The best Sony tablets. The best Sony tablets Advantages and problems of Sony Tablet P

I have already reviewed a tablet from Sony - Sony Tablet S. The device was a more or less standard Android tablet, but it had an original shape and a specially modified shell with applications. However, Sony released not only the Tablet S. Some time after the release Sony Tablet

S another model came out, and it was very, very original, I would even say unique. This is Sony Tablet P - a kind of clamshell tablet. I saw it at the IFA-2011 exhibition and then I thought that it would be interesting to see in detail what it is. And so he came to me for review, thanks to Sony, so we’ll study him now.

Equipment

It comes in a box like this. Package, Equipment: tablet, power adapter

- 372 g The processor is excellent - the same as in the Sony Tablet S.

Nokia phones

When opened, the tablet, accordingly, doubles in size.

Opened tablet

Well, to compare the scale - an iPhone against the background (i-phone) of a tablet.

iPhone on the background

The front side is all black-r-r-very black! When fully opened, the tablet is fixed - this is convenient.

Front side

The finish, as usual from Sony, is good: black glossy plastic, silver plastic lid. The bottom cover is removed (there you need to press two oblong buttons), and the battery compartment and memory card slot open there.

Open back cover

The top cover is also removable (you need to slide it) - under it you will find a slot for a SIM card.

In general, I must say that the design and slots for memory cards and SIM cards are very well thought out from a purely structural point of view.

Top cover and SIM card

On the right side there is a power button, an output for a power adapter, microUSB under a special cover and keys for adjusting the sound level. The headphone output is on the bottom right at the beveled end.

Right end - Android 3.2.1 (Honeycomb) In general, the device turned out to be really very compact - slightly larger than a regular eyeglass case. You can throw it into your bag without any problems, or even into your purse. There are no control keys here - the device has a third Android installed, all of which have on-screen keys. TrueBlack display (Sony proprietary technology) on an IPS matrix with LED backlight and capacitive sensor. The brightness is good - even on a sunny day outside, the screen fades very slightly (but not in direct sun, of course). Horizontal viewing angles are also decent - brightness and contrast drop slightly. Vertical angles are worse - even at small angles of inclination the contrast drops somewhat, and most importantly, it changes Color tone towards yellowness. And it's not very pleasant when you use a device that is open at an angle. The sensitivity of the display is very good - it clearly responds to both single touches and multi-touch. Device operation

First, let's talk about the features of the dual-display implementation.

This solution has both its pros and cons. Pros - It's very convenient to work with the on-screen keyboard in applications that use it. This one is just brilliant! You put the screens at an angle, look at the top display, type on the bottom - great!, displaying a spread of pages, then it is very convenient to read in portrait mode, when the tablet itself splits the book into two pages.

Book reading

Some applications divide the screen into two parts - for example, a video player displays a movie on top, and a control panel on the bottom.

Video player

"Android.Market" displays the website at the top, and control buttons and a notification area at the bottom.

Android.Market

Well, there are applications that cut almost to the living, and this is already particularly inconvenient.

Here, for example, is viewing a photo in a gallery.

View photos

And here is my page in the browser.

My page in the browser When the image is divided into two parts live, despite the dividing strip, no loss of part of the screen information occurs - Sony did the joining of the two screens with excellent accuracy: one pixel ends at the bottom edge of the first screen, and exactly the next pixel ends at the top edge of the second screen . And the image scrolls between them without any jerks - exactly pixel by pixel. By the way, it should be noted that this interesting tablet shape for use in landscape orientation does not require any covers or stands: the tablet stands on its own on the surface - just like a laptop. Well, now let's see how everything looks from the point of view software . I must say right away that the support for the Sony Tablet P is very similar to the support for the Sony Tablet S, which I have already written about in detail. Therefore, for details, I refer you to the review of Sony Tablet S, but here we will go over, so to speak, in coarse grinding, stopping only at specific features

two-screen implementation. The main desktop is with PlayStation 3 style icons.

Main desktop

First desktop

Third desktop

Installed applications.

Installed applications

There are thirty-one applications here, and thirty-seven on the Sony Tablet S. The Favorites section is slightly different from the Tablet S: it is split horizontally into two windows.

"Favorites" section

The keyboard here is of its own - very, in my opinion, comfortable.

Russian layout

English layout

On the gray arrow keys there are various submenus with symbols.

Submenu by point

In some modes where you need to enter numbers, a fifth row with numbers also appears - this is well thought out.

Fifth row

The browser is displayed on two screens at once, and it is not very convenient to use (I showed above how the browser is divided into two parts).

