Everyone’s got a tablet these days, except for one of the biggest names in consumer electronics. Oh Sony, where art thou? If the rumours bubbling at Engadget are true, apparently off somewhere working on a very curious take on slates. Meet the S1.
What you’re looking at is an interpretation of a reported 9.4-inch Honeycomb tablet that Sony tentatively plans to ship in September for $US600. It’s got a 1280×800 display, Tegra 2 processor, USB and only two physical buttons (volume and on/off). But all that’s close to standard these days. What’s really grabbing your attention is that weird bump on what looks like the bottom side. What is that?
Apparently the “wave” design is Sony’s ease of use solution. When placed on a table, the bump gives you an improved touch typing angle; when you’re carrying the tablet, the centre of gravity shifts to the fat end, supposedly making it feel lighter.
As you’d expect from Sony these days, the tablet will be loaded with synergies, like PS One games, a Bravia Media Remote and PlayStation integration of some sort.
Sounds… interesting? At the very least S1 is different, which in the current sea of cookie cutter Android tablets is a welcome sight. But it’s a long time between now and September, and a long way from paper napkin sketch to actual product. So For now let’s hang this in the “maybe” column, and look forward to peering at them awkwardly on the bus over our Xooms and iPads and TouchPads. [Engadget]