The touchscreen display is 12.5 inches in diameter, which is a somewhat unusual size these days, most tablets and ultrabooks being either 11.6″ or 13.3″. Another interesting part with the panel is that it offers a full 1920 x 1080 resolution (Full HD), which is also highly unusual for a 12-inch tablet or laptop. This resolution almost puts it on par with Apple’s ultra high-resolution offerings.

Also, the it’s an IPS-type panel, which is more or less a standard in high-end tablets, but still quite rare in regular laptops. The benefits are good color reproduction and very wide viewing angles. It is also very bright and usable outdoors.

The resolution affects the way you work with Windows; using Windows 8 in tablet mode (using the Metro UI) is comfortable, but in desktop mode some menus and text tend to become very small. This is adjustable with scaling, but it does not scale as well as the high-res MacBook Pro, for example.

A compact 1080p display is a premium feature in any event and the excellent clarity and brightness make it stand out from the competition. The overall performance is good, even if it doesn’t break any new barriers. Needless to say it is much faster than the average tablet. Something that helps with the XPS 12′s performance is the speedy SSD that gives it a further edge on the competition.

As for the connectivity options there’s a headphone jack, three USB ports and a mini DisplayPort connector. That’s it, meaning that XPS 12 users will have to make do without an Ethernet port, among other things.

All in all, what the Dell offers is a little bit of everything. The unit tries to be both a regular laptop and a tablet and succeeds fairly well in that task. What really stands out is the high quality display.

Design

The design is easily recognizable from Sony’s previous Tablet S, with the “hump” on the back, but this time around it doesn’t go as far down the cover. It is a somewhat different design compared to most of its competitors and it’s quite agreeable. It makes the tablet tilt it a little bit upwards and makes it even easier to use it as multi remote.

Speaking of which, this is one of the unit’s strengths; Sony has added an app that allows you to use the Tablet S as an infrared remote with lots of different devices, or even learn new devices by programming it – just like a universal remote from manufacturers like Logitech. Support is widespread and especially good if you happen to use Sony products. You can configure the remote in great detail, making this a really useful feature that greatly enhances versatility.

Hardware and Software

Performance-wise you’ll be hard pressed to find any issues with the Xperia S tablet. It’s equipped with a quad-core Tegra 3 processor clocked at 1.3 gigahertz, making it virtually identical to most of the other high-end tablets on the market right now.

The screen (with an IPS panel) is 9.4 inches and offers up good colors and brightness. This is a rather unusual size for an Android tablet, but a good compromise. It does fall a bit short compared to some of the top devices from Asus and Acer in that the resolution is 1280 x 800 pixels, giving it a pixel density of 161 ppi. The full HD (1920×1080) Android tablets and the Retina iPad are well above 200 ppi. In return, the hi-res competitors are significantly more expensive.

Another interesting feature with the S besides the universal remote, is that the tablet has a guest mode, which lets you limit the use of the device when everyone else picks it up. You can choose which apps are allowed to run and getting out of this mode requires a code. In short, a very useful feature when handing it to your kids – or anyone you don’t want accessing your private documents.

Also interesting is that the unit uses standard SD memory cards instead of micro-SD. This is unusual but a welcome feature that keeps the price down on extra storage space, and also allows for more storage.

Conclusion

On the whole, the Xperia Tablet S is an excellent product. Yes, there are tablets with higher-resolution displays, but they are much more expensive. The universal remote feature is a huge plus and the guest mode is an excellent idea that more manufacturers (or Android developers?) should look into.

Xperia Tablet S Price Comparison:
	$299.99
	$399.99
	$399.99

A Quality Pad

Sony says it has taken inspiration from a folded newspaper when they designed the Tablet S. And it’s true that the Tablet S has a comfortable grip, but only as long as you hold it horizontally. Shift it to portrait mode and it suddenly becomes a disadvantage. It’s still not uncomfortable to hold, but the idea of the perfect grip is lost.

The screen is just like the one on the iPad 2 an IPS panel. That means you avoid unattractive problems that occur with cheaper TN panels, where the color changes in various viewing angles. This means that it’s a high quality screen in general, with high resolution, high brightness and accurate colors. It also becomes ideal to view photos and watch movies on.

