As promised, Sony is getting ready to launch its new 10 inch Android tablet this spring. The Sony Xperia Tablet Z won’t actually be available until May 24th, but you can pre-order one now for $499.99 and up.
While that’s a relatively high starting price for an Android tablet, the Xperia Tablet Z has a few special features that help it stand out from a crowded field.
At just 0.27 inches thick, the Xperia Tablet Z may be the thinnest Android tablet released to date. Despite the slim size, Sony says the tablet has a case that’s resistant to water and dust.
The tablet is also light, weighing just 1.1 pounds.
The Sony Xperia Tablet Z features a 10.1 inch, 1920 x 1200 Â pixel display and a 1.5 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 quad-core processor with Adreno 320 graphics. It has an 8.1MP rear camera and a 2.2MP front-facing camera.
Sony is charging $499.99 for a model with 16GB of storage. A 32GB model is also available for pre-order for $599.99. If you pre-order from the Sony Store you can also get a free cradle with your purchase.
via Android Central
Man do I hate the “iPad-style” pricing model. Is an extra 16GB of flash storage really worth $100? I took a quick look at some SSDs on Amazon and you can upgrade from a 128GB SSD to a 256GB SSD for $100. That’s six times more memory for the same price. Is flash storage for mobile devices really that much more expensive? I don’t think so. Even going from a 16GB to 32GB Nexus 7 only sets you back $50. Charging an extra $100 for 16GB more capacity is just stupid.