After 24 hrs with the AC100 its a an easy task to summarise what’s going on. We’ve got an impressive computing platform in a productive form factor with great screen and keyboard that’s let down by a limited operating system and aplication suite.

You’ll look at the AC100 and see some interesting elements. Always on, light weight, flash storage, long battery life and the Android ‘brand’ but let me tell it to you straight before you go and buy one – don’t buy it as a replacement for a netbook or laptop.

Taking it from it’s worst angle we’ve got a device that has none of the normal single-account convenience of the Google Mail, Contacts and Mail applications you find on an Android smartphone. There’s a read-only word processor included (laugh out loud please, this is a device with a decent keyboard!) and a video player that plays 1080p…until the application crashes. There’s a USB port that takes mouse, keyboard and USB hard drives but will error at the sight of a printer or DVD player. If you’re wondering what’s in the marketplace as downloadable apps then please think twice as this comes with the Camangi app store for large-screen devices which, with about 80 apps, is hardy the widest choice around. The browser can’t handle Google Docs or the WordPress back-end, doesn’t support Flash and is slower than a netbook. The YouTube and social networking widgets are fixed-size jokes. There’s no GPS but worse still, there’s no network location service. That’s part of the Google licensed app suite which doesn’t exist on this device. Overall, I’d say ‘forget it.’ Go buy a netbook. Android is nowhere near ready to be deployed on such a productive-looking device.

Like the Airlife 100 though there’s huge potential here. Netbook designers need to watch carefuly because the idea of an always-on device is a killer one. A full Google suite would elevate the AC100 into a different position and if you consider the potential of the Market, it would make a great addition to any netbook. Being able to pump out 1080p onto an HDMI screen kicks netbook-butt and 870gm is a joy to hold, carry and use compared to the netbooks that average 50% more weight. I like the idea of the indicator lamps too.

In a way, Android is a better fit for a ‘netbook’ style device. We’re looking at lower processor requirements, half the memory you would find in a netbook and a reduction in internal complexity that serves to bring prices down. Starting with a basic operating system makes complete sense and highlights just how bloated the 5-10GB install of a Windows 7 OS is. It needs time to develop though.

The AC100 is another smart device to watch. But don’t buy just yet. We’ll give you the nod!

Other notes:

Glossy screen looks good. No brighter than soem other devices I’ve seen tho.
Row of activity keys is useful
The 5 screens can be assigned to WiFi APNs meaning that when you connect to a given APN, the home screen changes
uPnP support in the media player is good to see, as is multiple format support, WMV, H.264 and DivX were tested up to over 6Mbps
Speakers are OK
No case or cover included
Keyboard is good. I prefer it to my current Touchnote netbook.
There’s no heat or noise, even when charging (I*m using it on my lap right now)
Opera Mobile is slightly slower than the stock browser but is slightly more capable
Games play very smoothly
…but there are issues with programs that only run in portrait mode.
WiFi reception is very strong
Single Click Connect allows remote desktop usage and remote printing (using the Single Click Desktop software)
Only 5.5GB of the 8GB flash storage is available
From the home screen you only need to start typing to search (for a website, program or file)
The device can be locked with a numeric password
There is no screen rotation or accelerometer
No Bluetooth on the test device.
No 3G on the test device

This article written on the AC100 using the WordPress application (sideloaded from an Android phone.)

Fresh from the DHL van it’s the first Tegra2 device to hit the ground. Most will be calling the Toshiba AC100 [details] a smartbook and it certainly creates a smart impression. Super thin and light with a great-looking 1024×600 glossy screen and nice user interface. This may be running AOS (Android Open Source) 2.1 but it doens’t look like it. Toshiba have done a resonable job of filling in the gaps.

Plastics are a little on the cheap side but the keyboard is good as is the mouse-pad with scroll area and dual mouse buttons. One point to note is that the video player, while blowing me away with a 1080p playback and ability to handle a 8.5Mbps WMV and 6.5Mbps DivX out of the box, is somewhat buggy. Three lock-ups (requiring reboot) in the first hour left me feeling that the firmware was rushed out for IFA. Fortunately, Toshiba include an OTA firmware upgrade app so i’m going to be checking it regulaly.

Oh, the media player suppors uPnP devices too.

