Sony has officially confirmed the worldwide release and availability of the Sony Xperia Tablet Z. The elegant water-resistant device is currently available in retail stores with a scheduled arrival at Amazon on May 24 with a first-rate starting price of $499 for the 16GB version and $599 for the 32GB version while the Android tablet's arrival at Newegg will be on May 25.

The Sony Xperia Tablet Z has a bigger design but similar hardware features with the existing Sony Xperia Z smart phone. The tablet is incorporated with the same 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4 Pro quad-core processor, Adreno 320 GPU and 2GB of RAM all inside of the classy glass body design.

Other impressive features and specifications include the 10.1-inch HD Reality Display with Mobile Bravia Engine 2 and 1080p resolution, an Adroid 4.1 Jelly Bean update build, an 8MP camera and the NFC support that allows users to pair up the tablet easily with a variety of Sony devices like headphones.

According to Sony, the Xperia Tablet Z is the thinnest and lightest device ready to compete with other devices in its category. Sony Xperia Tablet Z measures 6.9mm in thickness and 495g in weight with a remarkable waterproof rating.

Sony further confirmed that the standard Wi-Fi edition as well as the Wi-Fi and 4G version of the Sony Xperia Tablet Z will be offered as well. The tablet's 4G version has not appeared yet at the Sony US store but there is a possibility that the company will unveil a mobile broadband model in the near future.

For the 16GB Wi-Fi Sony Xperia Tablet Z, the device has the reported retail price of approximately AU$620 (£399 or US$500) while the 32GB Wi-Fi version is priced at about AU$700 (£449 or US$600). The 16GB 4G/LTE version of the Sony Xperia Tablet Z in the UK has an estimated price of AU$775 (£499 or US$760).

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