Playstation Certified Gaming Tablet

In terms of gaming, the processor is a dual core Nvidia Tegra 2, which is the same model found in a majority of last year’s top tablets. It is speedy enough for all sorts of apps and movie playback and also has a really good 3D engine for games. In addition, the Tablet S is of course Playstation certified. What this means exactly is that lots of Playstation and PSP games can be played on it. The games can be downloaded from Sony’s PlayStation Network.

The gaming controls emerge as transparent, virtual buttons in the corners of the screen, as you may have seen in console emulators for android phones. One might have expected these “Playstation tablets” to come with physical gaming buttons like the SonyEricsson Xperia Play smartphone, but no such luck.

Other Features

The Tablet S is sold with either Android 3.1 or 3.2 depending on what version you happen to buy. The older version can however be updated to 3.2 without problems. Sony has added a handful of extra features in the system that may really come in handy; among other things, its own browser loads the text and structure of a site before it loads the images so that navigation will be faster. This isn’t a new idea but it is done well. Another clever addition is an app guide, where Sony offers tips on the most popular and best apps from Android Market’s tens of thousands.

Summary

The main focus for Tablet S seems to be to rake on the role of a media machine, and to a somewhat smaller extent a gaming tablet. You can link it to Sony’s iTunes competitor Entertainment Network, where you can buy music from Sony and all the other big labels. The tablet is also DLNA capable and come with proprietary media apps with a built-in “throw” feature, which means that it finds other DLNA products in the network and can ship the media file there. You drag and drop and the movie (or whatever) begins to play automatically on your TV (if it’s DLNA capable). Other than that, you’ll find a built-in IR transmitter to be used with the included remote control app, to let you control your TV and home theater system right from the tablet. Lots of products are pre-programmed, not just Sony’s own, thankfully, and it is also possible to teach the remote IR-based features at any time.

On the whole we expected more and better gaming features on and in the Tablet S, but it’s still one of the most interesting products on the market right now. We’ll give it an 8/10 score.

Sony Tablet S Prices:
	$328.36
	$399.99

Specifications:

• Processor: Nvidia Tegra 2, 1 GHz
• Graphics: Geforce ULP
• Memory: 1084 MB
• Storage: 16 GB SSD
• Display: 9.4 inch IPS panel 1280 x 800 pixels
• Camera: 5 megapixel rear, 0.3 megapixel front
• Connectivity: Micro USB, docking port, headphone
• Wireless: 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth, IR
• Battery life: Heavy use such as playing games or watching movies – 4 to 5 hours. Light use approximately 8 hours.

Processor: 1 GHz NVIDIA Tegra 2 dual-core
Memory: 32 GB, expandable with Micro SD cards
Screen: 10.1 inch capacitive touch screen, 1280×800 resolution
Camera: 5 mega pixels on the back. 2 megapixel camera in front
Others: Bluetooth, WLAN, GPS
Operating System: Android 3.0
Size: 10.24″ x 6.97″ x 0.52″
Weight: 1.61 lbs

Acer Iconia Tab A500 Prices:
	$395.99
	$409.98

On the one side sits a power button and a mini-HDMI connector, and on the opposite side micro USB as well as full-size USB ports and a jack for the power cord. You can connect accessories such as USB flash drives and keyboards right away, and with a later update it will also be possible to connect a mouse directly to the tablet. The HDMI output is capable of delivering 720p but will – also pending an update – be able to handle 1080p, which the dual-core Tegra chip is certainly capable of.

As usual, the unit comes with a number of pre-installed apps such as an app that will keep track of your social networks, a media player, an ebook reader and some other goodies. The camera can shoot video in 720p, but the quality is not good, whether it’s still images or video. If you happen to be one of probably few users who make frequent use of your tablet for photography, this is one to avoid. On the other hand you’d be hard pressed to locate an Android tablet with great optics.

The display is more than OK; contrast is really good, it has a wide viewing angles and offers clear and sharp images with distinct colors. It is not AMOLED class, but compared to many other Android tablets on the market right now, this is definitely one of the better.

