Sony is looking to give a fillip to its presence in the hotly-competitive tablet space by launching a 12.9-inch high-end tablet.
The Japanese company's first-ever tablet - Sony Tablet S - was released in 2011, but failed to make a strong impact and was eventually discontinued in 2012. In 2014, the company launched the 10.1-inch Xperia Z2 Tablet (successor of the Xperia Z Tablet) and 8-inch Xperia Z3 Tablet, which received a lukewarm reception from consumers.
Come 2015, Sony is looking to oust rivals Apple and Samsung in the race for the hottest tablet and allegedly has a 12.9-inch tablet in the works.
Per a Digitimes report, Sony is slated to announce its 12.9-inch tablet in H1 2015. The publication's sources have also divulged that the tablet will be a top-end one and could be priced around or over the $1000 mark.
"In addition to Samsung Electronics and Apple, Sony is also expected to launch a large-size tablet in the first half of 2015 and the device will enter mass production shortly, according to sources from the related supply chain," notes Digitimes.
According to the sources, while Sony has exited from the PC space, it continues to be aggressive on the tablet front. The tablet from Sony is slated to have a 12.9-inch display with a pixel resolution of 3840 x 2400. The 8.6mm thick device will also house a powerful processor from Qualcomm and tout an 8-megapixel camera.
The Sony tablet will likely have Android 5.0 out of the box and will likely be manufactured by Pegatron Technology, the same company which makes the iPad and Microsoft's Surface line-up.
Rumors that Apple is working on a 12.2-inch tablet dubbed the iPad Pro or iPad Air Plus for 2015 have been gaining traction of late. The Apple tablet is rumored to have a 12.2 x 8.7 inch LCD screen and may house the next-gen A9 processor.
Samsung currently has a 12.2-inch tablet - the Galaxy Tab Pro - but it too is rumored to have a 13.3-inch tablet dubbed the "Warhol," which will sport an LCD screen (instead of an AMOLED one) in the works for 2015. The tablet is also speculated to have 2560 x 1600 pixels resolution.
Reportedly, the components for the impending Sony tablet are already mass produced per the sources. Whether the Sony offering can steal the thunder from seasoned players like Samsung and Apple is another story.