Using mail is convenient. Typing text is generally excellent, and viewing letters on two screens is laid out as it should be: on the top screen you can view the letter, on the bottom there is a list of headers.

Letter set

The audio player folds out onto two screens without any problems: on top - the cover and the player, on the bottom - the covers and sorting.

Player

Photos with preview on two screens: on top - photo, below - preview. Inconveniences arise only when the photo is displayed on both screens at once.

Gallery

Regular games are displayed on the top half of the screen.

Angry Birds

Special games from Sony PlayStation 3 - the image is on the top half, and the bottom half displays game controller(gamepad).

By the way, this is convenient.

Game for Sony PlayStation 3

Contacts are also organized into two screens - a list at the top and detailed data for the selected contact at the bottom.

Contacts

In Sony's special application store you can download programs from various sections.

App Store

Maps are displayed on two screens at once.

The camera on the top screen shows a gallery of pictures taken, on the bottom - the frame and settings.

Camera interface Autofocus is slow - about two seconds, but rarely misses. I liked that automatic balance

white works very well - in tablets and phones there are often serious problems with this. Here are some photos as is, without processing - when clicked, the images open at 1280 pixels.

Sample photos But the video is taken lousy - the image is very “noisy” and blurred when moving. Decent results can only be obtained outdoors in soft but good lighting. Time battery life) and completely indulge in the realm of pure fantasy, giving out deliberate nonsense, I quote: “The capacity of the built-in battery is 3080 mAh, which allows the tablet to work for a long time without recharging. For example, if you watch movies at a brightness of 65%, the operating life will be from 10 to 11 hours, and the network surfing time with the same indicators is at least 8 hours." Yes, exactly, if you watch movies - at least 10-11 hours. Why not 30? Fantasize - in a big way! Took my own standardized tests. I usually don't see the point in testing battery performance at maximum brightness, at minimum brightness, and so on. I (and most users) are interested in purely practical operating time, and not in the series “how long can it last if almost nothing is visible on the display” or “how long will it last at full brightness, which hurts the eyes.” That's why I always conduct battery performance tests more or less the same way. The brightness is set to automatic or, in some cases, to the usual comfortable level. (Not available on all devices Android automatic the adjustment works fine.) And the device is tested in the following modes: normal work with Wi-Fi on various applications, Internet surfing, reading, watching videos. This, in my opinion, is quite enough to get an impression of the real battery life. 1. Active use tablet on automatic brightness(Wi-Fi, surfing, launching applications, watching videos) - “have fun to the fullest” mode. It turned out to be about five hours. 2. Internet surfing at automatic screen brightness - approximately six hours. (For comparison, Sony Tablet S - six hours, Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 - ten hours, iPad 2 - almost eleven hours.) 3. Watch video- four o'clock. Compare this to claims that this tablet can show 10-11 hours of video. But in general - not bad. The device is still small, the battery is small, and the screen is not so miniature, so I rate the results of battery life somewhere around a four with a minus. Yes, it should be noted that to fully charge the battery from the adapter (there are no other options; the tablet will not charge from USB at all) it will take at least seven and a half hours! At first I thought that I had received such a unique specimen, but then I read in the specifications for the device that this is exactly the charging duration required. Features during operation The tablet's performance is good, I didn't notice any slowdowns. The only thing is that for some reason the tablet very slowly comes out of normal sleep mode when opening or pressing the power button: as much as three seconds pass, at first I thought several times that the button simply did not work, and pressed it again. According to the Quadrant program, the performance index is 1874 - this is decent. For comparison, Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 - 1993, Motorola XOOM - 1926. Price Despite certain, and quite expected, shortcomings associated with dividing the display into two parts, the device turned out to be interesting and has clear advantages. First of all, it is compact and light. A full-fledged tablet with a total screen size of 125 × 106 mm, a weight almost as big as a communicator (372 grams) and a size slightly larger than a long wallet - this is an excellent option in situations where compactness is most important. Most of all, such a device can please lovely ladies who have never been able to fit even a seven-inch tablet into their reticule, let alone a ten-inch one - there will definitely be no problems with this. But for men, such a device can also be useful in cases where you can only take a purse with you, but you really want to have a tablet at hand. Yes, the cost of the device is not enough to buy it “just in case.” However, the characteristics of the tablet cannot be considered cheap.

Therefore, if you want comfort, you will have to pay, nothing can be done. Well, I must say that the applications on the Tablet P turned out to be better suited for use with two screens than I expected. There are, of course, some inconveniences (especially with the browser and maps), but at the same time there are clear advantages of this form factor. In general, I liked it.

