On the other hand, even the best iPads and Android tablets cannot replace my Windows-based laptop computer. Like many, I do work on my computer. In fact I can't work without my computer. As much as I like the convenience of the current tablets, none of them comes even close to giving me the whole spectrum of business software applications and the ecosystem. This is not a complaint against a computing device that costs less than $500. It is just a statement of reality.
To name a few of PC software and system tools that lack a reasonable substitute on either iOS or Android: (1) sophisticated file system management (local, LAN and cloud), (2) the Office system (beyond Word, including PowerPoint, Excel), (3) NaturallySpeaking Pro (business-grade full-text speech recognition), (4) image editing and other multimedia creation and editing programs (such as Photoshop), (5) OneNote, (6) Microsoft's unmatched handwriting recognition, (7) Visio (vector drawing software), and (8) CRM, QuickBooks, business databases and other professional software. To me, a computer for work has to have almost all of these capabilities. I'm waiting for the Windows 8 tablet to come out to replace my laptop for this purpose (more about this at the end of this review).
But this review is not a fight between Windows and iOS/Android (which are frankly entirely different leagues serving different purposes). It's just some thoughts of a happy consumer with regard to a good product.
In the following, I will list and comment on some major aspects of Sony S1, starting with the ones that distinguish Sony S1 from the crowd the most, and ones that I personally think are more important.
In addition, the way Sony designed this tablet beems with quality and even pride. Once you have seen and held a Sony S1, a rare gleam of hope arises: finally a tablet that is not just trying to emulate the iPads. I don't hate iPads. I just want to see some freedom to break away from the "Apple Way" and good choices other than Apple products. So a tablet like Sony S1 gives me a bit of extra satisfaction other than its just being a good product. Call me biased. But I'm entitled to my opinion.
UNIQUE FUNCTIONALITIES:
Although the Sony S1 tablet is based on Android Honeycomb, Sony introduced a few very unique features. The first interesting one is that the tablet works as a universal remote control, not only to Sony TVs but also electronics of other brands. I haven't tried this yet, but in theory, once they have that infrared sensor built in, they could make it work as a truly powerful universal control with good software implementation.
Another feature is that the Sony S1 has DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) for streaming contents directly to a DLNA capable TV. Considering that newer TVs and many other home electronics are increasingly becoming "DLNA certified" as a matter of standard now, this is a good thing.
In addition, Sony is pitching its tablet as a PlayStation-certified tablet. I really don't know how much it means in terms of its integration with the PlayStation gaming system as I'm not a gamer. But one can expect better gaming performance than other Android tablets.
These unique features reflect Sony's expertise in entertainment. They are capable of making a particularly strong showing in the area of multimedia entertainment. The Sony S1 is a convincing proof. This could be a differentiator for Sony tablets.
THE DISPLAY:
The Sony uses a very high quality 9.4 inch IPS screen with 1280x800 pixels. The resolution matches the resolution of Galaxy Tab 10.1, and betters the 1028x768 of iPad 2.
However, the displays of these tablets all disappoint me in terms of resolution. One of things that I do often on a tablet is to read documents in a vertical (portrait) orientation. If you have done that a lot, you might have noticed that a minimum 900 pixels are absolutely necessary to read a full page document (especially a PDF document) without zooming and horizontal scrolling. Unlike vertical scrolling which you do only once after reading a whole page, horizontal scrolling has to be done every single line when it is necessary. This difference has a huge impact on work efficiency and reading comfortableness, yet none of these manufacturers are paying attention to this. I guess they're just too much focused on the entertaining part.
I may be asking too much, considering that 1366x800 seems to be the present maximum resolution of laptops under 13.1 inches. But once the tablets have created the freedom of vertical viewing (especially reading documents in portrait orientation), the need for more than 900 pixels in the width (when viewed vertically) became very prominent. For other purposes, the difference between 900 and 800 pixels is only a bit over 10%, but for vertical viewing of documents, reaching 900 pixels and beyond makes a qualitatively critical difference. It is a different class. Anything less than 900 pixels really no longer matters that much because you are required to do horizontal scrolling anyway.
If you set the document viewing at 90% zooming, 800 pixels would work for full-width page viewing. So in this respect, Sony S1 and Galaxy Tab 10.1 are better than iPad 2, but not class-changing.
THE PROCESSOR & RAM:
Sony S1 uses Nvidia Tegra 2 dual-core processor 1 Ghz, comparable to iPad 2 and seems identical to Galaxy Tab 10.1. Sony S1 has 1G RAM, same as Galaxy Tab 10.1, double the iPad. But I doubt you can tell any difference in practical terms during operation. Nothing stands out here.
