Sony 'S' At Best Buy! Quick Findings

[Codeworks]

Well, I was at Best Buy last night and ran across the odd looking Sony S tablet. So, of course, I picked one up. Here are some quick thoughts.

I actually LIKE the shape. Feels good in the hand. The screen looks nice, although not as bright as my GTab 10.1. The color saturation is spot on, however.

Sony adds quite a few little perks in to the tablet, including their own home screen which provides some quick launch icons, a Favorites section on the home screen, Social Feed Reader, new Music Player, etc.

Some of the things I was really looking forward to did not seem to be active yet. Video Unlimited, Music Unlimited, Foursquare for Tablet, Playstation store, etc... However, it does come with a couple playstation games installed. I am assuming these will be activated upon the actual in store date?

Provides a full size SD card, but I am not sure what good it is. Media cannot be played from the card, it MUST be transferred to the internal memory, which has been pre-divided for you for application/storage space.

Media remote is a nice little addition as well. Set up a couple of my devices and it provides quick access.

All in all, judgement will be reserved when the features are activated, but if you have any questions, let me know.

 

[craigwann]

How did your BB have one already? Mine didn't, and their not listed online.

 

[Codeworks]

It was the Best Buy in Brookfield, WI...

However, after spending some time with the device, it is clear that maybe it should not have been on the shelf yet.

Besides the fact that the Sony specific applications that I was looking forward to are not ready or do not do anything, it also randomly shuts down and the WiFi also turns off as soon as I turn the device off, even when the option is turned on to force WiFi on all the time.

I am hoping once the 16th hits, which I believe is the actual release date, we see an update as well.

 

[m1armor]

i guyvon craigslist has this think i should get it maybe make a profit

 

[Codeworks]

Today is release day for the Sony tablet, and upon turning mine on, I found a Honeycomb 3.2 Update that also integrates Music Unlimited and Video Unlimited. I will keep you posted on other findings from the update.

I am hoping this also fixes the WiFi disconnect issues and the random system shut down issues.

 

[Codeworks]

OK, Here are some updates after the OS upgrade...

WiFi Continues to disconnect. Even when the auto disconnect is turned off... Yes, I have confirmed this many times. Bad!

Although "Support" for Music and Video Unlimited was added, the actual services were not added. Bad!

Did not get the Playstation Store. Bad!

Definitely seems a little zippier. Good!

Update to allow actual data reading from an SD card was not added. You still MUST transfer data from the SD card to the internal storage before using. REALLY BAD!

Overall. Bad!

Let me know if you have any questions.

 

[NickA]

I was thinking about picking one up and giving it a two week try just in case I didn't like it. What do you think of the size/weight, and the "hump" (for lack of a better word) at the one end?

And how's the screen look?

 

[mcredelle]

I've had mine since Tuesday and haven't had Wifi issues. I did download and install Wifi lock from android market though, its very useful on my phone. I don't always remember to use it but have had no noticeable signs of disconnecting wi-fi.

I am enjoying the tablet so far, comfortable to hold and way better then my cell phone since I am still running the OG droid.

 

[mcredelle]

https://market.android.com/details?id=com.elsdoerfer.wifilock&feature=search_result here is the app I was talking about

 

[adubrovs]

Wifi lock works great. My wifi signal was dropping too when screen was off.
My beef is that a lot of My AVI videos that I have are not supported through the DLNA app. Is there a codec I need? They play fine on my other tablet.
Also is there a good file app that I can use to view my network files from?

 

[outlin3r]

Update to allow actual data reading from an SD card was not added. You still MUST transfer data from the SD card to the internal storage before using. REALLY BAD!

Even before the update, I used Astro to browse the files in my SD card and was able to play them fine without transferring.

 

[pdagal]

I have no problem viewing and opening movies, photos and other files stored on SD card and flash drives (flash drive used with a USB host cable).

 

[Atomicvoice]

Anyone know if you can use a ps3 controller with the tablet? You would think sony would think of something like this, but maybe not. Would be really kool.

I still cant decide what I want to do....in the market for a tablet....cant decide between Tablet S and Galaxy 10.1 or waiting till later this year for a ICS tablet....but im sure at some point, both would be updated to ICS. I had to take back the last tablet I had....HP Touchpad lmfao....*)(#$_)#$ HP! Wish I could have got one for 100$, that would of held me over till something really good came out. My SGSII is holding me over for now

 

[NickA]

Anyone know if you can use a ps3 controller with the tablet? You would think sony would think of something like this, but maybe not. Would be really kool.

I still cant decide what I want to do....in the market for a tablet....cant decide between Tablet S and Galaxy 10.1 or waiting till later this year for a ICS tablet....but im sure at some point, both would be updated to ICS. I had to take back the last tablet I had....HP Touchpad lmfao....*)(#$_)#$ HP! Wish I could have got one for 100$, that would of held me over till something really good came out. My SGSII is holding me over for now

I've probably tried and returned all Android tablets, except for the Transformer which I kept. I wouldn't hold out for ICS though, because of the reason you mentioned. All the tablets are basically the same (if you've tried one, you've tried them all), so go with something that has the features you want. What kept me away from the Tab 10.1 was the lack of ports, or even an SD card slot.

I like the Sony S because it seems "different". The UI, the magazine style shell, it has the ports I want.

 

[pdagal]

I tried a Logitech USB controller and it worked perfectly, but Sony's own Dual Shock 3 didn't work. Go figure. I've got a video of the tablet and Logitech controller in use for Crash Bandicoot-- awesome fun!

 

[DC Damien]

I was in the Sony store today (which happens to be next to a very crowded Apple store). I liked the weight and feel of the S. Holding the "folded" side is very comfortable with one hand. You can get a firm grip without putting as much pressure on the thumb. I read somewhere that the screen is easily scratched however.