Interesting, unusual and, apparently, purely practically - quite applicable.

Sony is a company that always tries to surprise. However, this does not mean that all their findings were implemented in the best possible way. But nevertheless, in the portfolio of the Japanese giant there are such masterpieces and representatives of the classics that only for them it would be worth respecting and appreciating the concepts and mass products it presented. Many are unhappy that the company offers inflated prices, without hesitation to include a “tip” for eccentricity. But despite this, interest in the brand has been stable for several decades. Sony Tablet P: review of a unique clamshell tablet When the P series tablets were introduced to consumers, many experts expressed concerns about the viability of such solutions. This is due, first of all, to a feeling of déjà vu: micro-notebooks of the P series of the same name appeared and disappeared, as if they had never existed. Apparently, the problem lay in a very specific view of development

Sony Tablet P

Appearance. When folded, the tablet looks more like a pencil case, a small case or an eyeglass case. However, the strict Sony inscription and the camera lens immediately emphasize its belonging to the world of high-tech. The new device looks very, very attractive. The “cover” is made of gray metallic material. The ends: right and left and the “spine” are made of glossy black plastic. There is a small recess in the middle for a comfortable grip with your fingers when opening. At the same time, there is a protrusion on the back side, which is convenient to rest your thumb on when opening the tablet. There are feet on the bottom to prevent the device from scratching or sliding when typing. The weight of the tablet is 372 grams. Dimensions when opened: 15.8 x 8 x 1.4 cm.

Control devices.

On the right side, in the “keyboard” part, there is a volume rocker, a micro-USB connector, hidden behind a plug made of the same material, and therefore not conspicuous. Then - the power connector. The device is charged only from an adapter with a round plug. The power supply itself is small; a cord comes from it, tightly soldered to the device itself, but the power cable (from the adapter to the outlet) can be disconnected.

As a result, in a work environment the outlet can be reached in any conditions. Otherwise Lately Manufacturers began to save even on the length of the wire, which led to discomfort for owners of tablets of some brands.

Folded condition Sony Tablet P looks very compact

Nearby there is a button for forced on/off of the device. The tablet also automatically starts working when opened more than 45 degrees. This is very convenient if you do not want to “shine” information, but you still need to periodically check the data on the display. Accordingly, when closed, the device turns off. We must immediately make a reservation that the Sony Tablet P does not turn on instantly, you need to get used to it.

Next to the power supply there is a small multi-colored LED indicator. When the battery level is low, it lights up bright red alarmingly, and when fully charged, the color changes to green. During charging, the indicator is bright orange. Another color indicator, in the form of a long strip, is located on the front panel under the opening recess. It lights up and flashes green, which may indicate that a message has arrived or a calendar event has been activated. The indicator is another “kawaii” thing (kawaii means “cute” in Japanese) that we already miss. Other manufacturers - take up the baton!

Connector for standard 3.5 mm. headphones or a headset is placed on the front edge of the bottom of the tablet, at the very right edge, so as not to interfere with typing.

Interfaces and physical buttons of Sony Tablet P are collected on the right side

Displays

Sony Tablet P is equipped with two five and a half inch screens. The resolution of each is 1024x480. But you have to understand that in the end you don’t get an eleven-inch tablet. Firstly, the combined screen is almost square. And also between the screens when fully open there is a gap from the frames. It's not that small. Minimum 8.75 mm.

The screen is made using TruBlack technology, which provides it with sufficient contrast and good color reproduction. The backlight brightness reserve is also not satisfactory. The screen goes blind in the sun, but making out black on white (for example, a letter) is not difficult.

Due to the fact that the Sony Tablet P has two, almost independent screens, many applications do not immediately understand how to work. First, they are launched on one of the screens. And what joy is it to use an application on a display that is smaller than some modern smartphones? Pleasure is below average. To do this, in the Android interface, on the bottom command line, next to the battery level and calling settings, there is an icon that makes the application work in full screen mode. True, when you click on it, the application ends, without any warnings. It feels like you just “fell out” of the program. However, the next time you start it, the program will start on two screens. Again, this doesn't happen with all apps. And in some games it makes virtually no sense. In the same famous “Angry Birds”, the entire upper screen is occupied by a stretched sky, and the action takes place on the lower screen.

Sony Tablet P's two screens struggle to merge into one

In principle, you can run almost any application presented on Google Play. The only question is how comfortable it will be to use it with this screen configuration. As for the speed of work, everything is good here, even in heavy office applications the work goes smoothly. It should also be noted that, despite the presence of two displays, there are no problems with synchronizing their joint work.

