Sony announces super slim, quad-core Xperia Tablet Z

By Andy Boxall January 21, 2013

Check out our review of the Sony Xperia Tablet Z.

The rumors surrounding a new Sony Android tablet were on the money, as the company has announced the Xperia Tablet Z, a device to which we were only recently introduced and few expected to be made official before Mobile World Congress. Sony has a good reason not to save the Xperia Tablet Z for MWC though, as so far it only lined up a Japanese release.

Sony has abandoned the unusual, folded paper-style design seen on the Xperia Tablet S, deciding instead to make the Xperia Tablet Z a more traditional slate with an extremely thin profile. It measures just 6.9mm thick, which is noticeably slimmer than the 9.4mm thick iPad and 8.9mm Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1; plus at 495 grams, it’s at least 100 grams lighter than both its primary rivals.

The screen measures 10.1-inches and has an impressive resolution of 1920 x 1200. Billed as a Reality Display it uses Sony’s Mobile Bravia Engine 2, a feature introduced on the new Xperia Z, Xperia ZL and Xperia V smartphones. which enhances contrast, sharpness, colors and brightness while reducing noise on still photos and video.

A quad-core, 1.5GHz processor powers the Xperia Tablet Z and although it’s not stated in the brief press release, it’s most likely the same Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro used in the Xperia Z phone. Previous Sony tablets have used Nvidia’s Tegra chip. The tablet is water and dust proof, plus it’s also equipped with an 8.1-megapixel camera, NFC, LTE connectivity, S-Force surround sound and Android 4.1 Jelly Bean as its operating system.

Sony will release the Xperia Tablet Z in Japan in the spring, but no exact date has been provided, and the price remains unknown too. Despite announcing it before MWC, the tablet should still be at the show, when Sony may pleasantly surprise us all by providing an international release date. Sony’s announcement of the Xperia Tablet Z follows the unveiling of the Xperia Z smartphone at CES 2013.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Android
Sony

Senior Mobile Writer

Andy is a Senior Writer at Digital Trends, where he concentrates on mobile technology, a subject he has written about for…

Mobile

Here’s everything we know about the upcoming Sony Xperia XZ4

Trademark hints next Sony smartphone will have a massive cinematic screen

sony xperia xz3 pocket

The curvy Sony Xperia XZ2 and the Xperia XZ3 marked radical shifts in design for Sony, which had been releasing somewhat dated-looking phones up until then. Now, it looks like the company is prepping a follow-up to the Xperia XZ3, likely to be called the Sony Xperia XZ4, and it may do something different with the look once more.

Interested in the Sony Xperia XZ4? Here's everything you need to know.
Design and display
While it's not been that long since Sony redesigned the Xperia range, we're still expecting some changes in the design of the XZ4 range. Most notably, it's becoming increasingly likely an XZ4 phone will come with a 21:9 aspect ratio screen. This is much taller and thinner than we're used to. A trademark application from Sony reveals the new screen type may be called CinemaWide. Leaks about the display allege the 21:9 aspect ratio OLED panel will measure 6.5-inches with a QHD+ 3360 x 1440 resolution. This format has the potential to make the XZ4 the ideal device for watching movies and TV on the go.

Mobile

Google just redesigned one of its biggest apps, and it’s bad

Google Chat app on the Play Store.

Google Chat — Google's business-oriented messaging platform that is similar to Slack and Microsoft Teams — just got a big update for its Android and iOS apps. The update dramatically changes how you navigate the app and, uh, well, it sure is something.

Google Chat's mobile app used to be broken up into two pages: Chat (direct messages between you and other users) and Spaces (larger chat rooms for multiple people). As with most apps, you switched between these with a navigation bar at the bottom of your screen.

Mobile

The Pixel Watch 2 just got a feature it should have launched with

The Google Pixel Watch 2 resting on a stone fireplace.

Google has heard everyone’s demands and has given in to a highly requested feature that should have already been a thing with the Google Pixel Watch 2: a fully charged notification. Yes, that’s right — you’ll now get a notification on your Android phone when your Pixel Watch 2 is fully charged. Hallelujah!

This new feature should be available starting today via the Pixel Watch app on version 2.1.0.576785526. Google did not formally announce this feature, so it seems to be rolled out quietly (and was first spotted by Android Authority).