X

Sony unveils two Android 3.0 tablets

Sony introduces a pair of tablet designs that feature Google's "Honeycomb" operating system in Tokyo.

Brooke Crothers Former CNET contributor
Brooke Crothers writes about mobile computer systems, including laptops, tablets, smartphones: how they define the computing experience and the hardware that makes them tick. He has served as an editor at large at CNET News and a contributing reporter to The New York Times' Bits and Technology sections. His interest in things small began when living in Tokyo in a very small apartment for a very long time.
See full bio
Brooke Crothers

Sony made it official today in Tokyo, disclosing two new tablet designs that will run Android 3.0 "Honeycomb" software and have access to PlayStation content.

The Japanese company said in a brief statement that it is "developing two tablets," including the S1 which is "optimized for media entertainment" and the S2 (both codenames), aimed at "mobile communication and entertainment."

The tablets, with the official moniker of "Sony Tablet," will become available worldwide starting in the fall.

Sony S1 Tablet.
Sony S1 Tablet. Sony
The S1 and S2 tablet--the latter can be folded. The Japanese language caption says the images are not final products.
The S1 (L) and S2 tablets--the S2 can be folded. The Japanese language caption says the images are not final products. Sony

The S1 has a 9.4-inch (1280-by-800) display and front and rear cameras, while the S2 has two 5.5-inch displays that can be "folded," Sony said. The screens on the S2 can be used together as one large screen to browse websites or separately--for example, checking email on one and using the other as a soft keyboard.

Both tablets will be equipped with the Android 3.0 operating system and be WiFi and WAN (3G/4G) compatible. An Nvidia Tegra 2 dual-core processor will power the devices.

Sony will also offer access to content via its Qriocity music and movie services and the PlayStation Suite, a framework for downloading and buying PlayStation content on Android tablets.

And e-book content will be available from the Sony Reader Store.

Up close with Sony's S1/S2 tablets (photos)

+7 More
See all photos