Are you excited about the latest high end tablet from Sony, the Xperia Tablet Z? You know – the one sporting a 10.1-inch multi-touch screen with a 1,920 x 1,200 display, four built in speakers, and that’s PlayStation certified. Yea, we thought you were. Though not set to launch till May, Sony is doing everything they can to wet your appetite till its release. After the jump, an all new promo video from Sony awaits you, showing off the devices functionality and build quality.
Released last month in Japan, Sony has officially announced the Xperia Tablet Z for the rest of the globe at the Mobile World Congress. Set to live alongside of the Xperia Tablet S which comes in a 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB model, the Xperia Tablet Z will follow suit in your choice of 16GB or 32GB of internal storage. For those looking for more space, the new tablet also allows for up to 64GB of microSD for additional storage space.
That much storage space generally translates to media consumption and the Xperia Tablet Z has plenty to offer to media junkies. Sporting a 10.1-inch multi-touch screen with a 1,920 x 1,200 display, the Z also has four built in speakers, and is even PlayStation certified, making it fully compatible with PlayStation 4.
A great many of you were intrigued by the Sony Personal Content Station. Designed to back up your media from Android and iOS smartphones and tablets, the 1TB equipped unit is set to launch this summer for $299. The wireless hard drive is also capable of backing up your photos and videos via its USB input and Memory Stick/SD card reader. Despite my personal belief that specs don’t tell the whole story in our coverage of the Xperia Z vs. iPhone 5, specs can still be a helpful towards a purchase. Specs can also educate you on whether the given device is compatible with your ecosystem. After the jump, the Sony Personal Content Station specs await you.
One of the more interesting and less expected products from Sony during CES 2013 was the Personal Content Station. Pictured above, the white router shaped device houses an internal 1TB hard drive and acts as a backup device for tablets and smartphones via Wi-Fi. The device which mimics some of the capabilities of the Apple Time Capsule which is designed to make backing up simpler aims to do the same for the mobile generation. Equipped with NFC, the Sony Personal Content Station can easily start a backup from other NFC enabled devices like the Xperia Z smartphone and maybe the Xperia Z tablet with just a tap. Knowing that the number of NFC devices in the market is still limited, the Personal Content Station can also backup your media from traditional Android and iOS handsets via the free ‘PCS Manager’ app, which will be available through Google Play or App Store.
The Personal Content Station can also act as a backup hub for Sony’s Wi-Fi enabled cameras like the NEX-5R and select Cyber-shot units. Have a none Wi-Fi camera? The Personal Content Station also has you covered there with a Memory Stick Duo/SD memory card reader and USB input, no matter the make and model of your camera or camcorder. Once your content is backed up, via the free app and HDMI out, you can display your media on your TV of choice of share them on sites like Facebook and Twitter. Priced at $299, the Sony Personal Content Station will launch on April 30th in Japan and June in the US.
After the jump, our Personal Content Station video preview from CES 2013.
Sony has just announced the Xperia Tablet Z, a 0.27 inch (6.9mm) thick tablet. The tablet is going to be 10.1 inches which seems to be the perfect size for a lot of people. The tablet will also be waterproof as well as dustproff and feature a 1920 x 1200 pixel display. Not much besides this is known about the Xperia Tablet Z but we will be sure to keep you posted as more news becomes available.
One of the touted features of the Sony Xperia Tablet S was its water-resistant body, which allowed the unit to withstand a certain amount of water without bricking instantaneously. Instead what reviewers and owners soon discovered was that, much like the Titanic, the Xperia Tablet S could and would indeed take on water. This resulted Sony to quickly pull the unit off its online portal and retail shelves.
Now Sony has indicated that the design flaw, which originated from the factory, has been addressed, and sales of the Xperia Tablet S will resume in mid-November. Sony was quick to point out that shipments will be light and they don’t expect to return to full production till a later point.
Not that we told you or anything that Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich would be coming to Sony’s Tablet, but if we had, we probably would have told you to expect it in late April. To save us face and humility, our friends at Sony stuck to their guns and pushed through by announcing the availability of the latest from Google for the Sony Tablet S, thus not making a liar out of us. Tablet S owners need to simply navigate to their system update and via Wi-Fi, received all the latest that Sony and Google have to offer. Just what kind of enhancements can you expect? We have all the changes and a video from Sony after the jump.
Sony has done little to hide their ambitions for Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, the latest OS release from the folks at Redmond Mountain View. Despite ICS having a slow start and adoption rate, Sony has already updated their Music Unlimited app with ICS compatibility and has outlined the time frame for the Tablet S and Tablet P to gain the latest. Sony’s entire Xperia fleet will also be making the transition to the new OS. Still despite their dedication to the OS, Sony warns users that they might not in fact want to upgrade their devices to Android 4.0 when the update become available for their device.
So what reasons does the electronic giant give to cautious users who may be better off sticking with Android 2.3 Gingerbread? Speed and performance seems to top the list as the new OS requires more processing power and RAM.
Another interesting thing is that many apps use slightly more RAM in ICS. For example, the web browser is quite intensive, and our measurements indicate that it uses 20-30MB more in ICS compared to Gingerbread.
It was promised that during Q2 of this year, both Sony tablets would be receiving an upgrade to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and the fine and dandy folks at Sony have kept their word. Sometime in late April, the Sony Tablet S and Sony Tablet P will be gaining Android 4.0.3 ICS which is expected to bring a host of features associated with the new OS like:
It should hardly come as a surprise that somewhere deep in Sony’s R&D labs, there is a next generation Sony Tablet S being tested. Despite being on the market for 6 months, the Tablet S is a product well over a year old, dating back to early 2011 when Sony began teasing the world about their tablet ambitions. The Tablet S, which originally launched at a $499 price point for the 16GB model, has also seen a price drop, down to $399 with murmurs of additional cuts in the near future. Price cuts alone can point towards a product refresh but a mixture of price cuts and new quad-core Nvidia Tegra 3 benchmarks on a mysterious Sony tablet having us thinking of a Sony Tablet S 2.