Processor and memory

Built on an nVidia Tegra 2 processor, as everyone already knows, this is a dual-core solution. Each core operates at 1 GHz. And most importantly, the chipset provides decent graphics capabilities that allow you to work quite quickly with simple 3D graphics. This is just enough for mobile platform, with not the highest resolution. The chip also handles high-definition video.

Given the screen resolution, the need to run video at 1080p seems a bit far-fetched to us. Still, you are unlikely to look at an image stretched vertically, and also with a gap in the middle. Therefore, all that remains is to watch the video on one of the screens. And there the resolution cannot possibly exceed 480 vertical pixels. So is it worth loading the processor and, accordingly, the battery with heavier videos?

Watching videos and playing games is possible only on one of the Sony screens Tablet P

The tablet has a full-fledged GPS module built into it, so the device can be used as a navigator. But again, the gap between the screens may make you disappointed in this navigation solution.

Sony Tablet P is equipped with one gigabyte random access memory. 4 GB is provided for storing programs and content. However, the capacity can be expanded with an additional card. The expansion slot is located next to the battery under the removable bottom cover. True, there can be no talk of any “hot” replacement; to install and change a memory card, you need to remove the battery. When the power is connected, the operation of changing the memory card takes place even without turning off the device. Both micro SD cards and high-capacity micro SDHC cards are supported.

Wireless interfaces include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and 3G. Connector for full-size SIM card located in the upper half of the tablet, under the lid. By the way, in order to remove both the lower and upper covers you will have to sweat. They themselves are made of very thin plastic - it is very dangerous to damage them.

The hinges of the Sony Tablet P are quite tight and hold their shape

You can't help but dwell on the interface. Sony has always been careful about the design of its products, be it the interface or a set of the “right” accessories. So it is in the situation with the Sony Tablet P - the first glance rejoices at the laconic and stylish surroundings of the working screen. All icons have been redrawn and depicted in the same color and style. Icons are consistent with the desktop background. Colors “catch” the eye. However, soon, if you start working with the tablet, all the harmony will break into small fragments. Icons third party manufacturers, alas, they know nothing about the idea of ​​the Japanese interface engineers. And soon, between the original labels, various bright pictograms will be scattered, destroying the original harmony.

The left side of the Sony Tablet P is absolutely smooth

The player is superbly rendered. The top screen displays the cover of the current track or album, as well as the main controls and the “progress bar” of the song. The most interesting thing is on the bottom screen, where, in addition to several playback modes, the covers of your entire music collection are scattered across the working screen. They can be shuffled around the field, rotated, zoomed in and out, and naturally launched into playback. Of course, the player works even when closed. True, playback control in this state is impossible.

The camera is also implemented non-standardly. The bottom screen becomes the working area of ​​the viewfinder. All camera controls are located on it. From this point of view, everything is normal for the camera. There are various shooting modes, white balance settings, digital zoom, and the ability to attach “geo-tags” to the image. A separate mode, in addition to photo and video shooting, includes the ability to create photo panoramas. On the top screen there are stencils stylized as film, into which thumbnails of the latest photos and still frames of video clips are inserted.

Sony Tablet P is comfortable to hold in your hand

Also, we can’t help but dwell on one more application written specifically for this version of the tablet. From the name Reader it is immediately clear that this is a program for reading books. Moreover, the program skillfully plays with the design of the device itself. That is, the Sony Tablet P turns into a real open book: a page of text is displayed on each screen. This is a godsend for those who yearn for traditional reading. The only thing that could be wished for is additional animation when flipping, which is so mesmerizing in the original version of the Apple developer. Another additional advantage of the program is reading the ePub format, without any conversion. Books can be downloaded directly from the Internet. Reader automatically picks them up directly from the Download folder.

Support for three-dimensional games from the legacy of the PlayStation universe is also declared. Moreover, the game Crash Bandicoot was initially loaded onto the tablet. The controls are located on the bottom screen. That is, when playing, your fingers do not cover the game scene. But this is the main complaint about modern games, adaptable to the tablet. In many ways, gameplay on tablets is determined by controls. However, based on the example of the presented game, it becomes obvious that touch buttons will never replace analog. Fingers slip and miss. And the triggers and other keys are still displayed on the working screen with the game. It would be more logical to imagine racing in this capacity, where it is possible to smoothly control the touch steering wheel, carefully guiding the racing car through difficult turns. Moreover, Sony has such an immortal game series in its assets - Gran Turismo, with a countless host of digital indexes and consoles.

