Sony Tablet Pcs Made For People On The Go

Sony tablet PCs were announced in April 2011 to rival the Apple iPad. The announcement came soon after the iPad 2 was launched in the US on 11 March. Sony has launched two models in the category. They are the first true competing devices to be released by the Japanese electronics leader. However, they are not expected to be available to consumers until late in 2011, probably around October 2011. The company joins several others with devices that offer a real alternative to the current iPad leader.

Tablets are the quickest growing niche in consumer electronics products today. Apple leads innovation in the segment. Global sales of the devices reached 10 million in 2010 up from a paltry 90,000 in 2009 according to data released by the Consumer Electronics Association, an industry body based in Arlington, Virginia. Sony and other computer manufacturers are all keen to design a device that challenges the iPad.

For instance, one Korean producer announced its tablet during February 2011. The unit has a 10-inch display comparable to the iPad but slightly chunkier at 10.9 mm thick compared with the slimmer 8.8 mm iPad 2. The product of a major US producer is not yet available widely; it is not yet released in Australia, for example,

Technology research firm Strategy Analytics predicts tablet sales will have grown to a value of around US$50 billion by about 2015. The mobile PC devices have received strong support from consumers who see them as a useful bridge between smart phones and notebook PCs. Tablets provide Wi-Fi connectivity, a multimedia capability and powerful mobile computing in a compact package.

Despite its hefty price, the Apple iPad has sold almost 15 million units have been snapped off the shelves by eager consumers during 2010. That generated US$10 billion for Apple. Sony is eager to get its share of the market. During January 2011, the company confirmed it aims to achieve second position in the segment during 2012.

Prototypes of the Sony models have been provided to analysts for comment. Even though both Sony models use the Google Android 3.0 operating system for the personal computers, but the similarity stops there. The two models are quite different.

The S1 has a 9.4 inch LCD that includes cameras front and rear. The screen is bright and crisp and easy to look at. The unit is also light, not at all heavy to hold and carry around. The casing has a subtle wedge shape inspired by the way a person might hold a magazine with a single hand by folding the magazine in half around on itself lengthwise, to make it easier to hold. The result is that one side of the S1 is thicker than the other. It feels natural and not at all forced.

The smaller S2 laptop-shaped model is smaller and folds like a clam. Folded, it fits easily into a coat pocket or handbag. Opened, the S2 reveals two 5.5 inch screens, one on the base the other on the lid. Purists claim this clamshell shape means it is not a tablet; but that seems rather pedantic and puerile.

The two Sony tablet PCs are likely to be welcomed by consumers when they are released to consumers later this year. It seems they will seriously challenge the Apple in this segment. Who knows, they may even knock the iPad off its high perch.