Is Sony Prepping a PlayStation Tablet?

Sony are apparently preparing for the launch of a tablet that will be PlayStation Certified, which is a program that was announced alongside the launch of the Next Generation Portable (NGP). While it remains unclear if the tablet will be under the Sony or Sony Ericsson branding, what we do know is that the PlayStation brand is going full-steam ahead in the mobile gaming space, what with the NGP and the Xperia Play being announced.

The tablet's mockup looks rather strange

Here’s what Engadget’s sources have told them about the tablet:

• It’s codenamed Sony S1
• It will be PlayStation Certified
• It will come pre-loaded with PSOne titles
• NVIDIA Tegra 2 CPU
• Google Android 3.0 Honeycomb OS
• 9.4-inch screen at 1280x800
• Full-sized USB port
• Will be priced at $599 (Rs. 27,000, which is super cheap in comparison to the other Tegra 2 tablets)
• Will release in Q3 2011 (September)

This sounds pretty plausible to me, because Sony seem big on the whole mobile gaming trend. With the NGP filling the handheld console slot and the Xperia Play smartphone, a tablet addition is probably the logical next step. Sony have a history of working with NVIDIA too, considering the PlayStation 3’s RSX GPU is actually based on the NVIDIA 7800.