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Sony’s not giving up on tablets, with leaked presentation slides revealing the Sony Xperia tablet, a 9.4-inch effort that looks set to sport a splash-proof aluminium frame and a slimmer build than its predecessor, the Sony Tablet S.
mobiFlip published the leaked presentation, which goes into serious detail on what we can expect from the ambitious tablet. A folding keyboard accessory that’s highly reminiscent of the Microsoft Surface‘s fold-out affair, a quad-core Tegra 3 processor and both 16GB and 32GB storage options are also tipped.
Guest Mode is a new software feature, that will let several people use a single tablet, creating a home screen that’s distinct for guest users. You can limit the available apps in Guest Mode too.
It doesn’t look quite like a full separate user profile, which is something iPad owners who share their tablet but don’t want everyone else in the house to peep at their email have been crying out for. Still, it could prove a handy feature if you’ve got visiting nieces or nephews.
Design-wise, the Xperia tablet offers the same folded-paper aesthetic that adorned the Sony tablet S, albeit squashed a bit flatter. There’s an SD card slot, 3G potential and mobiFlip reports that Android Ice Cream Sandwich will be on board to boot.
Unfortunately there’s no sign of Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, which is the latest edition, and would have made the Xperia tablet a much more interesting prospect. As it stands, I’m yet to see any specs or features that convince me this slate will blow my socks off, especially with Google’s Nexus 7 offering an excellent, cutting-edge Android experience for just £160.
The 16GB Xperia tablet by contrast appears to have a ‘tentative retail price’ of about $450, which equates to roughly £290. Sony says the Xperia tablet will create ‘immersive “emotional” experiences.’ We’ll see.
I’ll keep an eye out for more information on pricing and release dates — in the meantime let me know what Sony needs to do to impress in the tablet stakes, by leaving a comment below or on our Facebook wall.
Image credit: mobiFlip