With the dual-core CPU from Nvidia and Android 3.0, the interface flows smoothly and is very responsive. We encountered very few problems with lag. The overall experience is not quite on par with the iPad 2 yet, but Android tablets are getting there. One issue with the video player was that it did not play mkv files, but according to the specifications it should easily be able to handle 720p but you may have to use files with different encoding than mkv.

Compared to its closest competitors, the Iconia Tab A500 is quite affordable. You can currently find it for less than $400, which is a bargain for this device. It has an excellent screen and is generally fast and responsive. The cameras lower the overall impression, but they deliver basic functionality at least. Also, some of the features are missing today but will be offered in future updates. In that way it’s sort of an unfinished product. The bottom line is that the A500 is still a good Android tablet with a very reasonable price tag.

Acer Iconia Tab A500 Prices:
	$395.99
	$409.98

The Transformer runs Android version 3.0 Honeycomb and is totally unique among the competition in that it can function as a normal tablet, while a docking station makes it possible to transform it into a mini laptop with a keyboard. When the keyboard is attached, the Asus Eee Pad Transformer looks like any small laptop and it’s easy to manage the two different parts.

Overview

The tablet component, or laptop screen, is trapped in a hinge on the dock, letting you open and close it as a traditional netbook. Not surprisingly, it looks a lot like Asus’ successful Eee PC series netbooks, and that Asus should this established and successful brand for the Eee Pad was a given. It takes only a few seconds to connect or take apart these two parts, and they both feel sturdy and solidly built. Instead of the Windows key on the keyboard, there’s a button that sends you to the home screen. The tablet part is reasonably lightweight at 680 grams. However, the keyboard part adds about the same weight so if you always carry both around it is much like toting a lightweight laptop.

Battery Life and Features

On the other hand there’s a good reason for the added weight of the keyboard, as it contains a spare battery. This gives you (almost) double up on battery life. Asus claims a 9.5 hour battery life without the dock and 16 hours with the dock attached, which are amazing figures and quite accurate. It easily runs for nine hours without the dock, which is more than the Xoom, and more than 15 hours with the dock.

The 1280×800 resolution screen is an IPS (In-Plane Switching) panel that offers excellent image quality. It is equipped with a camera on the front for video chats and one on the back. In terms of connectivity, it comes with headphone jack, HDMI port and small port for microSD memory cards. Some versions of the transformer will also be equipped with a SIM-card slot for wireless broadband, so you don’t have to depend on Wi-Fi to go online. On the keyboard part there are two USB ports and an SD card slot.

Hardware and Software

Asus’ Eee Pad Transformer is equipped with an Nvidia Tegra 2 dual core processor running at 1 GHz, which offers a very good combination of performance and power-saving features. It is also a popular solution found in several other tablet and one that works great with Android 3.0. The menus are very responsive and it has no problems whatsoever running any games or apps. It’s simple and intuitive, even if it’s not quite as polished as iOS.

All of the usual apps are provided with the Eee Pad Transformer including the standard web browser, YouTube, Android Market and Gmail, as well as music and photo apps that can be accessed directly on the home screen. Since Android is a Google-sponsored operating system, there is unsurprisingly quick access to Google or YouTube searches.

Also included in the Transformer is the Polaris Office suite, which is a good solution that allows you to easily create and edit documents and read PDF files. This is an area where the Eee Pad Transformer really stands out compared to the competition and gives you the impression that you are working on a full-featured netbook or ultraportable laptop. You can use the built-in track pad for your mouse movements or even attach an external mouse.

Summary

Overall, the Asus Eee Pad Transformer is a successful experiment in combining the functionality of a tablet and a netbook or basic ultraportable, and we wouldn’t be surprised to see other manufacturers adopting the concept. It works well and is definitely a worthy alternative to Apple’s iPad 2. There is room for improvement in some features in Android 3.0, such as poor compatibility with Google Apps, which is surprising considering the developer. The availability of Android apps that are capable of providing a full notebook experience is also scarce at this time. Asus really can’t be blamed for either. The Eee Pad Transformer is a well thought-out product–definitely one of the best we’ve seen so far.

