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Sony S tablet - same as the rest

Mac.World

Mac.World

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Jan 9, 2011
1,819
1
In front of uranus
Saw the Sony S Android tablet, and it appears to suffer from the same issues as the Galaxy tab. Lag in rotation, apps closing randomly, slow typing issues and so on. (And the wedge design sucks. Just wait til you hold this thing. Another issue is trying to keep this thing protected from scratches... As in, good luck with that.)

I would say that this is a software issue, but for some reason Honeycomb seems to work pretty well on the Transformer. I gotta wonder if ICS really will solve a lot of issues that Honeycomb has on so many platforms???

Needless to say, based on what I saw, Sony has a flop on their hands. I'll take my HP Touchpad over the Sony any day of the week. And nothing touches the iPad... Still.
 
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It's the only other tablet i was(am?) excited about. Apart from iPad.
 
RossMc said:
I have been trying to get one for my mum since they went on sale for £89.. Carphone Warehouse have been getting stock in this week but the staff keep taking them all :(
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Mobiles.co.uk had them last week too but it was only available as a free gift on the HP Pre 3 contract deals
 
Apple vs Sony

This has just jogged my memory about something i was told when doing some small jobs for Sony in the 90's.
Sony's VAIO stood for Video, Audio Integration Operation (and the VA was signified by a sign wave and IO by digital 1 and 0) where Sony saw the future where all people had their entire home full of Sony products all connected togeth er eg. watching video's from your Sony PC on your Sony TV and the sound being played through your Sony AV receiver or Sony Hifi system etc. They were so close to the truth, just that i would bet that there are more homes where this has happened but using Apple products rather than Sony. I, for one, have most of what Sony foresaw, just using Apple where possible.
Sorry if this is o/t.
 
Sony is rather late in bringing this out. Tegra 3 tablets should be hitting the market within a couple of months....the Tegra 3 equipped Transformer 2 is rumored to be released in October.
 
I preordered one from JR. They shipped it early, and I have had it a few days now. My review is up on my blog if anyone is interested.
 
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4DThinker said:
I preordered one from JR. They shipped it early, and I have had it a few days now. My review is up on my blog if anyone is interested.
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You don't mention the lack of gorilla glass, the ease at which it can get scratched (everywhere), and that while it has an sd card slot, you can't use it to store videos or songs on and play them via the sd card. You have to move everything onto the S tablet if you want to use it. To me this defeats the purpose of having an sd card slot, since with Dropbox or even using usb cords to computers accomplished the same thing!

I also didn't like the feeling of having the bottom of the wedge cut into my palm. The Tab and ipad are both thin (oh yeah, and weigh the same as the S by the way!), but they dont feel like they are cutting into my palm. The screen is awesome though, as is having playstation games available for use. To me though, with Honeycomb at it's core, this is yet another flop.
 
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Strange, I almost thought that the Tablet S would get some positive feedback even on here.

I think the design is interesting, it's unconventional but I can see how it would work. I never understood all the fuss about thinness, for me weight and ergonomics are key.The lighter the tablet the better, and with the wedge design, I should imagine that it's easier to hold with one hand (in portrait mode at least), then the iPad 2. Though I'll have to try one out for myself.

If anything, I see it as a positive start from Sony and certainly a step ahead of other Android devices on the market. It'll be interesting to see how Sony move from here.
 
Tsuchiya said:
If anything, I see it as a positive start from Sony and certainly a step ahead of other Android devices on the market. It'll be interesting to see how Sony move from here.
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The closer a competitor comes to having a great tablet design, the more iPad fanatics will protest. Human nature.

As for being a step ahead, IMO they are a year ahead in product design even though it's another tegra-2 android 3.1 tablet. I found a few momentary bugs with mine, but I also found a few with my iPad 2. The S is far more friendly in the hand though. You don't have to squeeze to hang on, and my hand hasn't cramped up so far. Took me several days to figure out a way to hold my iPad that didn't make my hand ache.
 
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4DThinker said:
As for being a step ahead, IMO they are a year ahead in product design even though it's another tegra-2 android 3.1 tablet. I found a few momentary bugs with mine, but I also found a few with my iPad 2.
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I don't know if Sony's "ahead" in the design. Apple almost certainly will never make a blob of grip like the Sony's in their tablets within the next few years because it doesn't jive with their usual style. Also a similar design has already been done by Notion Ink Adam well before Sony came out:

notion_ink_adam_ces_photo_collage.jpg

Review: http://www.engadget.com/2011/04/27/notion-ink-adam-review/

At the end, it's like pitting a Dell Windows PC against a Sony Windows PC. It's really hard to differentiate just through hardware which is being increasingly commoditized. Samsung is potentially more distinct than others simply because they have a defacto exclusivity to the AMOLED technology, but for now most of Honeycomb tablets are not cheap enough considering the disappointing current state of Honeycomb and there isn't much each manufacturer can do within the price constraint.

