Sony Tablet S and P: Nine Crazy Reasons Why I Should Buy These Hip & Hot Tablets
Sony announced Monday that its first two tablet devices is already available for pre-sale and will be available in shelves. With so many tablets being launched in the market today, I thought about listing reasons why I should be buying tablets from the Japanese Electronics giant instead of the Apple's iPad and the tablet imitations (if you believe Apple's claims in its lawsuits), and later do some little research to verify if my intuition was correct.
The Sony Tablet S is a tablet with a 9.4-inch touchscreen display. The Sony Tablet P has two 5.5-inch displays and with its folding design, it can easily fit into a pocket, purse or backpack.
"These devices truly represent the best of everything Sony has to offer," said Mike Lucas, senior vice president of Sony Electronics' Networked Technology and Services Division, referring to the Tablet S and Tablet P. "From hardware to software and services, Sony Tablet devices embody all our innovations rolled into one."
After, typing out the key features of the Tablet S and P, I'm trapped in a dilemma of whether I should buy these new tablets or whether I should just keep the iPad 2:
9. Pricing. The 16GB entry level Tablet S is priced at $499 and the Tablet P will be available at $599. The $499 is the same price as the entry-level iPad 2. Does Sony really think that it has a superior device that can go head to head with the iPad? Hewlett-Packard has slashed the price of its TouchPad from $499 to $99, Research In Motion has cut by $50 the price of the $499 BlackBerry PlayBook, and Lenovo is launching its 7-inch IdeaPad tablets at $199. There must be lost in translation somewhere: someone from the marketing team must have thought that Sony is releasing the PlayStation 4. Sony's new to the tablet market and the devices are not even as well known as the VAIO. Would anybody buy a tablet that's not an iPad but priced like an iPad? WON'T BUY!
8. Aesthetics. The 9.4-inch Tablet S has an ergonomic, asymmetric design -- rounded and thick on the upper side and significantly slimmer towards the lower side. This shifts the tablet's center of gravity from its center to the upper part (to your palm), making it more comfortable while reading an e-book or watching a video. The Tablet P is not your typical tablet, as it appears like a clamshell device, with folding dual 5.5-inch displays that can be used separately or together as a single large screen. Finally we have tablets that won't be accused by Apple of slavishly imitating the design and functionality of the iPad. The Japanese apparently has pride: they innovate rather than copy. BUY!
7. Display. Sony says that both tablet devices are equipped with Sony's TruBlack displays, which reduce reflection and glare from sunlight or fluorescent light for high-contrast visibility both indoors and out. The Tablet S's screen has a 1280 x 800, while the tablet reminiscent of the portable gaming consoles offers 1024 x 480 in both screens. While good for games or e-books formatted for the Tablet P, when using the two screens together as one large screen, there'll be thick black line in the middle that's very annoying. WON'T BUY!
6. Hardware. The Tablet S and P each has NVIDIA Tegra 2 mobile processor, is Wi-Fi compatible and 4G capable, has front and rear facing cameras that allow for video recording and capturing still images, and supports micro USB interface and SD card. Tablet S weighs 1.33 lbs. while Tablet P weighs 0.83 pounds. The iPad2, which was released by Apple in March, features a 9.7-inch touch screen, Apple-A5 dual core processor, Imagination's SGX543 dual core graphics technology, 16GB, 32GB and 64GB of storage, front facing VGA video camera and a 0.7 megapixel still camera at the back, HDMI Support, and an iOS 4.3.3 operating system. Of course the Tegra 2 which features a dual core ARM Cortex-A9 processor designed for faster Web browsing, an Ultra-low power (ULP) GeForce GPU architecte for low-power applications and 3D game playability, and a 1080p Video Playback Processor. Better power provided by Sony. BUY!
5. Software. Both devices run on Android, Android 3.1 on Sony Tablet S devices and Sony Tablet P devices will be equipped with Android 3.2 by the time they ship. Android, the mobile platform created by Google used to be a cheap, open source alternative to the iOS, but now it's improving and is evolving faster than Apple's own operating system. BUY!
4. Apps ecosystem. With access to the Android Market, you can browse thousands of useful time-saving and fun apps. The Tablet S and P also have their own apps unique to Sony: among others, Video Unlimited, which provides latest releases from every major movie studio to rent or own (offered at device launch with limited content and more content will continue to be released over time) and Music Unlimited, available in October, which offers instant access to a global catalog of over 10 million songs from every major record label. But you the iPad has the Apple App Store and iTunes. More than available 100,000 applications optimized for the iPad are available for downloading from the App Store, in addition to the 200,000 iPhone apps that can be used for the tablet. WON'T BUY!
3. Browsing. A combination of Sony technologies, Quick view and Quick touch, allow for faster loading of web pages, a highly responsive and fluid touch screen as well as an exceptionally intuitive user interface. The iPad has the Safari which is not even capable of running sites with Adobe Flash. It's not like everyone has enough money to download apps from the App Store each time you need to open a site or time to look for the iPad app after you jail-break your iPad. BUY!
2. Gaming. Sony Tablet devices are the first PlayStation Certified tablets that provide out-of-the-box gaming with included favorites 'Crash Bandicoot' and 'Pinball Heroes.' I'm not content with Angry Birds or The Sims on Facebook. Unless, the iPad is certified for the Nintendo WiiU or the Microsoft Xbox 360, the Sony tablets would be superior for gaming. BUY!
1. Remote Control. Sony Tablet S device is the world's first Android Tablet running Honeycomb with a built in A/V remote control. The built-in Universal remote not only controls your Sony products, but other brands as well. But who needs two remote controls for a single TV? It's like putting up a boxing ring for you and your Psycho wife. It's like having a swimming pool inside your SUV - the girls would be impressed, but they'd find it weird. WON'T BUY!
Should I buy a Sony tablet? Help me out.
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