Reviewing the new Sony Tablet S for cnet.com.au has been a very interesting and rewarding exercise for us. As the Sony Tablet utilises the Google “Android” operating system at version 3.2 or “Honeycomb” as Google likes to refer to it, and being open source, there is an amazing amount of information available for nerdy types (like me ... hhmnnn) to take advantage of. I like to tinker in the programing side of things where possible. While digging around on the Net I found a cute little device put out by sparkfun.com and that I bought here in Australia from www.littlebirdelectronics.com called the IOIO (or pronounced “yoyo”).
To control the IOIO board I have had to load the Android SDK development environment on my Lenovo laptop. With this, Google have chosen to use the very powerful ‘Eclipse’ IDE. Setting up the development environment is not as easy as say the Microsoft Visual Studio development environment for Windows however there are plenty of straight forward instructions available on the Net to guide you, especially if you are familiar at all with cross compiling development platforms.
My son Alex is very keen on his DJ setup that he has been creating, much to the annoyance of our neighbours I fear. Anyhow, with the Sony Tablet S and with Android operating system, there are a number of apps available that he plans to take avantage of including DJ studios, mixing consoles, spectrum analysers etc. One of the areas that DJs love to use is lighting and fog effects. We plan to use the Sony Tablet S, coupled with the IOIO board to control Alex's lights, fog machines etc directly with this little device coupled with an interfacing board we will be developing. Much fun to be had:)
The Android "Eclipse" environment running on my Lenovo laptop.
Click on the image for a larger view.
The Android development environment includes a development machine based based "emulator" where you can run up applications on your development machine rather than bothering with the upload process onto the Sony Tablet S, although doing this is not at all difficult. Your development machine can be either Linux, iMac or Windows. I have run mine up on my Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit Lenovo laptop.
The obligatory "Hello, World" running on my Lenovo laptop.
Click on the image to get a larger view.
We had heaps of fun recording a video to go with our review of the Sony Tablet S. Thanks heaps and heaps to Sony Australia and especially to the gang at cnet.com.au for enabling the opportunity for us to participate.
First, the "final" videos:
And Claire gets her own spot ...
... and the bloopers (it does contain a language slip or two...sorry)
The Sony Tablet S has a variety of ways to interface with other devices and networks. I summarise these below.
Wireless: No device these days would be complete without at least some form of technology to connect to a network for Internet access and also to connect via TCP/IP to other devices. Connecting to a wireless network is a very simple task and vital to enable facilities such as installing “apps” and to install any available operating system or application software ‘updates’.
A couple of screen shots showing the Wireless facilities are shown below:
Infrared: A significant area of differentiation with other tablets is that the Sony has an infrared port. They have included a superb application that enables the control of devices such as television sets, hifi units etc that have infrared remote controls. This application includes two modes of operation, first by the typical on screen controls and also by the use of “gestures”. Neat. One disappointment though is that it seems that it is not possible to enable ‘macros’ to control more than one device simultaneously i.e to switch on or off all desired devices with one button or gesture. This is a bit of a pity, perhaps something like this will come later via an enhanced app from Sony or perhaps someone else may write one. This sort of thing is the real beauty of the Android world.
USB: The tablet has a micro USB 2 port. This enables easy connection to devices such as computers however only in ‘client’ or ‘slave’ mode. There is no USB host or “On The Go” capabilities i.e the tablet cannot take advantage of devices such as external hard drives. A real pity.
SD Card slot: Unlike the Apple iPad 2 or the Blackberry playbook, the Sony tablet S does have an SD card slot. This really is a major bonus point for me as this enables me to upload photos taken with my stills or video cameras in the field. A great way to check shots taken and also as a form of in the field backup.
DLNA: The Sony Tablet S is DLNA capable. This is one area that I am not all that familiar with. To be honest I had to look it up to find out more about it. The ability of the Sony Tablet S to “talk” or "throw" to my son’s Playstation and hopefully to his Bravia Sony TV should be an interesting area to explore with the Sony Tablet S.
In summary: Save for USB host capabilities, the Sony wants for little in the way of enabling communications with other devices.