The price is currently about $500 for the dock and tablet combination or $400 for the tablet alone. It is also possible to purchase the keyboard dock separately later on, but that is a more expensive option. This is consistently less than the iPad 2 and the full Transformer experience gives you a lot more value for money considering the features.

Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prices:
	$399.98
	$550.00

This resolution is adequate for watching high quality video and works well with gaming applications. It is also a relatively lightweight product at 1.55 pounds; the dimensions are 10.5 x 6.8 x 0.54 inches. Those are attractive figures, particularly the fact that it’s so thin. The 1.3 megapixel camera is suitably positioned for video calls.

It offers an impressive battery life of more than 10 hours from a 3650 mAh battery pack. which is more than you would expect from such a powerful tablet. Speaking of which, the hardware consists of an Nvidia Tegra 2 processor clocked at 1GHz. Furthermore it has 16 GB of internal memory as well as Micro SD and USB slots. Other connectivity include a stereo headphone plug and a power connector.

It operates on Google’s Android 2.2, which is unfortunately not the best for the tablets as it’s primarily designed with smartphones in mind. Therefore it has a hard time competing with Android 3.0, which is built from the ground up for tablets. Experienced users who know how to “root” the system can customize it to their liking, but as for the rest of the population the interface will feel awkward at times and some applications may not look as intended.

The tablet offers support for MS office and PDF documents, which is a welcome addition for the office worker on the move. Other than that it of course include the usual full set of Google apps such as Google calendar and other iGoogle support, which are all nicely integrated into the interface as opposed to some apps that you download from the Android marketplace.

Another positive aspect is its support for Wi-Fi N high speed wireless technology. Thanks to the Tegra 2 processor it can also produce great 3D effects for games and other applications.

Overall this is a good product with powerful hardware, but Android 2.2 falls a bit short compared to some of its competitors including the iPad and Android 3.0-based tablets.

Specifications:
• Tegra 2 Processor.
• 10.1 inch LCD touch screen with 1024×600 resolution.
• Weight: 1.55 pounds
• Micro SD and USB support plus a 1.3 MP Camera.
• Wi-Fi 802.11g , b and n
• Operating System: Android 2.2

Design and Features

Where the iPad has a 9.7-inch screen in 4:3 format, the Xoom has a slightly larger 10.1-inch widescreen with a higher resolution – 1280 x 800 pixels instead of 1024 x 768, which makes the machine better suited for looking at large websites and watching movies on the go.

Other features include stereo speakers and a 5-megapixel camera that allows for video recording in 720p HD resolution. On the side of the device sits buttons to control volume, and the top is a 3.5 mm headphone jack and slots for SIM and MicroSD memory cards. There is only one button on the front as well as a 2-megapixel camera for video chat.

The overall design is not quite as classy as Apple’s offering, but on the whole it looks pretty good and seems to be solidly built.

Motorola hasn’t skimped on the hardware either; the Xoom is equipped with a 1GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of memory and 32GB of storage space. This makes it lightning fast and it reacts instantly to your commands.

Battery life is quite good as well. Not quite on par with the iPad, but close enough. We got almost nine hours out of it while stressing it quite heavily with video streaming and web surfing.

Honeycomb

The top selling point for the Xoom is of course Google’s brand new Android 3.0 operating system, which is developed specifically for tablets. The Android smartphone legacy is still apparent, but the user experience has been greatly improved for the format and takes advantage of the large screen area.

There are virtual buttons for Home and Back, as well as a virtual button that lets you toggle between running apps. On the right hand side you have access to frequently used settings like screen brightness, flight mode and Wi-Fi, and you also receive updates on new emails, chats, software updates and so on.

There are five home screens in total that you can fill with apps and widgets to your heart’s content just like on other Android devices. The widgets are at center stage here and make a great deal more sense on a tablet compared to the tiny screen on a smartphones.

The core functionality of Xoom is Google’s own apps: Gmail, Google Maps, Google Talk and YouTube–all of which work perfectly with Android 3.0. Web browsing is also fantastic. It renders web pages quickly and correctly, and using tabs pages you can let other stuff load in the background. It’s almost like using a full-featured desktop browser.

