Sony unwraps Android 3.0 tablet pair
iPad rival and a palmtop too
Sony has come clean with its tablet plans: it will launch a pair of of them, but it's waiting until the autumn to do so. Previously, it pointed to a summer release.
And neither may look like the preview images the Japanese giant posted today, the company warned.
The design is "subject to change".
The line up comprises two machines: the S1, a 9.4in media tablet, and the S2, a clamshell unit intended for use on the move. The S2 has two 5.5in screens.
Both with run Android 3.0 Honeycomb.
They will also feature Wi-Fi and 3G network connectivity, but that's all Sony has said about specs. We believed it's waiting for Nvidia to release its next-gen Tegra processors. Sony can't mention these as they haven't been announced by Nvidia yet.
The S2 is particularly interesting since it opens up to reveal two displays which seemingly operate as one. Reg Hardware readers will recall that Toshiba tried this configuration last year, though its Libretto W100 failed to set the market alight.
There's no word, of course, as to how much these items will set you back when they are released. ®
Next page: Sony S1 Pictures
COMMENTS
Mistake #1
Releasing the first images of a brand new device and then saying 'but the final thing will probably look different'. When did you last see Apple do that?
You would think, over a year after the iPad came out (and longer since rumoured), that Sony would by now have a response at hand that it could announce with complete confidence. It just smacks of 'amateur'.
And this is coming from a long-time admirer (and owner) of Sony products. Sort it out, please.
I don't particularly care...
...if it is Sony, then it's not entering my house.
Actually not...
No, the question was when Apple does it. Apple doesn't, all the images of vapourware and so on are speculative images obtained/produced by other groups - Apple doesn't reveal products in this way -- certainly not in the last few years of their iDevices...
corners
Looks like a rounded rectangle with a black surround to me, Apple won't be pleased.
