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Sony Tablet S Review: The Media Enthusiast's Dream Tablet

05:10 - Tuesday 22 November 2011 by Andrew Ku

1. DLNA Certification And A Remote Control Catch Our Eyes
2. Meet Sony's Tablet S (SGPT111US/S And SGPT112US/S)
3. Tablet S: The Layout
4. Sony's Android Skin: An Aesthetically-Clean Design
5. Tablet S: A Keyboard With A Number Pad
6. Multimedia Applications
7. The Universal Remote Control
8. DLNA (UPnP) And "Throwing" Media
9. Sony's On-Demand Services: Music Unlimited And Video Unlimited

Are you a home theater enthusiast building the ultimate man cave? Sony's Tablet S is the strongest Android-based contender offering unique features for that specific segment. With DLNA compliance and IR remote control apps, it deserves special attention.

Airfoil. That was the first thought that popped into my head when I saw the Tablet S.

For good reason, Sony's first expedition into the tablet market defies the conventional wisdom that dictates "thinner is better." Instead, the company opted to design a tablet with more of a wedge shape. As a result, the Tablet S looks a lot like an aircraft's wing. But then I saw this commercial:

Sony Tablet S (Official Commercial)

At least according to whichever marketing firm created that minute-long ad, the Tablet S' inspiration comes from a folded piece of paper. Though that's not necessarily any sexier than Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 or Apple's iPad 2, it doesn't need to be. In an increasingly expansive sea of tablet choices, Sony isn't trying to impress us based on good looks. Instead, the company is trying to uniquely cater to entertainment mavens.

Based on a cursory glance at a feature checklist, the Tablet S doesn't really seem well-suited to address that market. It's closely comparable to the Galaxy Tab 10.1, but it cannot output to HDMI. Reading data from USB-based drives is possible. But, like the solution from Samsung, you need an adapter.

Once you read beyond the most common tablet-oriented features, though, you see the Tablet S is DLNA-certified, which means it should interact very naturally with other DNLA-enabled devices like TVs, PCs, and speaker systems. The fact that this product is born into an existing ecosystem, rather than forced to co-exist with dissimilar devices, could give it a marked advantage in the tablet space. As an added bonus, the Tablet S is able to operate as a universal IR remote control, giving it functionality much like a Logitech Harmony remote in a tablet form factor.

Native Feature Checklist	Acer Iconia A500	Asus Eee Pad Transformer	Motorola Xoom	Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1	Sony Tablet S	Toshiba Thrive
Full-Sized USB Port	X	-	-	-	-	X
Front Camera	X	X	X	X	X	X
Rear Camera	X	X	X	X	X	X
SD Card Reader	-	-	-	-	X	X
HDMI Output	X	X	X	-	-	X
microSD Card Reader	X	X	X	-	-	-

Both of those differentiators certainly help make Sony's Tablet S the most unique tablet offering we've seen. However, they're not going to be must-haves for every potential tablet buyer. Again, this product is distinctly aimed at media enthusiasts.