Sony catches tablet fever, wants to be an 'active player'
By Nilay Patel 
posted February 4th 2010 12:26PM
posted February 4th 2010 12:26PM
posted February 4th 2010 12:26PM
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@Vincent
I don't think there is that much hype about the ipad. And if there is, why would Sony's development of such a product kill its hype?
128 GB memory stick (not included)?
@Ed T probably will connect with the PS3 for everything.
I think this would be like a large screen PSP with multitasking and flash.
@Ed T heh yeah sd cards not suported but it does support the new stick duo xfiniti bravo format.. By the way these are phisically compatable with your old sony products but do not actually work.
@Ed T heh yeah sd cards not suported but it does support the new stick duo xfiniti bravo format.. By the way these are phisically compatable with your old sony products but do not actually work.
Is it only me, or does this thing seem to have the potential for the best bedside clock ever. Provided Sony makes it's clock full screen.
@PATRICKmcnicholl
bedside clock, picture frame, internet portal, ipod dock, internet music player, portable boombox, etc.
I love my Chumby One, but I would certainly trade it in for something with a 7 to 10" IPS LCD or AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, and superior processor and OS. Add in a tablet form factor so that it can also be used as a portable e-reader when it's not in dock mode, make it under $300, and I'm SOLD!
WANT!
@PATRICKmcnicholl I'm actually hoping to be able to do that, as long as I can stream my media from my server to it. Vanilla Chumby's no good, as it doesn't support wma (the format most of my music's ripped to - don't judge me) or DLNA, but I've hope that Sony will add those features.
@mmaestro
Yeah... but the Chumby's only about $100. A docked tablet-type device that is capable of playing network-stored (HD) media in every format/codec is going to cost 5-10x as much, if it's from Sony.
The more implementations I see, the more of a believer I am that the slate/tablet form factor has the potential to be EXTREMELY useful. Not mostly as a portable device, but around the house, and in the car.
A household with one or two tablets, and multiple docks (of course in addition to my laptop and htpc) seems almost ideal to me. The tablet is useful in one's lap as a reader, and it's useful in dock mode for about a hundred other things, from being a picture frame, to alarm clock, to recipe reader in the kitchen, to HTPC front end... the applications seem to be endless.
Though tablets have been around for well over a decade, this form factor is indeed in its infancy. Anyone who thinks it will ultimately be a failure simply doesn't understand the future of home/mobile personal computing.
@PATRICKmcnicholl
The first thing I do when I wake up in the morning is dash to my computer post-haste, so I'm not sure the benefit of having Facebook on my next to my bed. Plus, while in bed, I really don't want to know about my friends getting a cow in Farmville. But weather, music, pictures synced from my iPod/computer would be useful.
Also, since Sony seems to have an affinity for open-sourced OSs like this Chumby OS, their iPad competitor may very well be based on the Chrome OS.
@crawdad689 IIRC, the Dash is slated to be about $200. OK, it's a bit of a markup, but not an excessive one, and one I'd be willing to pay for the extra codec support.
I agree with you about tablets. I'm not sold as a portable device, but as something I have sitting on the countertop in the kitchen or next to my bed, I think they're very useful. More so if I can pick it up and walk with it. Not something I'd do often, but the versatility would be nice.
@crawdad689
I fully agree. The Chumby is great, but something more advanced with a decent price would be a purchase for me.
@crawdad689
Being based on Chumby OS, if the internet radio functionality is not expanded beyond Chumby's pseudo-internet radio pre-selections, then "fail".
If, like most Sony displays, it is way too bright even on the dimmest setting, then "fail".
My recommendation:
PURE Sensia FTW!
http;//www.touchmyradio.com
I have one. I love it! It addresses every clock radio/alarm/display issue I have. It's too expensive, but it's wonderfully executed. Someone with a sense of real-world use designed it.
"Chumby" OS?
Can't their marketing team of came up with something..........well......more appealing?
@GenericMessage
It has nothing to do with Sony.
http://www.chumby.com/
@Tes
Well then Chumby should have thought of a better name
@GenericMessage
Sony's marketing strategy is stored on an encrypted Minidisc. Only Morita knew the password.
@GenericMessage Chumby is meant to be an oddball product, the oddball name is fitting.
The Sony tablet. 7 inch oled multi-touch screen, 1 hour battery life $3500.
@One Love
Sony Tablet? Too specific!
You probably meant the Sony TM-434f.
@LAY: I actually Googled that, but now I get the joke. :P
If Sony came out with a sub $1,000 tablet with a 7" capacitive multi touch screen, some decent specs, a decent battery life, Win 7 Premium, a UI built for thumb, finger, stylus, or dock controls, and access to the Playstation Network and Remote Play I'd probably run out and buy one. Right now. No really.
@kenny goo
Definitely. There's no WAY they could possibly cripple this thing worse than Apple did with theirs!