YouTube is probably the app that has been given the biggest overhaul in Android 3.0. It comes with a simple search feature and quick video playback, even in high definition. Videos appear in a sleek 3D interface and it’s easy to share videos via Facebook or other means.  Google Chat also works great with video chat via Wi-Fi.

Regular Android apps for smartphones also work on Android 3.0, but if they haven’t been somehow tweaked for tablets it’s usually a rather boring experience, simply because they don’t make use of a fraction of the Xoom’s capabilities. Sadly, there are not that many tablet-optimized apps in the Android Market yet, but this is bound to change considering the influx of new Android tablets.

Summary

The Motorola Xoom is not only the first device with Android 3.0, it’s also a well-built machine with exceptionally powerful hardware. One of the issues holding it back so far is the limited range of tablet apps in the Android Market. The Xoom still has great potential, and once we start seeing more Honeycomb devices on the market, there will also be a corresponding increase in the number of apps optimized for the tablet format.

Dell Streak 7 Tech Specs:
Operating System: Android 2.2
Processor: Nvidia Tegra 2
Graphics: Nvidia Tegra 2
Storage: 16GB Flash, SD card slot
Display: 7″ capacitive multi-touch
Resolution: 800 x 480 pixels.
Connectivity/Ports: USB, audio jack
Wireless: 802.11bgn, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, 3G
Camera: 5 mp rear, 1.3 mp front
Warranty / Support: 1 year standard parts and labor
Size: 7.9 x 4.7 x .5 inches
Weight: 1 pound

Dell Streak 7 Prices:
		$449.99
		$599.99

Last fall, Dell released its first tablet, simply called Streak. It came with a 5-inch screen, and it was almost har to tell whether it was a tablet or a new large smartphone. This time there is no doubt; the Streak 7 competes head-on with the likes of Creative’s Ziio and Samsung’s Galaxy Tab. It runs Android 2.2, and Dell has promised to push out a Honeycomb update when it becomes available.

Features

Streak 7 is built on Nvidia’s Tegra 2 platform, which is one of the fastest processor/graphics combination for mobile purposes, with really good performance in both cases that can handle more advanced mobile applications and demanding video. You will find the Android controls at the side of the screen in the form of three touch buttons.

The device has two cameras – one on the back is with five megapixels and on in the front at 1.2 mega-pixels, primarily intended for video chats. Using the Streak 7 in landscape mode gives you stereo sound from speakers on either side.

Reviews

The Good: The general sentiment is that the Dell Streak 7 is a well-built tablet, with a casing that competes with the Galaxy Tab in terms of design and quality feel. As expected, performance is also one of the areas in which the Streak 7 shines, thanks to the brand new Nvidia Tegra 2 platform. Engadget notes that it appears to be running at 800MHz, though, but Dell explains that this is merely a power-saving feature.

About the interface, reviewers point out that it is basically the original Android, but Dell has added a bunch of proprietary widgets that turns the main screens into hubs for software management, media, social networks and so on. Obviously you can also add other apps and widgets to suit your taste. It also has an unusually large number of apps preinstalled, including fully functional Office software.

The Bad: However, in some aspects it stands out in a negative way – not least for its poor battery life. Although it’s not disastrously short, the battery life in the Dell Streak falls far behind many of its competitors. LaptopMag got only 3 hours and 48 minutes out of it while surfing the web over mobile broadband, and 4:13 when switching to WiFi. That’s more than two hours less than the average tablet.

That means that you charge charge it daily if you use it regularly, which is made more annoying since the device uses a separate, non-standard cable for charging instead of the usual USB.

The Ugly: Another major disappointment appears to be the display. Not only the fact that the 800×480 resolution is relatively low, but also that it’s a rather dim, low-end TN panel with narrow viewing angles. It also lacks HDMI or other means of hooking it up to a larger screen. The consensus view is that the iPad’s and Galaxy Tab’s high resolution screens are considerably better.

All in all, most reviews put the Dell Streak 7 below the average in the tablet category. Although it offers a lot of build quality and potential in some areas, such as the fast processor and graphics, the negative aspects are also prominent in the reviews.