[Making The Cut] Sony Tablet S  

Dec 15th, 2011 | By | Category: Tech & Web

Ok so what’s this whole “Making The Cut” thing about? If you haven’t noticed, the site now has a “Dream Gear” tab at the top. That page shows the list of, well, dream gear that various folks in the team would love to use for themselves and the Making The Cut series is about whether or not the product makes it into that list.

How is this different from “The Review”? Well, one man’s poison is another man’s meat. In similar fashion, The Review focuses on providing a more generic review of the product taking into account a generic consumer while “Making The Cut” is much more personal. Where the former tries to figure what’s good and what’s not about a product, “Making The Cut” answers a more direct question of “Is this the product that I (the article writer) would love to scrimp and save to buy?”

And so here goes…

Since this is the first “Making the Cut” post, let me explain how I’ll judge each important factor to me:-

  1. I’ll list all the attributes I look for in a device
  2. I’ll go down the list and rank each one of them
    1. Win! ( 4 points )
    2. OK ( 3 points )
    3. Pass ( 2 points )
    4. No Good ( 1 points )
    5. Fail! ( 0 points )

 

This being the first tablet I’m evaluating, let me go through what I look for in a tablet…

Weight – Win!

At around 600g, the asymmetric design makes it weigh so much less than most other devices around that weight making it really comfy for me to use when I’m on the train and reading for long periods. I also love how it’s inclined when I put it on the table so that i don’t have to prop it up like most other tablets.

Aesthetics – Win!

It’s a Sony. And it’s has a really sleek design. 8 out of 10 times I whipped it out, heads turn. Once this guy from opposite the train tip toed to check it out and I heard him talk to his friend about how it’s a Sony Tablet S.

Usefulness – OK

Because it runs on Android, I found that it had every app I needed and little more. So I’m cool with it.

Battery Life – Pass

It lasts around 8 hours which is exactly how long Android tablets are expected to last. But I own the BlackBerry PlayBook and that can last me a few days on a single charge despite watching videos and playing games casually so for me to give anything an OK or a Win, it really has to last much longer in this area.

Charging Port – No Good

Proprietary chargers means I carry one more charger for just one specific device. I already carry a lot of things. I can do with less.

Size – Win!

Being a 9 inch device, it’s really the perfect size for me – good for work, surfing and reading.

Connectivity – OK

Ports wise, i don’t have much demands there. But data connectivity wise, it runs only on WiFi. Give it 3G and i’ll give it a Win!

Camera – Pass

I’ve heard lots of people say that it’s weird when people take pictures using their tablets but I really don’t see anything wrong with that! That said, I think both the rear and front facing cameras can be of much higher quality…

Performance – OK

Did it lag? No. The screen was really quite responsive to the touches and the swpies. Was it blazing fast? Not all the time. Can’t give a Win! Without that.

Overall – OK (27 points)

I currently own and use the BlackBerry PlayBook but I have to say that at this stage, the Tablet S running on Android with far more applications, a slightly larger screen size really makes it quite drool worthy. Oh, and have I already mentioned how the sleek design is cool?

So… Yup. This makes it into my Dream Gear list. At least until something better comes along.

Other Sony Tablet S Review Articles

 

Ridzuan Ashim
Starting and maintaining Ridz.sg aside, Ridzuan is Co-Founder of Senseless Labs – A software solutions company currently focused on building mobile-based Marketing and CRM solutions. He has been dabbling in both web and mobile development since 2003. His interests include how technology can be used to improve the human condition, poverty alleviation through sustainable development, education and microfinancing.




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