Sony S2 review

Sony S2: The Sony S2 Android tablet has a clamshell design with dual 5.5in touchscreens

review by shimunny

Android tablets are flying thick and fast as the platform continues to evolve, but most of them look similar. Sony has attempted to distinguish itself with the S2: a clamshell Android tablet with dual-screens.

Check out our guide to the best upcoming tablets in 2011and the best Android tablets on the market.

The Sony S2 Android tablet has two 5.5in capacitive touch screens with a resolution of 1024x480. The S2 tablet utilises a clamshell or flip design, so the screens fold onto each other when the tablet is closed. Sony says the S2 Android tablet is designed for "mobile communication and entertainment".

The Sony S2 Android tablet runs the Google Android 3.0 Honeycomb platform that is specifically designed for tablet devices, but Sony has tweaked the user interface to take advantage of the dual-screen form factor. Amongst the Sony additions are an e-reader app with split screen UI, and an e-mail app that shows the keyboard on one screen and e-mails on the other. The split screen design also seems ideal for gaming, with the controls displayed on the bottom screen and the game on the top. Like Sony's other Android tablet, the S1, the S2 is PlayStation certified, meaning it will be compatible with PlayStation games available through the Android Market.

The Sony S2 Android tablet has a rear-facing camera, Wi-Fi, DLNA, Bluetooth and GPS connectivity, and will also be offered in a 3G version. The Sony S2 Android tablet is powered by a 1GHz Nvidia Tegra 2 processor, but full specifications have yet to be revealed.

The Sony S2 will also be renamed closer to its launch date — the S2 is merely a codename.

Australian consumers should expect the Sony S2 Android tablet to hit the shelves towards the end of the year, though pricing and concrete availability details have yet to be revealed.