Sony has unveiled several interesting devices at the IFA Trade show in Berlin today. While many were standards, one stood out.
To begin with, Sony continues to add new Android phones to the company’s Xperia line. Today, the world got to see the Xperia T, Xperia V, and the Xperia J. All three phones will run Android 4.0.4 (Ice Cream Sandwich), with a planned update to 4.1 (Jelly Bean) to be announced at some point in the future.
The T is meant to be the flagship, with an impressive-sounding 13 MP camera, a 4.6″ HD screen, a dual-core Qualcomm chip under the hood, NFC with what Sony is calling “One Touch Sharing”, and PlayStation certification. Oddly enough, the press release doesn’t mention LTE, something that seems a must in this day and age. The T will also sometimes be called the TX, because why keep it simple? The Xperia V sports the same list of internal specs, but a smaller 4.3″ HD screen. V also throws in LTE and water resistance. The Xperia J is the baby of the family, with a “mere” 4.0″ display and a 5 MP camera. J is clearly the low end model, but there are no details on what’s inside. No details on release date, regions, or pricing just yet either, of course.
Sony’s smartphones don’t get nearly enough attention in the U.S. market. Everyone I know who has used one has had praise for the user experience. While I’m not a fan of highly skinned Android devices, I have to say that these sound worth checking out so far.
This is the V, the non-flagship waterproof LTE phone. Okay then.
Sony has also announced a new Xperia tablet. I like the split-screen Tablet P as a concept, but I don’t believe I ever saw it in the wild. Same goes for more traditional Sony Tablet S. This time around, Sony tags the new Tablet into the Xperia line, with the Xperia Tablet S. The Xperia Tablet S is yet another Tegra 3 Android 4 device. Interestingly, Sony has chosen to house it in a waterproof chassis, which is actually an appealing tweak. Sony also adjusted the software and threw in guest mode, a nice touch for people who share their tablet. The Xperia branding comes with a similar user interface to the Xperia phones, one that looks slightly like Microsoft Windows 8 in the below photograph.
It’s not a copy, it’s an homage.
The similarity may be helped along by the $99 Cover with Keyboard case (great naming there, Sony marketing). Unlike the phones, the Xperia Tablet S not only has a release date (September 7), but you can pre-order it today. Costs range from $399 to $599, and there are 16, 32, and 64 GB models. Is that price worth it in a world of Nexus 7 tablets and with low-priced Surface devices on the way?
Speaking of Windows 8, Sony also announced a cool form factor tablet/laptop hybrid, the VAIO Duo 11. While functional as a traditional tablet, this Core i3 device is clearly meant for the laptop crowd, as can be inferred by being part of Sony’s long-standing VAIO branding. However, that’s where tradition ends. Sony will include GPS, NFC, a front and back NFC camera, an 11″ screen capable of displaying 1080p video, and a stylus with swappable tips. I think this is the first stylus-sporting Windows 8 device that has come across my desk. No word on pricing, but Sony hopes to launch in late October. Considering the specs above, I’ll be shocked if the VAIO Duo 11 turns out to cost less than $1,500.
“It’s a laptop, it’s a tablet, it’s a tansf-“
“Hey! Are you TRYING to get sued?”
The biggest news (and device) of the day has got to be the Sony VAIO Tap 20. Sony is calling this sucker a “tabletop”, and that’s an interesting name for it. As the name suggests, there is a 20″ touchscreen on this. What’s interesting is that this is a bit more than an all-in-one desktop, because Sony has also thrown a battery in this 11-pound beast. The idea is that this can be a family PC, passed around from room to room as needed, without having to power down. Interestingly, Sony appears to treat this as a desktop in terms of storage — it comes in 750 GB or 1 TB flavors — but has included certain things that people usually associate with laptops and tablets, like NFC.
Add a tv tuner in there and I might be sold.
No date for this interesting device other than the aforementioned “late October”, but unlike some of the other Windows 8 devices we’ve seen, the VAIO Tap 20 is interesting enough that it will stay in our thoughts until then.
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