Tokyo – Sony plans
a global launch starting in the fall of two Android-based tablets, one of which
is a foldable model with two 5.5-inch displays. The other features single
9.4-inch display.
Pricing
wasn’t announced.
Both will
feature Wi-Fi and 3G/4G cellular and will incorporate Google’s tablet-optimized
Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) operating system.
The S1
“Sony Tablet” with 9.4-inch screen is optimized for media playback, while the
foldable S2 Sony Tablet is intended for mobile communication and entertainment,
the company said.
Both, like
the planned SonyEricsson Xperia Play smartphone, will download first-generation
PlayStation game titles, and both will connect wirelessly to Sony’s Qriocity
music and video-streaming sites. Both models will also download ebook content
from the company’s Reader
Store2.
The S1
features “off-center of gravity” design to
make it easy to grip and offer a “sense of stability and lightness”
for comfortable use for hours, the company said.
The S2’s
two
5.5-inch displays can be folded for easy
portability. The dual screens, as is the
case with Kyocera’s Echo Android-based smartphone, can be used a combined
single screen, or each screen can be used simultaneously for separate
functions, such as playing video on one screen and showing control buttons on
the other screen.
Both
tablets will be DLNA-certified to push content to DLNA-certified TVs and AV
receivers. The S1 adds infrared technology to
double as an IR remote, initially controlling Sony’s Bravia TVs.
Sony also announced that it established a Consumer Products and
Services Group in April to focus on
“accelerating
the development of innovative next generation products” and on
delivering “a new lifestyle by strengthening the integration of hardware and
network services.”
