Wedge gives Tablet S the edge
Sony is late to the tablet market, but it has used the time well to churn out a device with a unique design,
Sony launched the Tablet S, its first tablet, recently. Unlike the plain slate design of other tablets, it has a unique wedge design, one of the best features of the Tablet S. Sony has also tweaked the Android Honeycomb operating system (OS) to great effect, improving the experience significantly. I have been using the Tablet S for a week now and have grown to like it.
Design and hardware
First, the wedge design. The Tablet S feels like it has been folded back at one end, like you would fold a book. When held in landscape mode, the top edge is thicker, tapering out towards the bottom. So when you place it on a table, the screen is at a slight incline, which helps while typing. Importantly, despite being thicker on one end the Tablet S matches the iPad 2 in weight.
The design also helps in another way — the power and volume buttons as well as the microUSB and SD card slots are nicely tucked away in the fold. The speakers are mere slits on the body, and are louder than even laptop speakers.
I had expected the design to be problematic when the tablet is held in portrait mode. While reading a book from the Kindle app, however, I found the grip was good and the tablet was well balanced in my hand.
The Tablet S has a 9.4-inch screen, which is unlike most tablets that have 10.1 inch screen. I couldn’t tell if this lends any advantages while using the tablet. The display itself is bright and renders colours well. Visibility in direct sunlight, however, is poor.
Software
Sony has opted for an entirely different keyboard design. Some of the handy buttons include the right and left arrow keys, and the numpad which appears while typing a password.
Sony has replaced the default icons of apps. This I wasn’t too happy with. The icons are simply too blocky. On the plus side, there is a lot of white space between individual icons. Another tweak worth mentioning is the ‘Favourites’ page. On most Android tablets, tapping ‘Favourites’ brings up a carousel with apps. Sony has replaced the carousel with simple tiles, which I found easier to navigate.
The Tablet S does come with a few pre-installed apps. The most interesting one here is Remote Control, which, you guessed it, turns the tablet into an infra-red remote control for devices around the house.
The tablet is also Playstation-certified, which means that Playstation One and PSP games can be played online on the device. Two games, Crash Bandicoot and Pinball Heroes, come bundled with the device.
Working on the Tablet S is as smooth as the Galaxy Tab 10.1, which is one of the best Android-based tablets. But the Sony device does render some webpages rather slowly. The scrolling in such pages is jerky. I found this in one of Sony’s own webpages called SelectApp.
Verdict
On the software end, Sony has done a good job, but it definitely needs improvements, especially the browsing. Despite the few chinks, if you are considering buying an Android-based tablet, the Tablet S is worth a dekko.
Sony is late to the tablet market, but it has used the time well to churn out a device with a unique design,
Sony launched the Tablet S, its first tablet, recently. Unlike the plain slate design of other tablets, it has a unique wedge design, one of the best features of the Tablet S. Sony has also tweaked the Android Honeycomb operating system (OS) to great effect, improving the experience significantly. I have been using the Tablet S for a week now and have grown to like it.
Design and hardware
First, the wedge design. The Tablet S feels like it has been folded back at one end, like you would fold a book. When held in landscape mode, the top edge is thicker, tapering out towards the bottom. So when you place it on a table, the screen is at a slight incline, which helps while typing. Importantly, despite being thicker on one end the Tablet S matches the iPad 2 in weight.
The design also helps in another way — the power and volume buttons as well as the microUSB and SD card slots are nicely tucked away in the fold. The speakers are mere slits on the body, and are louder than even laptop speakers.
I had expected the design to be problematic when the tablet is held in portrait mode. While reading a book from the Kindle app, however, I found the grip was good and the tablet was well balanced in my hand.
The Tablet S has a 9.4-inch screen, which is unlike most tablets that have 10.1 inch screen. I couldn’t tell if this lends any advantages while using the tablet. The display itself is bright and renders colours well. Visibility in direct sunlight, however, is poor.
Software
Sony has opted for an entirely different keyboard design. Some of the handy buttons include the right and left arrow keys, and the numpad which appears while typing a password.
Sony has replaced the default icons of apps. This I wasn’t too happy with. The icons are simply too blocky. On the plus side, there is a lot of white space between individual icons. Another tweak worth mentioning is the ‘Favourites’ page. On most Android tablets, tapping ‘Favourites’ brings up a carousel with apps. Sony has replaced the carousel with simple tiles, which I found easier to navigate.
The Tablet S does come with a few pre-installed apps. The most interesting one here is Remote Control, which, you guessed it, turns the tablet into an infra-red remote control for devices around the house.
The tablet is also Playstation-certified, which means that Playstation One and PSP games can be played online on the device. Two games, Crash Bandicoot and Pinball Heroes, come bundled with the device.
Working on the Tablet S is as smooth as the Galaxy Tab 10.1, which is one of the best Android-based tablets. But the Sony device does render some webpages rather slowly. The scrolling in such pages is jerky. I found this in one of Sony’s own webpages called SelectApp.
Verdict
On the software end, Sony has done a good job, but it definitely needs improvements, especially the browsing. Despite the few chinks, if you are considering buying an Android-based tablet, the Tablet S is worth a dekko.
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