Finally: YouTube Unboxing Video now available.

We’ve also got three much longer  videos from the live session:

1 – Unboxing and overview.

2 – UI and Apps

3 – Deeper look at browsing, video, YouTube and other features.

Tegra2 testing begins tonight because within the next 3 hours I expect the AC100 to be delivered. It’s on the DHL truck roll so unless anything unexpected happens, we’ll be unboxing a true retail package (yes, one we bought ourselves)  later.

The Toshiba AC100 is the first Tegra2 device to hit Europe and only the second true smartbook to hit any global market. We’ve already reviewed the Airlife 100 so now its time to see if Toshiba and Tegra can bring anything new to the table.

Oh, and of course we’ll be running an Email Notification Rave so bring a few beers and join in. “‘Here come the emails!”

Live VIDEO Q&A and chat session on Carrypad.com/live tonight at 2200 Berlin time (1600 New York, see other locations. Approx 11 hours from the time of this post.)

JKKMobile will join to help moderate this independant review session.

We’re sorry for the late notice but with IFA creeping up on us it’s now or never! We hope you can drop in. (parts of the session will be recorded.)

We’re twitching at every movement outside our door while waiting for our own Toshiba AC100 today (Note: Possible live video review session tonight – stay tuned.) but at least we’ve got something to keep us occupied in this unboxing video from Netbooknews today. It’s known as the Dynabook AZ in Japan but it’s the same device as the AC100 were expecting.

Some important things to note from the unboxing and the article:

1 – Opera Mobile (not Mini) is included. Opera Mobile is not generally available for Android but Toshiba appear to have had it built specially for the AC100. Opera Mobile sounds like it is providing a better internet experience than the stock browser. I’m certainly a fan of Opera Mobile and will be interested to test it out.

2 – There are indicator lamps on the outside of the device. Useful for notifications when closed (and online) (via JKKMobile, see fun video below.)

3 – Toshiba are working on Android version 2.2 ‘soon’ which is excellent news.

4 – 1080p H.264 worked

5 – Browsing not as fast as on a netbook

Netbooknews – AC100  Dynabook AZ unboxing (first impressions video there too but still being processed as I write this)

When you’ve watched the unboxing, check out the Toshiba AC100 marketing videos. They’re great! (and give us an indication of the effort that Toshiba is putting into this!)

We’ll be attempting to hold a live email notification rave in our live open review session. Stay tuned for details!

Update: We just got a shipping notice. It should be here in 24-48 hours!

I took a second to check an Amazon.co.uk order for the Toshiba AC100 this morning and alas, there’s no exact delivery date estimate. Checking over on the German Austrian comparison site Geizhals, it was a different story.

German website Geizhals reports that one reseller is ready to send within 24hrs.

No that’s a surprise! 2 other resellers are reporting delivery soon too. (See here for latest)

This is the Non-3G version (Model number PDN01E-001016GR,suspected UK version with QWERTY keyboard) that we’re looking at but even without 3G, we think it’s worth a shot to get the first retail Tegra2 device so we’ve ordered one and have put the MiFi on charge! If we’re lucky, very lucky, we might get it before the end of the week. We’ll keep you posted on progress.

Toshiba AC100 Product information and news page.

The AC100 is definitely getting closer. Amazon UK have a pre-order page up, Toshiba UK have product details up, Peter from Netbooknews in Japan says it will launch there next week and there’s now a German retailer showing the product. Although this is probably a UK QWERTY version being sold, it’s the availability figure that’s interesting. 2 weeks!

I’m quite excited about this one. We’ve got one on order and the more I read about it, the more excited I get. Yes, it won’t have any deep and meaningful productivity apps and yes, Android on a netbook style device will feel strange but with 8hrs battery life in a stylish sub-900gm package, a week or more standby power (and an estimated 2-3 days always-connected ) a high brightness display, dual-core ARM Cortex A9 and built-in 3G for 369 Euros (4-week delivery on the 3G version,) it’s something I just have to test out. It’s likely to have some of the issues of the similar Android-powered Airlife 100 [review]but I’m adamant that this concept has legs. As soon as someone brings out an always-on ‘smart’ netbook with the right applications, it will start a new chapter in laptop computing. No more shutdown!