Sony Officially Annouces Two New Tablets (S1 & S2) Powered by Android 3.0 Honeycomb

Sony has now officially announced two new tablets; which were initially buzzed around the web in February this year and tablet fanatics were anxiously waiting for the rumors to turn into reality. 

The two tablets are called the S1 and S2 with the S1 having a 9.4 inch screen. The S2 has dual 5.5 inch screens which can be used as separate screens, or as a larger single screen if desired. It’s also worth mentioning that the S1 and S2 names are not the launch names and instead are just the code-names being currently used by Sony.

The operating system running on each tablet will be Android 3.0 Honeycomb although this will be customized to suit the PlayStation integration seen on some Sony Ericsson devices recently.

Each is capable of connecting to WiFi and up to 3G and 4G networks.

“Android 3.0 is a new version of the Android platform with a new holographic user interface that is designed from the ground up for devices with larger screen sizes, particularly tablets. I’m excited about “Sony Tablet” as it will further spur the development of applications and network offerings which users are looking for,” said Andy Rubin, Senior Vice President, Mobile, Google Inc.

The S1 is unique in that it has an off-center of gravity that makes it feel more stable and lighter to hold.

Pricing hasn’t been made known just yet, but a release date of fall 2011 will be when you can pick one of these tablets up.

Specifications and Images Leaked Just Before the Launch of Sony PSP2

 

Is that the Sony PSP2 reportedly set to be unveiled in two days? The hardware certainly looks like images we've seen in the past, and the inclusion of the stylus backs up those recent rumors we've heard about a touchscreen on the device--though, frankly, I think we'd all be surprised is the thing didn't rock the old touchscreen. The console image also squares with rumors that the PSP2 will support dual analog nubs.

 

 The inclusion of the SD card and PSP2-branded memory stick are in-line with the likely rumors that such a device would abandon the proprietary UMD format that nobody outside of Sony ever really seemed to like.

 

As Kotaku (who first got ahold of the image) points out, the shot is pretty low-res, meaning that, if it did indeed come from Sony, it's likely not "official art," so much as something pulled off an internal memo.

Adds Kotaku,

The buttons and the d-pad look to be at a slightly different resolution. The copyright in the bottom left, which appears on official Sony images, is cut off, too. Likewise, odd. However, as mentioned above, this purported PSP2 image could be photo taken of official Sony art or of an official Sony handout, hence these resolution inconsistencies.