It’s been well over a week and nearly a year that Sony has been teasing us about their clamshell, dual-screen 5.5-inch Tablet P. This Android-powered 4G tablet was designed by Sony engineers from the ground up to be something different. Unlike the well-versed Sony Tablet S, which follows the traditional rules of the tablet design which have now been stamped in by the iPad, the Tablet P was meant to be a re-imagining of the tablet. What if the tablet could be more lightweight and portable while dual screens simulated the laptop with the bottom screen acting as a keyboard while the top displays our content?
Now the Sony Tablet P is available at AT&T stores across the nation with a subsidized two-year contract-based price of $399 while those wanting to skip the monthly obligations can pick one up for $549.
Those who opt for the two-year contract with be given two choices for their data plan:
And for those who want to go with the monthly plan, a la Apple iPad or PlayStation Vita:
Yesterday, after Apple’s announcement of the latest iPad, did your mind start to run wild and compare it against other available devices in the market? Yea so did ours, thoughts things starting getting bizarre after a while because I’m not entirely sure a Cuisinart blender made it into all of it, but I digress. Apple’s 3rd generation iPad is simply a screamer of a device with the latest next generation technology like quad core processors and a Retina display. So going into this challenge, it was hard to be surprised by the results. Still, it’s always interesting to compare the two device, even though the Sony Tablet S was really designed to compete with the iPad 1 and iPad 2 and not the latest from the folks at Cupertino.
After the jump, we have a high resolution chart waiting for you, comparing the two different tablets specs.
We were teased nearly a year ago about the then Sony Tablet S2. Over time, we began to learn more about this dual 5.5-inc clamshell display which would eventually be called the Sony Tablet P. Unlike its more traditional counterpart, the Sony Tablet S which is only available in Wi-Fi in the US and 3G in Europe, the Tablet P will instead take advantage of AT&T 4G network and will arrive in over a 1,000 AT&T stores on March 4th.
Though we’ve known about the devices 4G capabilities and partnership with AT&T, the pricing till now had been a mystery. Would Sony go the Apple iPad route and allow users to sign up for data plans on a month to month bases or would they instead go the contract route like you do with your smartphone in order to bring the devices price lower. The answer seems to be both as Sony and AT&T are giving users an option to buy the Tablet P at normal retail price $549.99 or the subsidized price with a two year contract at $399.99 which also gives you access to over 30,000 AT&T hotspots in the US.
Those who opt for the two year contract with be given two choices for their data plan:
And for those who want to go the monthly plan, a la Apple iPad or PlayStation Vita:
The Sony Tablet S is one slick Android-based tablet. With a comfortable grip, an easy-on-the-eye design, and plenty of power for your computing needs, the Tablet S does lots of things to differentiate itself from the glut of uninspired Android tablets out there. Capable of running the latest version of the Android tablet OS with, one would expect, Ice Cream Sandwich ready for it in the future, Sony has positioned the Tablet S to be very media-centric. Capable of accessing YouTube and Netflix, the Tablet S is also capable of accessing Sony’s Music and Video Unlimited apps which give the device unlimited music streaming and access to thousands of movies and TV shows. Reading fans need not look any further as the Tablet S also has the Sony Reader app built in with 2+ million book store and access to Google’s free books as well.
If that wasn’t enough, Sony also built a native and exclusive app for the Tablet S which allows you to control other Sony devices in the house, like your Blu-ray player, Bravia television, or Sony GoogleTV. This app then places all the device controls in the palm of your hand, helping you reduce the clutter of devices around you. As you can tell, consuming media with the Tablet S is not a problem — but how about interacting with it like gaming? Sure, the Tablet S can access the Android Market and download those games, but the Tablet S is also the first PlayStation Certified Android tablet, which gives the device access to Sony’s PSone library games. The games, which are extremely speedy at loading, will always display a set of virtual keys for you to play with, which are designed to emulate the original PlayStation controls.
If Sony had decided to stop there, this would already be miles ahead of any other Android tablet when it comes to games. With the PlayStation DNA in them, Sony has decided to raise the stakes and has given the Tablet S the capability to connect to the Dualshock 3 controller via Bluetooth, much like you would with your PS3. This easy-to-set-up connection between the controller and the tablet then transforms your Tablet S into a unique gaming machine, one which can be set down on your desk of choice or lap after a long day and convert right before your eyes from your working tool to your media and gaming machine.
Below is a quick demonstration of gaming on the Sony Tablet S with a Duakshock 3 controller.
The dual 5.5-inch Sony Tablet P has been a darling of a device for sometime. Available in Japan now for over 4 months, the Tablet P is part of Sony’s strategy of not creating wannabe iPads like others have (looking at you, Samsung). Unlike the currently available Sony Tablet S for the US market, which can only rely on Wi-Fi for internet access, the Tablet P has always been from the beginning a 4G tablet, giving it access to the internet whenever one might need it.
Despite its bold design and 4G connectivity which has huge buzz presence going for it, Sony has yet to reveal an exact release date or price for the US. Now according to CNET, all of this has changed with a rumored pricing of $409 on AT&T. There is no further details to go by, like: is this pricing with a contract or the true MSRP of the device? If not, how much would the device cost with a contract? We imagine that when it comes to leaks like this, if true, then the actual announcement cannot be much further.
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