Sony Tablet S WiFi Version :Review

Sony has entered the market seven months after the Motorola Xoom, the first Android Honeycomb tablet, shipped. Sure, a lot of tablets have hit the market since then and some of them have been solid, but Sony spent those extra months making something different from the crowd. Yes, the internals are standard top drawer Honeycomb: a 1GHz Nvidia Tegra 2 dual core CPU, a gig of RAM, 16 gigs ($499) or 32 gigs ($599) of storage, Adobe Flash and the usual wireless trio of WiFi 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth and a GPS. But Sony came up with a design that's like no other, to use their old tag line, and they've integrated their movies, Playstation gaming, ebooks, an AV universal remote and music services into this tablet, making it more turnkey for the everyday consumer. In fact, we'd call this a lifestyle tablet because it focuses on style, comfort and software/services that extend what the tablet can do out of the box. Though it joins the ranks of similarly spec-d tablets like the Asus Eee Pad Transformer and Acer Iconia Tab A500, those tablets are more oriented towards those who are looking for computer replacements with more emphasis on ports and expandability rather than consumer software and services. That said, Sony throws in a few geek features like USB host that actually works and a full size SD card slot. Reviews of the pre-release Sony Tablet S lacked working Sony apps, while our retail shipping unit has all the apps, and we'll cover them in detail in our review since they're a key differentiator. The tablet ships with Android OS 3.1, but on first use it prompted us to download the OS 3.2 update-- sweet.
The tablet's design is modeled after a folded magazine. It has a wedge shape and is 0.3 inches at its thinnest point and approximately 0.75" at its thickest point (the spine of the magazine). It's a beautiful looking design and the tablet stands apart from the crowd of flat slates. The Sony Tablet S is relatively light at 1.33 pounds, which is the same weight as the iPad 2 and just a hair heavier than the 1.25 pound Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 (currently the lightest 10" tablet). It feels significantly lighter than the 1.6 pound Motorola Xoom and 1.55 pound Asus Eee Pad Transformer. It's not just that a quarter pound makes such a difference, though it is significant, but the Sony is designed to be held comfortably. The Sony Tablet S is the first tablet that doesn't have me quickly looking for a stand or place I can rest it while using it; it's that comfortable to hold. Yes, Sony wanted to add some of their signature style, but they've always focused on ergonomics and usability and how that integrates into a stylish design. They've hit a home run here; the tablet is pleasant to hold when reading and comfortable for gaming with accelerometer-based games. It's less oblong than other Honeycomb tablets and the squarer shape makes it more balanced and better suited to ebook reading. Unlike the elegantly thin iPad 2 and Tab 10.1, its edges aren't so thin that they dig into your palm. And thanks to the tapered design combined with a stippled back and inset sides that act as grip points, it's not prone to sliding out of your hand. Sony does include a lanyard strap, just in case you're still worried though.

Detailed Technical Specifications of Sony Tablet S WiFi 32GB (Sony S1)

Brand:	Sony Browse Sony devices
Manufacturer:	Sony Browse all devices manufactured by Sony
Hardware:Designer:	Sony
Project+Codename:	Sony S1 Browse all devices under Sony S1 codename
Model_ID:	SGPT112GB
Release:Date:	September, 2011
Physical-Attributes
Dimensions(width x height x depth):	241.2 x 174.3 x 10.1 millimetres 9.5 x 6.9 x 0.4 inches
Bounding_Volume:	424.6 cubecentimetres
Mass:	598 grams (battery included)
Software;Environment
Embedded-Operating:System:	Google Android 3.1 Browse devices running this OS
Operating-System-Kernel:	Linux 2.6.36
Microprocessor,;Chipset
CPU-Clock:	1000 MHz
CPU:	NVIDIA Tegra 2 250 AP20H Browse devices based on Tegra 2 250 AP20H
Width+of_Machine:Word:	32 bit
CPU;Core:	2x ARM Cortex-A9 MPCore
Level_1:cache:	32KiB data cache / 32 KiB instruction cache
Level-2+cache:	1024 KiB
Instruction-Set:	ARMv7-A
Memory,_Storage:capacity
RAM_type:	LPDDR2 SDRAM
RAM-capacity:	1024 MiB
ROM+type:	Flash EEPROM
ROM+capacity:	30518 MiB
ROM_capacity-in-bytes:	32 GB (billion bytes)
Graphical+subsystem
Display;Type:	Supported
Display:Color+Depth:	24 bit/pixel (16777216 scales)
Display+Diagonal:	9.4 " (238 millimetres)
Display+Resolution:	1280 x 800 (1024000 pixels)
Viewable:Display;Size:	7.95 " x 4.97 " (201.82 x 126.14 millimetres)
Pixel:density_(dot_pitch):	161.1 pixel/inch (0.15767 millimetre/pixel)
Graphical;Controller:	NVIDIA GeForce
Audio:Subsystem
Audio_Channel(s):	stereo sound
Microphone(s):	mono sound
Loudspeaker(s):	stereo sound
Audio+Output:	3.5mm plug
Control:Peripherals
Positioning+Device:	Multi-touch screen
Primary-Keyboard:	Not supported
Directional;Pad:	Not supported
Scroll;Wheel:	Not supported
Interfaces
Expansion-Interfaces:	MMC, SD, SDHC Supports High Capacity (SD 2.0/HC) memory cards with capacity of up to 32GB
USB:	USB 2.0 host/client, Hi-Speed (480Mbit/s) USB Series Micro-B (Micro-USB) connector
Bluetooth+(802.15):	Bluetooth 2.1 + Enhanced Data Rate, Internal antenna
Wireless:LAN/Wi-Fi-(802.11):	IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g, IEEE 802.11n Internal antenna
Infrared-Gate:	IrDA 1.2, 115200bit/s (SIR/CIR)
Multimedia-Broadcast
Analog-Radio:	Not supported
Digital-Media;Broadcast:	Not supported
Satellite+Navigation
Built-in+GPS:module:	Supported
GPS;Protocol:	NMEA 0183
GPS:Antenna:	Internal antenna
Complementary:GPS:Services:	Not supported
Built-in:Digital;Camera
Sensor;Type:	CMOS sensor
Resolution:	2560 x1920 pixels (4.92MP)
Autofocus:(AF):	Supported
Optical+Zoom:	1 x
Macro:Mode:	Not supported
Built-in;Flash:	Not supported
Camcorder:	0x0 pixels
Recordable+Image_Formats:	JPG
Recordable;Video:Formats:	3GP, MPEG4
Built-in_Secondary+Digital;Camera
Sensor:Type:	CMOS sensor
Resolution:	640 x480 pixels (0.31MP)
Camcorder:	0x0pixels
Recordable;Image:Formats:	JPG
Recordable:Video+Formats:	3GP
Power_Supply
Battery_Technology:	Lithium-ion battery
Battery;Build:	built-in
Estimated:Battery+Life:	8 hours
Additional;Details
Built-in:accelerometer:	Supported
Additional:Features:	capacitive touch screen GPRS Class 10 DLNA Bluetooth stereo audio profile (A2DP AVCRP)
Related-Page:	http://www.sony.co.uk/compare-series/sony-tablet-s
Datasheet;State:	Preliminary specifications
Datasheet;Views:	3235 times
Datasheet-Added:	Sep 5, 11 23:32:15