Reviews on Sony S1 16 GB Wi-Fi Black Tablet
Sony bills the Tablet S as the ultimate media tablet to have in your home, so I was eager to see just how it measured up to this claim. In addition to the regular Android apps, Sony has bundled some rather interesting programs that really show off some of the tablet’s finer features. Firstly, Sony has included a handy DLNA app which allows you to stream media to your tablet from nearby compatible servers and devices. It was able to detect my NAS and display all of my media, however I wasn’t able to play a single video file from my drive, which is very odd considering my PS3 has no problems reading video content from that drive. Even when I tried loading a simple video file to the tablet it refused to run, pointing to possible restrictions on the types of file formats the tablet natively supports. However when I did get the video working on the device, it was crystal clear and looked beautiful. Everything from YouTube to HD clips played well, so if only Sony could sort out a patch to expand the supported file types for videos, this tablet would be going places.
One of the more exciting media features of the Tablet S was the ability to ‘throw’ media to other DLNA compatible devices, especially the newer range of Sony TVs. While you are watching a video or listening to audio on your tablet, you can search for nearby players or TVs and then swipe upward to ‘throw’ the content towards that device and resume streaming. You can still control playback using the tablet, but you can watch or listen to the media on the other device. It’s a gimmick not unlike Apple’s Airplay, but there are very few tablets on the market that do this and do it well. Scrubbing through video while streaming to a Sony TV was executed perfectly, with just a minute delay in the video resuming from the new position.
There’s also a “Select App” program which points you via the web browser to a Sony site where you can download apps designed for your Tablet S, similar to those found in the Android store. There’s also a Reader app for eBooks, as well as a Social Feed Reader to aggregate feeds from various social networks on one place. Sony have also touched up on the actual App launcher screen, opting for a crisp white background that contrasts smartly with the colorful Android icons. Sony also provides a Video Unlimited and Music Unlimited apps to purchase and stream video and music to your tablet, but this wasn’t working on my model as I suspect it isn’t supported in the region.
