Laptop Thoughts: Sony's Tablet S: Late to the Party

"To challenge the iPad, Sony knows that it can't just slap its brand on an Android tablet and expect shoppers to open their wallets. So the company took its time bringing the Tablet S to market. The goal: to deliver a one-of-a-kind design, a smoother web browsing experience than competing Android slates, and plenty of content to keep users coming back for more. This sleek device ($499 for 16GB, $599 for 32GB) will access Sony's music, book, and video stores, and it comes with two PlayStation games--with more on the way."

Being late to the party, Sony needs to catch-up fast, and hope that their Tablet S will become a true competitor to the iPad. This tablet seems to have been mostly "done right," and its folding design is said to resemble a lightweight folded magazine. Sony did pay attention to details, but made some odd design choices, like very recessed power and volume controls, flimsy port covers, and a strangely configured AC adapter.

With Android 3.1, a great TruBlack 1280x800 display, crisp, loud sound, a very good onscreen keyboard, decent battery life, and NVIDIA Tegra processor, the Tablet S performs fairly well for a pre-release version. Once the production version is available, it should run apps consistently well, including potentially additional PlayStation apps besides the two currently bundled. Costs are expected to be $499 (16GB) and $599 (32GB) for wifi versions, with no availability date mentioned.