Sony Tablet S

The Sony Tablet S is an exceptionally built device that's about the size and weight of an iPad, making it a pleasure to hold. It has many excellent features and apps, and its Android 3.1 Honeycomb operating system makes it intuitive to use, and doesn't lag. The only issues are that its display is a little smaller than similar Android tablets and it doesn't allow for internet access via mobile broadband, so if you're in an area without Wi-Fi, you'll have no access to the internet. It receives our TopTenREVIEWS Bronze Award. 

Features    

The Sony Tablet S sports quite a few features that are a mix of practical and really cool. The practical features are commonly included with Android 3.1 Honeycomb, such as a 

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desktop-like experience, tabbed browsing, video chat, Google Talk and more. Plus, the Tablet S doubles as a superb universal remote control, so you can control your TV, disc player and more. You can access even more apps from the Android Market.

The cool features include:

• Access to Video Unlimited, which allows you to buy or rent a variety of movies
• Sony's eBooks app and access to the Reader Store to buy books
• Music Unlimited for a large library of music from all the major labels, which is a streaming service
• The Sony Entertainment Pack, with games such as the fun and popular "Crash Bandicoot," free limited memberships to Music Unlimited and Video Unlimited and more
• You can also stream content to a variety of TVs and other devices, much like Apple's AirPlay feature found on iOS devices

As a bonus, the Tablet S is a Sony PlayStation Certified unit – the first tablet to achieve –this certification – so you can play games like the above-mentioned "Crash Bandicoot," along with "Pinball Heroes" and other classic titles online.

Hardware    

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The Sony Tablet S is a sturdy, well-built and lightweight unit, powered by the dual-core, 1GHz NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor. It offers a couple of nice memory options of either 16GB or 32GB, priced at $499 and $599, respectively. It's worth the extra $100 to get more space for music, videos, photos and more. The price doesn't make it a true competitor among other Android tablets or the iPad, but it is a nicely built unit. There is 1GB of internal memory, which helps with the speed.

You can easily connect to the internet via Wi-Fi, which is 802.11 b/g/n, so you have the latest wireless technology, along with Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR. However, there is no way to connect to a cellular network for 3G or 4G internet, which is a little unusual. Some people may see this as a problem, while others may prefer to save money by not having a mobile contract.

This tablet's measures 9.5 inches long, 6.8 inches wide and a thin 0.3 inches deep. It weighs in at 1.3 pounds which is pretty typical of devices in this category. Overall, it's nice to hold for extended periods of time and easy to carry around.

I/O ports (inputs and outputs) include a headphone jack, a Micro USB port and a USB card reader. You can easily transfer data to and from an SD card in the slot, thanks to a special app.

Display    

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The display on the Sony Tablet S reproduces color, video and photos nicely, but even at the highest level of brightness, it appears just a little bit dimmer compared to similar tablets. This tablet uses Sony's TruBlack technology – found in the company's popular Bravia line – in the display, giving the Tablet S an extra edge in image quality.

The resolution is 1280 x 800 pixels, so you're getting a little better than 720p high definition (HD) resolution. The display is 9.4 inches tall, which is only marginally smaller than the unit's height, so you won't feel like you're losing any display real estate.

Ease of Use    

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The Sony Tablet S is a pretty fast tablet, and there are no lagging issues where it would feel that the software is trying to keep up with what you're doing. If you have a slow internet connection, you may see some issues there, but overall, it's a very responsive device.

As mentioned above in the hardware section, it's about the size and weight of an iPad, but slightly smaller than some of the other Android tablets, which are around 10.1 inches tall. The Tablet S feels comfortable to hold; its ergonomics are smooth and polished.

Summary

Packed with interesting and practical features, the Sony Tablet S is a finely made – if pricey – device that is very responsive and ready for show time right out of the box with its Android 3.1 operating system and included apps. If you have no access to Wi-Fi, there isn't a built-in option to access a mobile network, which will leave you high and dry if you need a constant connection.

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