The color range of the Sony Tablet P case is quite diverse

Cameras

There are two cameras. One is external, its resolution is 5 megapixels, there is no flash module. There is no way to use it when it is closed, but it would be possible to “hang” the launch and shooting buttons on the volume buttons. Although, of course, you can’t do artistic photography with a tablet. It's just inconvenient. Color rendering and noise level, in the absence of sufficient lighting, contribute to the resulting result. It’s not even certain that a miniature light source would improve the situation.

The internal camera has a resolution of 0.3 megapixels and is intended only for VoIP conversations.

Sony Tablet P and "big brother"

Battery

The tablet is equipped with a removable battery with a capacity of 3080 mAh. In principle, this charge should last for a long time. Moreover, you can’t really play 3D games on such a tablet, and you can’t watch videos either. And in standby mode, the Sony Tablet P shows very good results. Especially if you play around with the energy saving settings. Our only complaint would be that for a long time charging. However, given the convenient charging device, there is no problem leaving it charging overnight.

Original Sony Tablet P packaging

Price

The device is definitely not without charm. The style of the tablet echoes the design of micronotebooks of the same series. And if you value the aesthetics of these devices, why not pay tribute to the new incarnation of a successful concept? The Sony Tablet P is also suitable for those who are not tied to certain full-screen Android applications and are willing to accept the compromises imposed by the design of the device. Let us repeat, the Sony Tablet P is interesting, productive and inimitable, which has always been valued by true aesthetes.

An example of taking a photo with a camera Sony tablet Tablet P

The main camera also supports video recording in a resolution of 1280x720 pixels. In addition, there is an auxiliary camera located on the top screen. Its main purpose is video calls via Skype. It copes with this perfectly, despite the modest resolution of 0.3 megapixels.

Functionality

The Tablet P's hardware platform is typical of the tablets announced last year - it's the NVIDIA Tegra 2. This chip is well known to us from other Android tablets and, in principle, many have at least an approximate idea of ​​what kind of performance it provides. The RAM capacity is 1 gigabyte, and the data storage array has a capacity of 4 GB. For installation basic set programs and storing a small collection of music - this is quite enough, and for those who want to have their favorite TV series, photographs or library at hand e-books There is an expansion slot that supports cards up to 32 GB.

The OS is Android 3.2.1. However, not so long ago Sony expressed its intention to release an update for the Tablet P to the more current fourth version, Ice Cream Sandwich. Generally Android shell has been preserved without significant changes, there are additions to the design and interface.

The autonomy of the tablet was somewhat surprising - it rather resembles the possible operating time of top smartphones. If you use the device periodically, it will discharge during the day. When actively using it, it will require connecting the power source literally after 4-5 hours. In our opinion, this is too much to pay for compactness.

One of the most interesting aspects of the Tablet P is the placement of images on its displays. They can operate in several modes. The most common option was the shared display, when one picture and one running application are shown on two displays. The black plastic strip separating the clamshell doors makes it difficult to perceive the image, splitting it into two parts - unfortunately, it is impossible to get rid of this.

A more convenient option, of course, is to separate the images on the displays. This may include displaying different programs on each individual display. Unfortunately, this feature is not provided for all installed programs. Since the Tablet P is a relatively new model and also very specific, one can hardly hope that the developers third party programs everyone will rush to implement support for dual-screen mode.

The Japanese know how to surprise like no other, and Sony company a vivid example of this. Their brainchild, the Sony Tablet P, may not impress the sophisticated Japanese public, but for me, getting to know this original device was unforgettable. The decision to purchase such an unusual tablet, to be honest, seemed somewhat risky. And, to be honest, I didn’t have to regret it. But first things first.

Amazing design and powerful battery

Double screen and proprietary software

My greatest concern was the joint operation of two screens, and as it turned out, it was in vain. No information is lost at the interface, synchronization is impeccable. For some, the inability to watch a movie on two screens at once, as on one, will be a minus. For me this did not become a serious problem, especially since the flash video is still divided into two halves.

The tablet runs on the Android 3.2 platform. Sony, for its part, has developed its own standard programs: browser, media players, calendar, Post service, gallery and more. In addition, the Japanese equipped the tablet with pre-installed software that is not found on similar devices.

Sony has multimedia as always full order. The software allows you to do quite a lot when working with video, and listening to music leaves a very pleasant impression. Also worth noting convenient program DLNA to work with home network and the ability to post photos and videos for free on cloud service Personal Space.

Sony Tablet P

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Conclusion