The aforementioned Notion Ink Adam tried something brave by really customizing the heck out of Android but ended up failing. Unless Google can drastically improve the software, the tablet landscape looks bleak for the 3rd parties. Hopefully Windows 8 can spark a life into these machines.
 
I can't see this thing going very far in the marketplace. I don't really get why they think it will succeed. They haven't sold me on the shape or anything else associated with it. The Asus sounds infinitely more interesting. I know this is a minor point, but have you seen the power cord? Oh my goodness.
 
As for going far, throw in PlayStation game compatibility, IR remote control, and access to Sony's media (Music/Movies/Reader) content to keep owners entertained and I think it should do pretty well.
 
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For what it is worth, the Sony S Tablet received an update to Android 3.2 today. Sure didn't take them long. My Acer Iconia tablet also was updated to 3.2 a few days ago. I guess the race is now on to see who can get updated to 4.0 (or 5.0 for the iPad) first. Anyone want to take bets?
 
4DThinker said:
I've added several photos to my review tonight in case anyone was interested. As for going far, throw in PlayStation game compatibility, IR remote control, and access to Sony's media (Music/Movies/Reader) content to keep owners entertained and I think it should do pretty well.
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thanks for the excellent review. i have no doubt it is a great device. but, compared to other options on the market (like the ipad), i don't see it doing so well. like i said, it sounds silly, but even the power cord is clunky.
 
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palpatine said:
but even the power cord is clunky.
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I've got to agree on the power cord. Thankfully it doesn't have to stay plugged into that. As far as I can tell they must have simply picked that part off the shelf of left over netbook chargers.

Other than that though, I'm enjoying the S more than the iPad. Far easier to hold on to than my iPad2.
 
I was recently in Berlin, and I stopped by a Sony store (which was pretty amazing, are there any of those in the States?!) and played with one for the first time. While the screen is a little small for my liking since I'm so used to this 9.7" on the iPad and probably couldn't go down in size, but up, the feel of the tablet was very, very nice. I love the design. Slap a 9.7" on that thing and the design is good to go.

Also, Honeycomb isn't as fluid as iOS, it's still solid and get the job done. I wouldn't be so opposed in using it as some other folks would be.
 
fertilized-egg said:
...Also a similar design has already been done by Notion Ink Adam well before Sony came out...
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Based on reading that review Sony's design is better because the majority of its weight is in the curved end. Notion made the hump a place for the webcam, speakers, and handle without solving any serious fatigue issues. Sony's design looks significantly different.
 
Chocolatemilty said:
I was recently in Berlin, and I stopped by a Sony store (which was pretty amazing, are there any of those in the States?!)
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3-4 with in 1 hour and half from you. 2 in just the ritzy area near Beverly Hills Century City area, and 1 in the OC, and one in San Diego. I have to admit they are price competitively when it comes to their TV from what I have seen.

As for the S1, its the only other tablet beside the Thinkpad(the one with the pen not the cheap $200 model) and iPad tablet I would ever gander at. I love the fact it has a built in remote app to control my house stuff. On my iPad I have to pay for an app like that, and sure the Sony cost the same as the iPad and may not warrant the same price, but the Sony is actually some nice hardware, even if the specs are pretty bog standard. Plus, as bonus, at lest for me, it comes with an emulator to play certain Playstation games(from PS1/2 to PSP) legally. Kudos for them for trying a little.
 
coldmack said:
I love the fact it has a built in remote app to control my house stuff. ... Plus, as bonus, at lest for me, it comes with an emulator to play certain Playstation games(from PS1/2 to PSP) legally. Kudos for them for trying a little.
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The remote app, just like the one that came with the Vizio tablet, doesn't do macros. Fine if your system is simple and/or don't mind several steps turning everything on instead of one.

Playstation-ability is nice if you're a Playstation fan. I've never been into console games so it's a wash to me as a feature. That said, the S is still a nice weight, fully capable, ergonomicly designed tegra2 tablet that runs every app any of the others do.

Anyone getting one and needing a case for the S, I found most people selling them for $99. Adorama.com has them for $69, or at least did last week. Hopefully some 3rd party cases will show up in the $49 and $29 range.
 
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