THE MEMORY:
Sony has 16G and 32G options. I did not see a 64G option listed. I personally don't need more than 16G, because I don't see myself installing a ton of apps. Ironically, of the hundreds of thousands apps, I could find no more than a dozen apps that are really useful to me. Besides, for media files which tend to be the most memory hungry, the external SD memory card would work just fine (see below).
However, I don't understand why 32G costs $100 more than 16G. The retail price of solid-state memory in SSD has come down close to $1/G. The component cost for the tablet manufacturers would be certainly below $1/G. So how is the $100 for a 16G memory difference justified? But everyone seems to be doing this, so I can't blame Sony for doing it.
THE EXTERNAL MEMORY CARD:
The good news is that Sony S1 has a standard (full-size) SD card memory slot. Neither iPad 2 nor Galaxy Tab 10.1 has this. Motorola Xoom has a microSD card expansion, which is not nearly as good, economic and convenient, but better than nothing. The standard SD memory cards are probably the most efficient and least expensive portable memory one can get today. Thankfully, Sony did not push its proprietary memory stick. It would be absolutely foolish if they did that.
However, there is a limitation to the usefulness of the SD memory card. It seems that the SD card memory can be used for media exchange only, and not as an extension of the internal memory. It means the memory on the SD card is good for storing and transferring files, but not as system memory for installing apps. This seems to be an issue with the operating system, but I'm not sure.
I personally don't see the above limitation to be a problem, because I don't think I will be installing many apps to exceed the 16G capacity. For media files which tend to be the most memory hungry, the external SD memory card would work just fine.
THE CONNECTIVITY:
Nothing stands out here. The Sony S1 models that are available now have only Wi-Fi. I believe they will have models with 3G/4G cellular network capability in the near future. As a workaround, you may buy an external WCDMA card for Android operating system to get 3G cellular network connection for the Wi-Fi model or even try to tether the tablet to your smart phone to share the cellular connection. But if you do need 3G/4G, it is a good idea to get a model that has built-in capability.
In terms of other connections, a mini USB and a headphone/microphone socket are all you have. You will need an extension base to get other connections such as HDMI for a TV or external computer screen.
BATTERY LIFE:
I didn't get a chance to test. Reportedly Sony S1 is even slightly better than iPad 2 (8.5 hours versus 7.5 hours), but slightly worse than Galaxy Tab 10.1 (9.5 hours). If it can give me more than six hours, I am satisfied. To me, once it's beyond six hours, there is very little difference, unless it then reaches days and weeks like E-Ink (electronic paper) displays used in Amazon Kindle. This is because it is a daily life management issue. If it is shorter than six hours, you might have to do a midday recharge which is inconvenient. But if it is beyond six hours, most of the time you will be doing a daily overnight charge only. This is the case whether it's seven, eight or nine hours. But if the device requires a charge only once for several days, even a week or longer, that would be a different story.
THE WEIGHT & DIMENSIONS:
Sony S1 is light (21 oz or 1.31 pounds, even slightly lighter than iPad 2), but why are people obsessed with this? Will an oz or two kill you? I think people are just psyched into this with no practical benefit to them. The same goes with how thick the tablet is.
SOME ADDITIONAL PERSPECTIVE
OVERALL, I really like the Sony S1. I don't expect it to have dramatically better performance than other top Android tablets. In fact I can live with any of them as long as it is not an iPad : But the excellent ergonomics with the unique and healthy hand-holding characteristic and several unique functions mark the Sony S1 apart from others.
At the same time, I'm waiting for the Windows 8 tablet to come out to replace my laptop which I am getting tired of carrying. Just a year ago, I never thought I would complain about carrying around a laptop computer. I blame these tablets for this change. They spoiled me.
In other words, I see the current tablets as only transitional products to my personal needs. Once the Windows 8 tablet comes out, I will nearly certainly switch, unless they make a huge mess in terms of form factor, heat and battery life. I have no choice because I need to work. I will still use an e-reader based on the e-ink technology to supplement my Windows tablet because such an e-reader offers a unique reading advantage. I don't see any big benefit of having both a Windows tablet and an iPad or Android tablet.
But that's just me. I don't believe the current tablets are going to be replaced by Windows tablets in landslide scales. The current tablets are mostly sufficient for a vast majority of people. This is because most people are information consumers instead of information producers. The fact is that iPads and Android tablets have got good enough to deliver information for consumption, and they're likely to beat Windows tablets in price and portability.
Besides, there is another important type of applications that is within the comfortable territory of current tablets, namely the multimedia entertainment. In this area, I find it hard to think of anything that a Windows tablet can do but an Android tablet can't. (Perhaps Intel might come up with a killer low-power processor with graphics powerful enough to support high-end games which the ARM processors can't? I don't know. This should work out for Sony tablets particularly well. With Sony's expertise in entertainment, they are capable to make a strong showing in multimedia entertainment. The Sony S1 is a convincing proof.
