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Sony Xperia Tablet S Cover with Keyboard

Don't wait now, but a deluge of Microsoft Surface imitators and competitors are just the around corner. Once Windows 8 is made bachelor to the general public on October 26, you're going to meet all kinds of tablets running Windows 8/RT country on concrete and virtual store shelves, forth with a string of announcements between at present and then. On the surface, then to speak, Sony'southward newly unveiled Xperia Tablet Due south with optional keyboard cover looks to be one of them, just upon closer inspection, it'southward something entirely different.

Similar the original Tablet S, the slimmed down Xperia version marches to the shell of Sony's own design drum with a funky wedge-shaped behind. Before we go into the nitty-gritty, however, allow's make one thing clear. Sony's Xperia Tablet Due south is an Android tablet — it only looks like Surface (virtually identical, in fact) when y'all slap the $99 "Cover with Keyboard" accompaniment on information technology, or in sure instances of the user interface (UI) that seemed borrowed from Microsoft's Metro *ahem* Modern UI style. Whether Microsoft takes upshot with that remains to be seen, especially following the contempo brouhaha betwixt Apple and Samsung over design patents.

While information technology runs Android, Sony has unfortunately decided to wrap its latest tablet in Ice Cream Sandwich (Android four.0) rather than let it ingest Jelly Bean (Android 4.1). An update may be in the cards, but we've learned not to hold our breath waiting for such things.

On the hardware side, the Xperia Tablet S features a 9.4-inch IPS display with a 1280×800 resolution. It has an Nvidia Tegra 3 quad-core processor, 16GB to 64GB of internal storage, 8MP (rear) and 1MP (front end) cameras, a total-size SD carte du jour slot, USB port, and HDMI output. Summed up, it's a mod Android tablet, though at that place are some features that set it apart.

Sony Xperia Tablet S

Sony's newest tablet, launching in September, is splash-proof, the visitor claims.

Information technology's splash-proof from all angles (when the multi-port encompass is in place), for one. The LCD screen doesn't mind if your hands are a footling wet, Sony says, and will still recognize bear on gestures.

More than intriguing is the fact that Sony nonetheless envisions its tablet playing a prominent role in the living room. I played with the original Tablet South and really liked the congenital-in remote control functionality (just non the tablet equally a whole), and the Xperia Tablet S is supposed to take things a step further.

The congenital-in universal remote now supports macro functionality and so you lot can plow on multiple devices with a unmarried press, just like you can with select Logitech Harmony remotes. Program information technology to "Watch TV," for instance, and the integrated IR blaster volition turn on the television, surround sound system, and cable or satellite Television set box with a unmarried tap, changing inputs as demand be.

Sony'due south also pushing its Watch Now app, which displays an interactive, visual program guide based on personal preference and whatever happens to exist trending in social media feeds.

Time will tell, just with the slimmed down design and improved remote, Sony may take an intriguing culling to all the Surface-like tablets most to launch, even if it sometimes looks just like one.

The Xperia Tablet S comes out on September 7 for $399 (16GB), $499 (32GB), and $599 (64GB), and yous tin can pre-order today.

Read: Microsoft Surface: The missing link