Sony Mobile announced the Sony Tablet Z. The Tablet Z is a 10.1-inch tablet with very good technical characteristics, however, Sony emphasizes some special points that make the Tablet Z stand out: water and dust resistance, the screen, connectivity, the battery "with stamina" and taking photos with Exmor R sensors for mobile.
Initially, it claims that the Tablet Z is the lightest and thinnest tablet in its category, with a thickness of 6.9 millimeters and a weight of 495 grams. Then, it emphasizes that it has successfully passed tests for its proper operation in environments with a lot of dust, but also submerged in water, according to the conditions described in the IP55 and IP57 standards. The Sony Tablet Z can withstand half an hour submerged in clean water (15 centimeters to 1 meter) - for example, it can play music on a Bluetooth speaker while submerged in water. However, Sony does not urge us to immerse its tablet in water, it suffices to promise that "a few drops or splashes will not cause a problem."
See the comparison made by Sony people with the Apple iPad (references are made to both the iPad 4 and the iPad mini).
Sony's competitive advantage is also presented as everything related to the tablet's screen, since the same people who work on Sony Bravia TVs work on their construction. The Z tablet has a 10.1" diagonal screen, with HD WUXGA resolution controlled by the Mobile BRAVIA Engine 2, the special feature of which is that it attempts to improve contrast, increase color saturation for specific shades, and reduce "noise" when the video is of low quality, but also imposes a "sharpness filter" to make the image more detailed.
- 10.1” HD 1920x1200p WUXGA display with Mobile BRAVIA Engine 2
- S-Force Front Surround 3D
- Snapdragon S4 Pro processor with 1.5GHz quad-core CPU and 2GB RAM
- One-touch connectivity with Near Field Communication (NFC)
- OmniBalance design with slightly rounded edges and smooth reflective lines
- 8 MP rear camera with “Exmor R for mobile” and Superior Auto plus 2MP HD front camera
- Battery with STAMINA mode
The Tablet Z has many options for communicating with other devices at home, such as Wi-Fi, DLNA, MHL (in addition to communication, it also takes care of charging the tablet), Bluetooth. Sony also emphasizes very short-range wireless communication, NFC , and showcases NFC tags that, when placed in the appropriate position, adapt the tablet's operation to the user's respective preferences (e.g., for playing a different list of songs when reading the tag in the car and a different list when reading the tag on the house key fob).
The Tablet Z will be released in two versions with Wi-Fi only and with a 4G/LTE for utilizing fourth-generation mobile networks, where they are available.
Sony pays special attention to the autonomy of the Tablet Z and emphasizes that this time it has equipped it with better energy management technology: everything running unnecessarily in the background is turned off when the screen is not working, maintaining the ability to selectively notify you of messages, calls or Facebook updates. This management is called Battery Stamina, since it ensures that the Tablet Z's 6,000mAh battery is not consumed unnecessarily, at least not at the expense of critical updates.
Finally, the company does not fail to mention the Tablet Z's capabilities in taking photos and videos. In the Tablet Z, the sensors in the main and front cameras are a version of Sony's "revolutionary" Exmor R cameras that were made to take excellent photos even in candlelight. In the Tablet Z, the sensor is a version of "Exmor R for mobile".
The Sony Tablet Z will come with Android 4.1 JellyBean, which will be upgradable to Android 4.2.
The Sony Tablet Z will be released in the second quarter of 2013, but no further information on price or countries of distribution has been revealed. Its release is set by various sources in May and prices start at $499 for the 16GB model, and $100 more for the 32GB model (memory is expandable with microSD).
- Finally, Sony Mobile announced the launch of the Sony Xperia Z, the company’s flagship smartphone announced in January, adding that the Xperia Z has won 13 awards and has achieved the largest distribution of any Sony smartphone to date, with 140 sales channels in 60 markets worldwide. The two products seamlessly combine the most premium features of technology, entertainment, design and connectivity that Sony has, the announcement states. In fact, it is said that the Tablet Z connects to the Xperia Z to give it “power” (i.e. battery).