(oh wait, isn't this why comments got turned off?) x-)
I just find it amazing that touchscreen-friendly "skins" for W7 are so rare (only one I can think of is HP's TouchSmart), and as far as I know, MS hasn't released an official one, yet.
@crawdad689
Why are you calling the iPad crippled? Don't you think that the decision to make it SIMPLE was completely intentional? Have you ever thought about why the iPhone is so popular? It's not because of its kitchen sink approach to hardware, obviously.
You're thinking of the iPad as a full blown computer that isn't running a computer OS and computer apps, and that's backwards and wrong. The iPad is an APPLIANCE. It's a simple device that does things most people would want it to to, like web browsing, email, basic apps, some iPhone-style gaming.
This is where Jobs has a better vision than people like you do. He knows MOST PEOPLE want simplicity in their devices, not a full on desktop OS on a device that can barely run it and needs virus protection and is susceptible to all the same issues as a desktop OS.
The iPad is a device that is simple and just works. It has a month of standby time. You can pick it up, get mail, check facebook or whatever and put it down again. Simple. If you don't want an iPad that's great. Good for you. But calling it "crippled" is totally and completely missing the point.
To make it relevant to this article, I'm not sure Sony gets why the iPad will be popular either. They're just betting it will be, because it comes from Apple, without knowing why. It's nice that they think they can makes some hardware that competes stat-wise with the iPad, but it's not about the hardware. It's about the software, the UI, the infrastructure. I guess it remains to be seen if Sony actually gets it or not.
@crawdad689 On the contrary - I think putting Win7 on anything like this would defeat the whole concept of a tablet/slate/pad computer. It's not suppose to be just another version of a dekstop/laptop.
@(Unverified)
"On the contrary - I think putting Win7 on anything like this would defeat the whole concept of a tablet/slate/pad computer. It's not suppose to be just another version of a dekstop/laptop."
I agree that putting W7 on a tablet DOES defeat the whole concept of a tablet, but it's due to the extremely non-touch-friendly, downright archaic UI elements. It's NOT due to the increased functionality that a "real" OS offers.
The following arguments are complete bullshit:
"It's a tablet. Nobody's going to want to ______ "
"It's a tablet. Doing ____ with it is absolutely going to be a terrible experience".
If "nobody wants to _____", it's simply because nobody's introduced a compelling-enough UI yet. It's not beacuse there's no way in hell that iLife could EVER be useful in a tablet form factor.
@ Crawdad689
Well said.
@crawdad689
The problem is not only Win7 specifically.
It's just when you put windows on it, people will try to run Office and hate it.
Which is why I strongly oppose a full blown OS X tablet also, imagine Adobe CS5 on iPad
@crawdad689
Wow I didn't see your comments below.
The right approach methink is rewrite the UIKit and force every app to adopt it.
Or you will always get Adobe CS5, people are lazy you know.
@kenny goo
But look at their netbooks... or what THEY call netbooks. Freakin $800!
Do you know what I could do with $800?
@DrChristopher
no, that wasnt well said at all. the point still was, its not a good fit. and the os is missing those things. he's still wrong.
you too bud
Is it too thick?
@techlord
It does look very thick. I thought it was a fancy alarm clock at first.
@Ignition1 It's not an alram clock? Looks kinda chunky…
@techlord Guys, this is a picture of their Chumby follow on, which is basically an alarm clock. It isn't a picture of the tablet they haven't announced yet. The UI is just the Chumby UI, so one possible jumping off point for what Sony might do with a tablet (or something different but closed, or a Windows 7 tablet, or ...).
@Ignition1 CNET showed it on cnettv.com from their CES coverage and it is actually pretty small.
http://cnettv.cnet.com/sony-dash/9742-1_53-50081812.html
HEY! We can talk again!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsN6NOhWkxM&feature=related
And not a moment too soon! We are being overrun with tablets! But I think Sony will show us something a little different.
Slap a battery onto the Dash, add eReader software, and sell it for $250. Job done.
a vaio tablet would be stunning.
@NoOrdinaryMSFT If they stick to their pricepoints of their laptops, it will definately be stunning. Stunning for my wallet.
@Vincent At least you know that your money would be safe.
This is a battle to see who will have the tighter grip in the tablet: Apple x Sony
everyone jump in into Tablets!
someone will make a good one evertually!!
Vaio tablet with custom made UI on top of Windows 7 would pwn.
I would buy it in a second.
Thats a really cool alarm clock
@pitnefor
During this forced-hiatus, I realized how much I visit engadget to just read the comments. and how much i missed them.
@ least it's not and oversized PSP lol
Market is so fresh right now, I'm enjoying see all these companies finally jump on the tablet bandwagon. We, regrettably, have the iPhone to thank for the spur of touch controls. Nonetheless, it really is good, now if I can just find a slate tablet with nice touch and pen input, good battery life, and quick on-and-off response. Can't wait to see what the future holds for this.
They should have made that thing an alarm clock. i'd buy it