Mobile Technology

Sony announces two Android 3.0 tablets

Sony announces two Android 3.0 tablets
Sony Tablet: the S1 and S2 devices will hit the market later this year
Sony Tablet: the S1 and S2 devices will hit the market later this year
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Sony Tablet: the S1 and S2 devices will hit the market later this year
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Sony Tablet: the S1 and S2 devices will hit the market later this year
Sony S2 tablet
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Sony S2 tablet
Sony S1 Tablet
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Sony S1 Tablet
Sony S1 Tablet
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Sony S1 Tablet
Sony S1 Tablet
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Sony S1 Tablet
Sony S1 Tablet
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Sony S1 Tablet
Sony S1 Tablet
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Sony S1 Tablet
Sony S2 tablet
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Sony S2 tablet
Sony S2 tablet
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Sony S2 tablet
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Sony has announced its intention to crash into the tablet PC market with two devices set for release later this year. Codenamed S1 and S2, both models will support WiFi and WAN (3G/4G) connections and run on the tablet-oriented Android 3.0 OS.

There's little in the way of specifications available at this stage, but Sony is clearly looking to stand-out from the crowd in terms of form-factor. The S1 features a 9.4-inch display and looks pretty much like a "traditional" tablet aside from its wedge-shaped "off-center of gravity" design aimed at improving stability, grip and comfort.

S2 gets a little more radical with its portable, horizontally hinged design and dual 5.5-inch displays which can be used separately (using the bottom screen as a soft keyboard for example) or combined as a single large screen for viewing video or web content.

Sony S2 tablet
Sony S2 tablet

The tablets will be of course be linked with the company's gaming, ebook and Qriocity music and video service. The S1 will also pack infrared technology so it can be used as a universal remote control for Sony AV devices and DLNA functionality will allow content on the tablet to be shown on big screen TVs or played through wireless speakers.

Sony's new tablets will become available in autumn 2011 and – although it's out of the starting gates a year after Apple's iPad and now faces stiff competition from big players like Samsung, Motorola, HP and RIM as well – Sony wants to catch up fast, having previously stated its intention to hit the number two position in the market by 2012.

That's a big challenge ... and it's a big market. In 2012, IDC forecasts worldwide tablet shipments of 70.8 million units. In Q3 2010 Apple shipped 4.2 million units – an almost 90% share worldwide. What in-roads the newcomers can make in this fast changing landscape remains to be seen.

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2 comments
2 comments
Caimbeul
Yup. A real Sony \"challenge\" to Apple. What we\'ve come to expect since the ascendency of Stringer.
A dollar short and a day late.
Grunchy
Looks like the best form factor in a tablet yet. The bookfold version is very intriguing.
If it will run playstation titles like the Xperia Play, which is also a Google Android device, then I think it\'d be a slam-dunk.

What I like best about these tablet devices is that because of them, the bottom has fallen out of the laptop market. I was able to pick up a brand new Acer 7745G with i5 CPU 8GB/dual 500GB drives/Bluray player/dual video card/wireless N/bluetooth for only $500!