A few days back, in my post “Sony Ericsson… Not To Be Ignored”, I highlighted the developments and achievements that Sony Ericsson have been able to reach with their new Xperia line of Smartphones. What people may not realize is that, this great lineup was hardly a surprise. Sony, whether acting solo or in coordination with anyone else, has been known the world over for great consumer electronics. This is the same company that came up with the Walkman, the product that started the portable music player revolution; It is the same company that makes some of the best televisions in the world; It introduced the Blu-Ray format that is the standard of High-Definition media; It makes a highly desirable line of laptops named “Vaio”; And it has produced the hottest selling video game console lineup ever… The Playstation !!!
So it is safe to assume that if Sony enters a new category in the world of consumer electronics, the chances are strong that it will not disappoint. Behold Sony jumps into the arena of portable Tablets!! The official announcement came this month when during a press event, Sony unveiled not one but two new tablets scheduled to be released this year. Code named the S1 and the S2, the tablets are in the final phase of development and should be available to the consumers in the near future.
Although Sony did not unveil too many details about the very attractive looking tablets, there are few hardware and software specifications that are now known. First and foremost, keeping in mind the potential and the popularity of the software, Sony has also decided to go with Android. The version that the tablets are expected to run is Android 3.0 Honeycomb which is claimed to be developed specifically for devices with larger screens (i.e tablets).
The first tablet called the S1 follows somewhat of a conventional design. Sony has however redesigned the tablet to make it thicker on one side which supposedly makes it easier to hold. Sony claims that Inspiration came from holding a folded magazine with one hand, the thicker end with the folded side tends to provide better grip. The S1 houses a 9.4” Capacitive screen. The details of the resolution and whether it will be an LCD, S-LCD, LED or OLED screen are still unknown. What is known is that the S1 is very light and users with first-hand experience have claimed that it was very easy to hold.
The S2 tablet is the second tablet and with this one, convention takes a back seat. The design is more along the lines of a book than that of a slate. The S2 houses two 5.5” screens and the tablet opens or closes through a hinge. The bottom of both the sides of the S2 is curved and once again, claims of easy-to-handle have been made. The foldable design and the size of the S2 make it easy to carry in a coat pocket or a purse. The new design will give way to more possibilities that conventional tablets have not yet been able to exploit. The possibility of viewing different content on the two different screens is what Sony has highlighted with the S2.
A new design and the Sony logo do not however make a revolutionary product by themselves. All manufacturers entering the tablet market with their Android gadgets have to keep in mind the presence of the ever-so-popular iPad. Therefore in order to deter consumers from simply purchasing the iPad Sony must have thought of some differentiating factors. Well, as things stand, Sony surely has!!!
More so than Apple, Sony is in a better place to provide consumers with a fully integrated experience where all their devices work in harmony. A home where your TV is connected to your PC is connected to your Media Server is connected to your Music Device is connected to your Game Console… well you get the point. Sony is able to offer a larger variety of consumer electronic products and is involved in many categories from PCs to TVs to Gaming Consoles. What Sony aims to do is integrate all these to work in coordination over a standardized platform. With the new tablets, Sony will provide media sharing capabilities to stream media to and from the tablets to other devices wirelessly. Music and photo sharing will be supported in the same manner, making the Sony tablets part of the synchronized home network. Finally, the integration of the Bravia Mobile engine into the tablets will allow them to produce great colors and image quality to be output to HD televisions. Heck, Sony even plans to provide an infrared sensor to turn your tablet into a universal remote for all your devices.
A few days back, Sony Ericsson had also released the Xperia Play Smartphone that was capable of Playstation level gameplay. With the Sony tablets, the same path has been taken. Although not pure gaming devices, the addition of Playstaion gameplay support will be a welcomed addition and will surely give Sony an edge in terms of rivaling iPad’s gameplay. One more thing worth mentioning is that the S2 with its dual screens provides for an interesting format for gameplay where one screen will turn into a touchscreen gamepad with the other displaying the game. It sounds like an interesting take on gameplay but only time will tell how far these features take the Sony Tablets.
