Pre-Orders for Toshiba Thrive Start at $479 On Officedepot.com

Toshiba’s much-anticipated Android 3.1 tablet, the Thrive, is now available for pre-order on Office Depot’s website. You can put your name down for a 16GB ($479) or 32GB ($579) model now, or you can wait until July 10th to get an 8GB model for $429 from your local office supply store. Toshiba is also offering pre-orders starting today on Toshibadirect.com, including orders for the $429 8GB model. Delivery of the pre-ordered Honeycomb slate is expected to start July 10th.

We recently got some hands-on time with the Nvidia Tegra 2-powered Toshiba Thrive. It sports a 10.1-inch display with a standard resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels. Toshiba added what it calls adaptive display technology, which, in conjunction with an ambient light sensor, automatically adjusts the brightness of the screen for optimal viewing. You’ll also find a full-size USB and HDMI port, as well as a mini-USB port protected by a rubber cover. There are two speakers on the bottom edge, which provide fairly powerful sound when the SRS audio enhancement technology (built into the Thrive) is activated.

Office Depot’s site also teases the expected availability of the Toshiba Pen and the grippable and swappable back panel ($19.99) in a variety of color options—Blue Moon, Green Apple, Lavender Bliss, Raspberry Fusion,  and Silvery Sky.