Sony’s water resistant Xperia Tablet Z now available for pre-order

By Joshua Pramis April 29, 2013

Check out our review of the Sony Xperia Tablet Z.

Have you been waiting with bated breath for Sony’s latest tablet, the Xperia Tablet Z, to finally hit the market? Well, the wait is almost over. As Sony reported on its blog a few days ago, the device is now available for pre-order in the U.S.

Aren’t sure if the Xperia is right for you? Not too long ago we got our hands on it and had the chance to play play around. Here’s what you can expect to find:

The design duplicated the sleek, simple look of the Xperia Z smartphone, which we loved. The 10.1-inch tablet is super thin — just 6.9mm thick — and extremely lightweight, at 495g. Out of the box, it will feature Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, use a 1.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro, and come with 2GB RAM. It sports a 1920 x 1200 pixel screen, which perfectly complements its 8-megapixel rear-facing and 2-megapixel front-facing cameras. When we tried it out, the camera shutter was quick to focus and snap a shot, and photos were sharp. (Though we do wish we had the opportunity to try it out in a lower light setting.)

Another cool feature is the NFC pairing: simply tap the tablet to a Sony speaker and it instantly syncs, letting you enjoy all your favorite music the way it was meant to be heard. To boot, the device is water resistant, so if you find yourself caught in a freak downpour with no means to cover up your tablet, you shouldn’t have to worry.

The tablet sells for $500 for 16GB and $600 for the 32GB model. The smaller model comes in black only, while the larger model also has a white option. If you order the white Xperia before May 24 (which is when the tablets are expected to begin shipping), you’ll be given a free cradle to go along with it.

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