And now for something a bit different
Another day another Honeycomb tablet announcement. This time it's consumer electronics giant Sony, which formally unveiled two Honeycomb (Android 3.0) tablet designs at an event in Tokyo.
This is very much a teaser announcement from Sony, which has said the final products won't be launched until the autumn, and we therefore have to deal with codenames rather than final product names. The whole project is being pragmatically named ‘Sony Tablet' and the two devices are codenamed S1 and S2.
The S1 is a 9.4 inch tablet with a novel chassis design. All the volume and weight of the chassis is concentrated in the top half of the device, providing what Sony calls an ‘off-centre of gravity' design, which somehow increases stability.
The S2 is a dual-screen fold-out device with twin 5.5 inch displays, with the thinking being that it's a more portable alternative to the traditional tablet, but still more tablet-y than a smartphone.
The press release doesn't offer too much detail about spec and price, but it does say both are 3G and 4G compatible. Various reports from the launch event reveal both devices run NVIDIA's Tegra 2 SoC. There will be access to music and videos via Qriocity and games via PlayStation Suite.
"‘Sony Tablet' delivers an entertainment experience where users can enjoy cloud-based services on-the-go at any time. We're aiming to create a new lifestyle by integrating consumer hardware, including ‘Sony Tablet' with content and network," said Kunimasa Suzuki, deputy president of Sony's consumer products and services group.
This is consistent with Sony's strategy of combining its IT and its consumer electronics technologies in an attempt to differentiate its offerings. There was also reference to the Reader Store for ebooks, using the S1 as a universal remote control and DLNA streaming device for Sony AV devices, and both the NGP and Xperia Play as similarly converged devices. Here's a vid.
