Brightbridge Wealth Management Headlines: Sony’s Tablets Definitely Aren’t iPads

For products which still haven’t been officially announced, Sony’s upcoming Android tablets sure haven’t been publicity-shy. Sony first teased us about them back in April. And on Wednesday, it held press events in New York and San Francisco at which it showed them off and released more details, such as the fact that the smaller S1 will be available exclusively in a version for AT&T’s HSPA+ network — although not full specs, or pricing, or a shipping timeframe other than “later this year.”
I attended the West Coast edition of the sneak peek. When I see new tablets these days, I’m continuing to reflexively ask the question “Why should somebody buy this instead of an iPad?” It’s too early to come to any firm conclusions about the Sonys, but both pass the obvious-differences-from-Apple’s-tablet test.
The S1 is a 9.4″ model with a wedge shape that angles the screen for comfy typing and feels like a folded magazine. (It’s a major departure from every other current tablet — but it does remind me of the original 2007 version of Amazon’s Kindle.)
The smaller S2, meanwhile, stretches the definition of “tablet” a bit. It’s a clamshell device with two 5.5″ displays which, in unfolded mode, can operate independently or as one big screen. It’s reminiscent of Acer’s Iconia and Toshiba’s experimental Portege, but the hinge makes more sense on the S2: the screens are small enough that a folded-shut unit will fit in a pocket. (Try that with your iPad.)http://articles.brightbridge-wealthmanagement.com/2011/07/brightbridge-wealth-management-headlines-sonys-tablets-definitely-arent-ipads/