In an attempt to quantitatively measure the Thrive 7's battery life in a controlled benchmark environment, we ran a test in which we set up a webpage with a mix of graphics, Flash media and text. The page automatically refreshes every three minutes, we loop the page and also setup a screen lock utility that keeps the display from sleeping during the test. Battery life is then measured down to the minute the tablet finally shuts down. The WiFi radio is enabled in this test, to simulate battery life in real-world web browsing over an 802.11n wireless connection.
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| Battery Life Tests |
| Untethered Up-Time Measurements |
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For this test, we set the Thrive's display to 50% brightness, which is still plenty bright and easy on the eyes. The Thrive was able to last just over 5 hours untethered before it powered down.
Though it came in dead last, technically, in this test, the Toshiba Thrive 7 did exceed the 5 hour mark, which isn't bad for a 7-inch slate, where battery size needs to be reduced in order to accommodate a smaller chassis design.
