14 DAY TRIAL // Intel said that tablets would soon be considered PCs, and that the term “PC” would undergo a shift in meaning because of it, and Sony is definitely helping lead the world to that outcome.
Granted, the company's newest tablet isn't one of the new models running Microsoft's Windows 8 (it runs Android 4.1 Jelly Bean), but everything else is as close to notebook-level hardware as it can get.
Like most “large” media tablets, the Xperia Tablet Z, as the product is called, has a display diagonal of 10.1 inches.
Since we are on the subject, the LCD itself boasts a native resolution of 1920 x 1200 pixels and is driven, along with the rest of the device, by a quad-core SoC (system-on-chip). The four ARM cores have a clock speed of 1.5 GHz each.
The video side of the equation is thus covered, but it so happens that Sony also paid special attention to audio.
Since Xperia Tablet Z was developed with media and entertainment in mind, the IT player implemented “S-Force Front Surround 3D.”
Sony says that it allows the tablet to convey the movement of sound, along with broadcasting the feeling that the user is in a spacious area.
The last asset that Sony focused on was photo and video capture. However strange it may be to shoot photos and record films with a 10.1-inch tablet, Sony wanted to make sure it was not only doable, but desirable.
To that end, there is an 8-megapixel camera at the back, complete with a backside-illuminated sensor. The first tablet to have something like this.
All this hardware, along with NFC (near field communication) and LTE (long-term evolution broadband, basically 4G) is packed inside a frame with a thickness of 6.9 mm / 0.27 inches. On that note, the device weight is of 495 grams / 1.09 pounds. For the sake of comparison, Apple's iPad is 7.2mm-thick (0.28 inches).
Sony is promoting the Xperia Tablet Z as the thinnest and lightest 10.1-inch tablet yet. No word on the price, and only Japan will receive the slate this spring. Every other region still has to wait.
