Sony Xperia Android Tablet S Specs, Price and Review

When Sony first launched its Sony Xperia Tablet S it caused a fair few raised eyebrows. This was because of the wedge-shaped design that made it look very, very different from the competition. The shape (fatter along one long edge than the other) was not just about trying to look different, though. It also meant the Tablet S was different than the norm to hold. For some consumers, it was more ‘booklike’, for others it was just plain awkward.

Sony has stuck with the design idea in the newer Xperia Tablet S, although there is now more metal in the design, which makes for a much more solid feel. The wedgy design means it is heavier at one horizontal end than the other, and when holding it in wide mode that feels a little odd at first.

The 9.4-inch screen is the smallest in our group test, and inevitably that means the hardware is the smallest too. In some respects the screen, with its 1,280 x 800 pixel resolution, is a good compromise between the smaller seven inches that aren’t great for media viewing and the larger 10-1-inches that can sometimes be a bit of a pain to carry. It is certainly sharp enough, and viewing angles are good.

The Tegra 3 quad-core processor is nippy enough, and stereo speakers along the bottom-edge deliver plenty of volume even if the sound is a bit on the tinny side. The fact that Sony has made the Xperia Tablet S splash-proof will no doubt appeal to some people too. Sony has added a variety of apps that bulk out Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, including a universal remote control, Evernote and something called Free Type Office Suite for document production. Various Sony stores for music, movies and eBooks are here too.

The proprietary charger and data cable slot won’t please everyone, and Sony has found room for an SD card slot so you can use this larger-sized card as well as micro SD with an adapter, but there’s no HDMI here, which is an infuriating omission.

Design
The wedge-like chassis design is unique and makes for an uneven weight distribution but a comfortable hold. Putting the proprietary mains/data cable under a removable cover might be overkill for some, but it helps with Sony’s splash-proof claim.

General performance

The quad-core processor never seemed to be challenged during our testing, and the Sony Xperia Tablet S was responsive under the fingers. Battery life should be enough to get you through a weekend away from home too, which is always a pleasure.

Features

The 9.4-inch screen sits between the usual seven and ten-inch standard and could be the ideal compromise. It makes for smallish hardware yet a screen that’s suitable for video watching or eReading -the Sony Reader store is here for the latter.

Connectivity

Bluetooth and Wi-Fi are both here, but a proprietary data cable is irritating and there’s no USB alternative. Nor is there HDMI which isn’t great. The ability to use it as a TV remote might appeal, though.

All in All

Quirky design and proprietary charge/data cable could be hit and miss. It does run fast, though, and is very portable.

Specification Sony Xperia Android Tablet S

General	2G Network	N/A
	SIM	No
	Announced	2012, August
	Status	Available. Released 2012, September
Body	Dimensions	239.8 x 174.4 x 8.8 mm (9.44 x 6.87 x 0.35 in)
	Weight	570 g (1.26 lb)
Display	Type	LED-backlit LCD, capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
	Size	800 x 1280 pixels, 9.4 inches (~161 ppi pixel density)
	Multitouch	Yes
	Protection	Oleophobic coating
		- Sony Mobile BRAVIA Engine
		- IPX-4 certified - splash proof
Sound	Alert types	N\A
	Loudspeaker	Yes, with stereo speakers
	3.5mm jack	Yes
Memory	Card slot	SD, up to 32 GB
	Internal	16/32/64 GB storage, 1 GB RAM
Data	GPRS	No
	EDGE	No
	WLAN	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, dual-band, Wi-Fi hotspot
	Bluetooth	Yes, v3.0 with A2DP
	Infrared port	Yes
	USB	Yes, v2.0
Camera	Primary	8 MP, 3264x2448 pixels, autofocus, check quality
	Features	Geo-tagging, touch focus, face detection
	Video	Yes, 1080p@30fps, check quality
	Secondary	Yes, 1 MP, 720p video
Features	OS	Android OS, v4.0.3 (Ice Cream Sandwich)
	Chipset	Nvidia Tegra 3
	CPU	Quad-core 1.3 GHz Cortex-A9
	GPU	ULP GeForce
	Sensors	Accelerometer, gyro, compass
	Messaging	Email, Push Mail, IM, RSS
	Browser	HTML
	Radio	No
	GPS	Yes
	Java	Yes, via Java MIDP emulator
	Colors	Black/Silver
		- TV-out (via MHL A/V link)
		- SNS integration
		- MP4/H.264/H.263 player
		- MP3/WAV/eAAC+ player
		- Organizer
		- Document viewer
		- Photo viewer/editor
		- Voice memo
		- Predictive text input
Battery		Non-removable Li-Ion 6000 mAh battery
	Stand-by
	Talk time	Up to 12 h (multimedia)