Hey Sony, you know that the holidays are over now, right? Betanews reports that the company’s primary Android Honeycomb tablet, the Tablet S, is seeing a permanent price reduction by a cool $100. That brings the 16GB version down to $399 (in line with the original Eee Pad Transformer) and the 32GB version down to $499, directly competing with the 16GB iPad 2. There’s no word from Sony on the reasoning behind the price cut, but with low-cost Android tablets making a big splash this quarter, it’s likely that sales of the Tablet S haven’t been all that great.
Not that it isn’t worth it: the Tablet S gets solid reviews for it high-end build quality. But in a market where the Tablet S and the Transformer Prime were formerly at the same price for the same storage capacities, there wasn’t much beyond PlayStation certification to recommend the Tablet S over its competitors. Sony isn’t the only one slashing prices: Motorola and/or Verizon decided last week that the new DROID XYBOARD models were a bit pricey, and dropped all of them by $50 each. The cheapest 10 and 8-inch versions now start at $479 and $379, respectively, though a two-year wireless contract is still required.
Forward-thinking Android users will be happy to know that Sony has committed to releasing Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich for its tablets, even if the split-screen Tablet P is still a disappointing no-show in America. But when it comes to price (if not power or quality) Sony and the rest of the top-tier manufacturers will have a tough time competing when low-end Chinese OEMs flood the market with ICS tablets over the next few months. As the first Android tablet OS to get an open-source release, Ice Cream Sandwich will enable the low end of the market in a way we haven’t seen before. Sony might want to keep those price-cutting scissors handy.
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[via SlashGear]
I initially wanted this tablet, and Sony had an excellent holiday bundle pricing, but the ASUS Transformer Prime has become the benchmark and the tablet I seek. Sony would have to lower this tablet yet another one-hundred dollars to regain my interest as to me it has already become dated.
Comparing between Sony and any other similar tablets is only for those who plan to use a tablet as an individual piece of equipment. I bought an Asus Transformer as a gift for a family member. Everything about the Asus worked extremely well right out of the box, but the Asus will only be used as a stand-alone unit. For my personal situation, the Sony Tablet S is a better fit. I have multiple Sony DNLA compliant products and the Tablet S works flawlessly! The wedge design is great (reading recipes in the kitchen, books from the Sony bookstore, watching a movie). The remote control works very well with my other DNLA compliant products, PS3, 3D HDTV, Sony computers, as well as my older Sony audio equipment (I see no reason to give up my old format music collection) and a few non-Sony gadgets like my cable-box. In the future, I plan to add a Sony wireless speaker system and expect everything to work just fine. My well-planned choices of Sony products over the years still continue to serve me well. All told, my audio/visual/entertainment dollars continue to be a great value. Thanks, Sony, for looking at the long-term solutions!
I have one of these Sony Tablets and loving it. It’s an awesome device that can control everything in the home via the builtin infrared universal programmable remote controller as well as wireless video streaming via DLNA. Best tablet on the market at the moment. It’s good to see that the price have come down. Now go and grab one and enjoy the awesomeness it provides!
Sony
has recently joined the tablet race, with two distinctly designed
devices – Tablet S and Tablet P- launching in India. Powered with
Android Honeycomb, Sony tablets are fitted with copious features and
applications. The devices are uniquely asymmetric that shift the center of balance to one side. Tablet S looks like a folded magazine. Tablet P comes with a dual screen design
http://india-mobilewatch.blogspot.com/2012/01/sony-joining-tablet-race.html