is 4.2, and will ship with the new Nexus 4 and Nexus 10 devices. Toshiba Singapore has declined to specify a firm time frame as to when the Jelly Bean update will arrive on the AT270.

Aside from some really light customizations, the Toshiba Regza Tablet AT270 runs on a nearly stock version of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.

There is a toggle switch for enabling Balanced Power mode on the Toshiba Regza Tablet AT270. According to Toshiba, enabling the Balanced Power mode will throttle the brightness of the screen regardless of the adjusted brightness, and lowers the CPU multiplier to increase battery mileage.

By default, the virtual keyboard on the AT270 is the hugely popular Swype where you swipe your fingers across the keyboard to string words faster. You also have the option to switch back to the stock Android keyboard.

As an Android tablet, the Toshiba Regza Tablet AT270 gives you the flexibility and freedom to install any third-party keyboards on top of the stock version. Toshiba decided to preload Swype, a widely used third-party keyboard on the AT270. 

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8.0
  • Design 8.5
  • Features 8
  • User-Friendliness 8.5
  • Performance 8
  • Value 7.5
The Good
Excellent AMOLED display
Sleek and light design
Decent performance
Supports 128GB microSD cards
The Bad
Proprietary dock connector for charging
Below average imaging quality
Price could be lower
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