Sony has decided to jump into the tablet pool. Today, the company announced two very different tablet products, code-named the S1 and S2, which are based on the new Android 3.0 operating system. Both tablets will have WiFi and WAN wireless modems and both plug into the growing world of Sony’s entertainment IP through the company’s existing Qriocity music and video services (launched last year), the game-oriented PlayStation Suite, and can download ebook content from the company’s Reader Store.
Sony S1 and S2 Tablets
The S1 tablet has a 9.4-inch display with an unusual asymmetric cross section that Sony claims aids in its use as a multimedia delivery device. The S2 has a more unusual table design—a folding clamshell device with two 5.5-inch screens that can be used separately or operated as one larger mosaic display.
Sony’s introduction of tablets with unique form factors coupled with ready-to-go content services underscores the EDA360 assertion that apps shape the design of such products like never before. In the case of tablets, which are at their heart media-consumption devices, firmly attaching a ready torrent of media and game content appears to be a critical make-or-break factor.
