Laptop Thoughts: Sony Announces Two Tablets, One with Two Screens

"Android Honeycomb tablets are becoming a dime-a-dozen, which naturally leads to attempts to set new tablets apart from the growing pack...What’s left for Sony to do so its tablets don’t get lost in the crowd?"

Sony has officially announced the S1 and S2 tablets. The S1 is a fairly conventional looking tablet but with a design that moves the weight to one end, making it easier to hold. It's also angled so it should be easier to view when resting on a table. It has a 9.4" screen, DLNA, and can be used as a remote for Bravia TV's. The S2 is a little more interesting. It has two 5.5" screens and can fold in half. The screens can be used separately for doing different things or together as one large screen, but with a break in the middle where the device folds.

I love the way Sony has supported things like DLNA, USB Mass Storage, standard Bluetooth HID profiles, standard USB keyboards, and standard Bluetooth headsets on the PS3 for a long time as well as all the features they have added to the PS3 over the years like improving the audio player, Flash support in the browser, streaming video services, and remote power on with a PSP. They've also added a ton of features to the PSP like customizable scene skipping thumbnails in video, a comic book player, letting you run music in the background while in the XMB or playing slide shows, and adding support for more audio and video formats.

I can't wait to see what Sony Does with the S1 and S2. I think there is a lot of potential for interaction between these tablets and the PS3 or maybe even PSP. I'd love to hook a tablet to a TV with HDMI and then use my PSP as the controller for a game on the tablet that I'm watching a big screen! Hopefully, whatever they do, they'll do a reasonable job at keeping the base OS up to date. With the Xperia Play on the way as well Sony is really showing a strong commitment to Android and whether you like Sony or not the competition is always good! I know Sony is getting a black eye right now since their network has been down for the last week but I'll definitely give them another chance. Do you have any interest in an Android tablet from Sony? What are your thoughts?