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Sony Xperia Tablet S (3G) Splash-proof Xperia Tablet |
Announced at IFA 2012, the Xperia Tablet S (3G) is the first tablet from Sony under the Xperia branding that's also used for its smartphone portfolio (with the most recent addition being the recently announced Xperia Z full HD screen mobile phone).
However, this is not the first Sony tablet; we've seen the Sony Tablet S in October 2011 and the Tablet P in March last year. Both tablets are designed to stand out from the crowded tablet market with their unique designs; the Tablet S has a unique fold design that helps in the usability and handling of the tablet while the Tablet P adopts a clamshell form factor that combines two 5.5-inch screens.
No prizes for guessing which form factor and predecessor the Sony Xperia Tablet S hails from. Despite its similar appearance to the original Tablet S, the Xperia Tablet S boasts notable new features to stay relevant. Before we dive into the review, here's a quick look at its specs: -
Sony Xperia Tablet S
Key Highlights of the Sony Xperia Tablet S (3G)
Android 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich
9.4-inch TFT LCD / 1280 x 800 pixels
NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core 1.4GHz processor
1GB RAM
16GB internal memory
SD memory card slot (supports up to 128GB)
8-megapixel rear camera
1-megapixel front facing camera
6000mAh battery
585g
239.8 x 174.4 x 8.8 - 11.85mm
Price and availability: RM1,799 at all Sony stores and authorized outlets
Design
The front face of the tablet looks similar to the original Tablet S, with the 9.4-inch display surrounded by a rather thick black bezel. The extra space could be better used to increase the screen size to perhaps 9.7 inches across, but we feel Sony wants to minimize the possibility of Apple hurling lawsuits at it for infringing on its design patents. For some users, especially those with larger hands, the added bezel space comes in handy for better handling of the device while in active use since you're unlikely to touch the active portion of the screen.
The Sony Xperia Tablet S has an unconventional display size of 9.4 inches, while most Android tablets of its class have 10.1-inch displays
The unique fold design at the back of the tablet finds its way back onto the Xperia Tablet S, although the curve and thickness is less pronounced. As a result, the display is no longer elevated to the extent where viewing angle and typing experience was supposedly better as was advertised on the old Tablet S. The curved edge still maintains the dotted texture, which helps to provide a better grip of the table in portrait mode.Overall, the handling of the Xperia Tablet S is good due to its rather lightweight form factor (585g) and its slimmer fold design. Here's the comparison with other tablets of its class:
Apple iPad 4 (cellular) - 662g
ASUS Transformer Pad Prime (Wi-Fi) - 586g
Samsung GALAXY Note (10.1) (cellular) - 600g
Toshiba REGZA Tablet AT300 (cellular) - 595g
The folding design is less pronounced on the Sony Xperia Tablet S. Embedded at the corner is a flashing green light that alerts you to any notification.
Sony kept the design of the Xperia Tablet S as minimalist as possible, and limits buttons and ports to the two sides of the device. On the right of the Xperia Tablet S are the Power button and volume controls. You can find the 3.5mm audio output jack, SD memory card slot and SIM card slot on the left.
It takes a little practice to learn how to remove the SIM card tray from the Sony Xperia Tablet S
As you can see from the image above, the 3.5mm audio output jack is not covered or protected by a plastic cover. Sony claims that the Xperia Tablet S has a splash proof design but we wonder if there is a chance that water might seep into the tablet via the 3.5mm audio output jack.
The Sony Xperia Tablet S unfortunately doesn't use a more universal microUSB port and instead requires users to rely on a proprietary port for charging and data transfer on-the-go. Note the two speakers that flank the proprietary port.
News Source : www.hardwarezone.com.my
