Sony Tablet S preview

Even back when it was just a sketch we were suitably intrigued by Sony's Tablet S. Then it was the "S1," a name that, indistinct as it was, still had more character and mystery than the unfortunately generic moniker it will ship with. Still, a dull name can't obscure the most distinctive design we've yet seen in an Android Honeycomb slate, an aerofoil-like shape inspired not by a flying machine, but a rather more pedestrian folded magazine.

But, the result is a tablet that's considerably thicker than the current king of the Android hill, the Galaxy Tab 10.1 (not to mention the iPad 2), a chunky design that isn't always as hand-friendly as it looks. Is this the glossy, perfectly-paginated future of tablet design, or is it just a misshapen slate with a broken crease and shattered dreams? Read on to find out.

Note: at this time Sony was able to provide a device with final hardware, not software. So keep in mind this preview covers only the hardware, and that discussions of software and performance are liable to change.