Now that we know that the Xperia Play – or PSP Phone if you like – is very much a real product, it’s time for fresh, new rumours to start circulating, and they’ve taken a turn for the obvious.
A new report suggests that Sony might be readying a Playstation certified tablet to compete with Apple’s iPad – and the 7 million or so Android-powered clones.
According to Engadget, "two highly trusted and independent sources" have claimed that Sony is working on a ubiquitous tablet of their very own. Codenamed ‘S1’, the Android 3.0-powered tablet will feature a 9.4 inch capacitive touch screen, running at a resolution of 1,280 x 800 pixels.
Like the recently officially outed Xperia Play, the S1 will have access to PlayStation Suite, Sony’s news downloadable game service service for Android devices. It’ll be capable of emulating PSone games and will come with one such game pre-installed. The device will purportedly be inextricably linked to Sony’s Qriocity, a service that allows the download of music, games, ebooks, and videos. It’s said to also have rear and front-facing cameras, and run on Nvidia’s dual-core Tegra 2 processor. Where it differs from your standard tablet is in its design. Instead of being flat, like an iPad, the S1 apparently has a curve on one side, made to resemble "a magazine folded backward upon itself such that only a single page is visible to read". The bulge created by the design will house battery – and this odd, unilateral weight apparently makes the device easier to hold.
It’s not too hard to imagine this being true; of the major electronics manufacturers, only one hasn’t publically shown any type. Yup, Sony. The “S1†is scheduled to launch as early as September this year, at a starting price of $599, $100 more than the iPad it’s supposed to compete with. Not off to a good start if that’s true.
Source : Engadget
Last Updated: February 17, 2011
