Review of Sony’s Tablet

Sony has created 2 Android tablets with radical designs. The first was the Sony Tablet S that has a unique magazine-like design, with a rounded vertical edge for easy grip. There is also the new Sony Tablet P that sports a very different layout than the standard tablet. It has two screens connected by hinges and the tablet flips open like a book presenting two landscape displays. The tablet is 7 inches long and the screens measure 5.5 inches diagonally, giving it the feel of a large smartphone. Sony got decent marks from many reviewers for the novel hardware design of the Sony Tablet S. It’s yet to be seen if customers will warm to the dual screen layout of the Tablet P.

Generally, content is spread over the two displays so they appear split in the middle. Sony has created about 40 apps that use the split screens to better separate and organize data over 2 screens. Several users were very satisfied with the email layout, and the video player. This tablet is also ideal for playing many games. Sony claims it will continue to develop intelligent apps to take advantage of the dual screens. Sony is will try to satisfy the users who found some aspects of web browsing a bit annoying, such as looking for directions on Google Maps over split screens.

The Tablet P may not attract much sales because it is so expensive. At $550, it costs almost as much as the best iPad, and much more than the $199, 7-inch Fire. The Tablet P is available from AT&T at a discounted $400, on a two-year contract with an additional cost $35 or $50 a month. Consumers who have doubts about the design are now being put off by the cost. Is it worth paying so much for a device with 2 gigabyte removable memory card and 1.8 gigabytes of user available internal storage when the average iPad has 16GB of storage? The Sony Tablet P has an external memory slot for up to 32GB, but the memory card costs and extra £30.

The Tablet P has some other drawbacks. The speakers are not the best and battery last for only about 6 hours. The data connection isn’t exactly 4G, as it does not employ LTE. I would sell my mobile and old tablet to a mobile phone recycling company and use the cash for mobile to get an iPad instead of the Sony Tablet P.