Best full sized USB ports for external storage - Thrive?

[youngjediboy]

Hi! I'm new to the Android world so please be gentle...

I was looking into getting an Android tablet and wanted one with a full sized USB port so I can connect things like a CompactFlash card reader and external 2.5" hard drives. I'm a photographer and having a tablet with this capability seems like the best option when needing to travel light. A small laptop like the Macbook Air seemed like a good alternative, but that would be at least double the price and I believe a tablet would be easier and faster to access than a laptop with a desktop OS. I also want to avoid having to buy a dock to get the USB ports, which would also increase the cost and bulk.

I'm coming from the webOS world (I still hate you HP!) and have been overwhelmed so far by the huge amount of Android devices but so far the Thrive seems to be the best fit for my needs so far. Am I correct or are there other/better choices out right now that I have missed? Or maybe there's something that will be released in the near future that I should wait for?

I appreciate any info you fine folks can share!

 

[bugg77]

Welcome to a very fun (and sometimes frustrating) experience: Trying to pick the right Android tablet for you. I've been going through this for a few weeks now and I've been really close to buying three or four different tablets. The internals are all the same for the most part. You are right to look at form factor as your differentiation.

For full USB ports (without needing a dock) you can choose from the Acer Iconia, Toshiba Thrive, and as of today the Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet.

The nice thing about the Thrive and ThinkPad is that both of them have full SD card readers. The ThinkPad also has an IPS display and Gorilla glass so it should be plenty tough if you plan to use it a lot while you're out.

I'm still trying to decide between those three and I feel like I could pick any of them out of a hat and be completely satisfied with my choice.

 

[youngjediboy]

Thanks!
Yeah I just saw the Lenovo ThinkPad and it sounds pretty good too... but are there any actual reviews on it yet? Sites like Engadget don't seem to have any actual reviews yet and other sites only seem to have previews and such. I'd like to wait and see how people are rating it before taking the plunge.

 

[Charlesleonard]

I have the 32 gb Iconia and have had no problems with any external drive. Over all very pleased with it.

 

[PGiovanni]

this is a sweet little usb drive that works on the thrive

Newegg.com - Verbatim Store 'n' Stay 16GB Netbook USB Drive Model 97464

 

[tony bag o donuts]

Just seeing how it worked out.
I am also a photographer and use an ipad2 I won this year along with the usb camera kit to transfer files over to the ipad2 right from the camera. great for weddings! I use CF cards though not sd cards so anybody have thoughts on a tablet that would work this way?
I have 10 CF cards so going to SD cards is not an option.