Sony does not skimp on the expected hardware and software specifications with dual core processors, front and rear cameras, ample on-board memory and Wifi + 3G/4G capabilities. This however does not differentiate the tablets from the competition significantly. Sony’s success will depend upon how the brand and the added features are used in a combo to step out of the shadows of an increasingly competitive market. Sony still has a little bit of time to make final tweaks before release and how what is received then and how it is received…. Only time will tell.
So it is safe to assume that if Sony enters a new category in the world of consumer electronics, the chances are strong that it will not disappoint. Behold Sony jumps into the arena of portable Tablets!! The official announcement came this month when during a press event, Sony unveiled not one but two new tablets scheduled to be released this year. Code named the S1 and the S2, the tablets are in the final phase of development and should be available to the consumers in the near future.
Although Sony did not unveil too many details about the very attractive looking tablets, there are few hardware and software specifications that are now known. First and foremost, keeping in mind the potential and the popularity of the software, Sony has also decided to go with Android. The version that the tablets are expected to run is Android 3.0 Honeycomb which is claimed to be developed specifically for devices with larger screens (i.e tablets).
The first tablet called the S1 follows somewhat of a conventional design. Sony has however redesigned the tablet to make it thicker on one side which supposedly makes it easier to hold. Sony claims that Inspiration came from holding a folded magazine with one hand, the thicker end with the folded side tends to provide better grip. The S1 houses a 9.4” Capacitive screen. The details of the resolution and whether it will be an LCD, S-LCD, LED or OLED screen are still unknown. What is known is that the S1 is very light and users with first-hand experience have claimed that it was very easy to hold.
The S2 tablet is the second tablet and with this one, convention takes a back seat. The design is more along the lines of a book than that of a slate. The S2 houses two 5.5” screens and the tablet opens or closes through a hinge. The bottom of both the sides of the S2 is curved and once again, claims of easy-to-handle have been made. The foldable design and the size of the S2 make it easy to carry in a coat pocket or a purse. The new design will give way to more possibilities that conventional tablets have not yet been able to exploit. The possibility of viewing different content on the two different screens is what Sony has highlighted with the S2.
A new design and the Sony logo do not however make a revolutionary product by themselves. All manufacturers entering the tablet market with their Android gadgets have to keep in mind the presence of the ever-so-popular iPad. Therefore in order to deter consumers from simply purchasing the iPad Sony must have thought of some differentiating factors. Well, as things stand, Sony surely has!!!
More so than Apple, Sony is in a better place to provide consumers with a fully integrated experience where all their devices work in harmony. A home where your TV is connected to your PC is connected to your Media Server is connected to your Music Device is connected to your Game Console… well you get the point. Sony is able to offer a larger variety of consumer electronic products and is involved in many categories from PCs to TVs to Gaming Consoles. What Sony aims to do is integrate all these to work in coordination over a standardized platform. With the new tablets, Sony will provide media sharing capabilities to stream media to and from the tablets to other devices wirelessly. Music and photo sharing will be supported in the same manner, making the Sony tablets part of the synchronized home network. Finally, the integration of the Bravia Mobile engine into the tablets will allow them to produce great colors and image quality to be output to HD televisions. Heck, Sony even plans to provide an infrared sensor to turn your tablet into a universal remote for all your devices.
A few days back, Sony Ericsson had also released the Xperia Play Smartphone that was capable of Playstation level gameplay. With the Sony tablets, the same path has been taken. Although not pure gaming devices, the addition of Playstaion gameplay support will be a welcomed addition and will surely give Sony an edge in terms of rivaling iPad’s gameplay. One more thing worth mentioning is that the S2 with its dual screens provides for an interesting format for gameplay where one screen will turn into a touchscreen gamepad with the other displaying the game. It sounds like an interesting take on gameplay but only time will tell how far these features take the Sony Tablets.
Sony does not skimp on the expected hardware and software specifications with dual core processors, front and rear cameras, ample on-board memory and Wifi + 3G/4G capabilities. This however does not differentiate the tablets from the competition significantly. Sony’s success will depend upon how the brand and the added features are used in a combo to step out of the shadows of an increasingly competitive market. Sony still has a little bit of time to make final tweaks before release and how what is received then and how it is received…. Only time will tell.
