Sony to Bring an Android Dual Screen and a Windows 7 Vaio Slider This Year

Only a few days back, there was news of Sony bringing a PlayStation tablet, which seems to be expected after their NGP and Xperia Play smartphone announcements. Stories doing the rounds now suggest that the Japanese firm will be dishing out an Android tablet and a Windows 7 based Slider as well.

A clammy tablet

Engadget’s sources say that Sony should be launching a dual-screen tablet running Android and designed like a clamshell with an oval design. As you can see from the picture above, when the tablet codenamed S2 is closed, it represents an oval cylindrical structure. The specs we’ve come to know are as follows:
5.5-inch dual displays
3G, Wi-Fi
Front and rear facing camera
S2 will be based on a Tegra 2 SoC and will be running a customized version of Honeycomb. The sources also claim that they’ve seen Gmail running on a prototype, where the list of messages is on one screen while the body is on another. It also seems that maps will be shown with the graphic on one display while a detailed turn-by-turn instructions or Streetview displayed on the other.

Now there is also news that this project is being received with a lot of skepticism inside Sony. Anyhow, the company might be shipping a 3G + Wi-Fi version in US, Europe and Japan with a $699 (approx Rs. 31,500).

The Windows 7 Slider will be a Vaio branded device having a 9.4-inch display and the design is said to be similar to ASUS and Samsung sliders. The slider will have a Pinetrail-class Atom processor and a $799 (approx Rs. 36,100) price tag.

I feel the S2’s design is quite unconventional, but the hardware certainly looks solid for a tablet. I wonder if people are willing to move out of the queue and sport a ‘clamshell’ tablet!