Wednesday, January 04, 2012
Reviewing the Sony Tablet S - Part 3 Screen Display
If there is one area where the Sony Tablet S shines in particular, it is with the sheer quality of the screen display. I am a keen photographer so to have the ability to view photos and videos with such excellent clarity is a real bonus for me. On several occasions now, since I have had the Sony Tablet S, I have had people comment on the ‘wow’ factor of photos.
Actually, for photographers, as the Sony has an SD card slot, this enables a great way to view shots in the field and also as a backup storage mechanism. Although the unit as supplied to me is the 16Gig version of the Sony Tablet S, there is still plenty of room to store a very large number of photos even in the highest resolution including raw images.
Photos are shown with very good colour accuracy with very rich blacks. To me, the Sony clearly excels when pitched against the Apple iPad 2. The difference is less marked though with the Blackberry Playbook which also has a very good screen display. As the Sony Tablet S is a larger unit, the photos and videos do seem to have a better appeal than the Blackberry Playbook. I do admit though that this is being rather picky given the difference is so small.
I have captured some screens of some shots of mine from my Sony Tablet S “gallery”. The pictures were taken with my Nikon D200 DSLR.
Click on the image for a larger view.
I have also taken some screen captures of a You Tube video that is showing off the capabilities of the little “Go Pro” high definition video camera. My son, who used to favour the Apple iPad 2 said something along the lines of “Heck Dad this really is a good display of video with the Sony Tablet S”. Playing high definition videos was easy and no pausing occurred.
Of the three units, the Sony Tablet S is the standout with respect to the screen/ video playback capabilities.
Out of the box, the Sony Tablet S (to me, it is a pity there isn’t an easier, catchier name that the iPad and Playbook has, “Hey Dad, where is the Sony Tablet S?”, just doesn’t sound the same as “Hey Dad, where is the Playbook?”) … oops sorry, back on task … Out of the box, the Sony Tablet S has two games pre, installed, “Pinball Heroes” and “Crash Bandicoot”.
Comment from son Alex(18): I’m afraid I’m going to have to start off with a negative note; The name. Come on… Really? The “Sony Tablet S” was the best Sony could offer? Our whole household has come to the conclusion it’s a silly name. It just isn’t easy to say “where’s the Tablet S?” we have collectively resorted to calling it the “Sony thing”. I just can’t believe that a huge company such as Sony cannot think of a better name. The device itself has a unique and wonderful flagship wedge design so why not call it something like, say the “Wedge”?
Pinball Heroes: This is a Sony PSP based game by appearances. I’m not sure if it is running under Sony PSP console emulation or natively, not that it matters as the game play, video and sound is very good. It is incredible how much computing and graphics power these little tablets have, especially this effort from Sony.
The game is very easy to play straight up. There are however numerous instructions available from the intro screen if you wish to take advantage of a traditional pinball game playing strategy.
PS: It took a while to figure out how to obtain screen dumps like I have shown here. Unlike with the Blackberry Playbook where capturing a screen is really easy, with the Sony I had to utilise the Android development environment which has a screen capture facility. All way too hard really. There are apps available to do this however these seem to require the Android to be what the Americans call "rooted". A most unfortunate name here in Oz.
The game may be played in either landscape or portrait mode. I found it easier and more natural to play the game in portrait mode as the game then takes up the whole screen, unlike landscape mode where the screen shows a windowed view of the Pinball game ‘table’.
Summary:
Controls: Very easy and natural including a “tilt” action.
Graphics: It may be me being overly pedantic, although the graphics look great however the display is just a smidge ‘soft’. It’s as though the game was designed for a different resolution screen.
Game play: Just as with most real pinball machines, it takes a lot of practice to get a good score. However for short periods of spare time, a great time filler i.e for when in waiting room but not perhaps a morning commute on the train.
Crash Bandicoot:
On the intro screen the game is introduced as a Sony Playstation game and it is copyrighted as 1996. And to be honest it looks like it, with the graphics that could only be described as ‘retro’. Still, my 13 year old daughter loves the game. The PSP controls are cleverly overlaid on the screen making game play relatively easy but without the ‘feel’ of real buttons which does take some getting used to.
Controls: The on screen controls are not overly intrusive to the game area.They are a clever idea and as such this is an area that Sony has great deal of experience in and provides them with a significant marketing differentiation to other Android implementations.
Graphics: The graphics are looking a little dated in this implementation.
Other game sources:
There are various ways to download games onto the Sony Tablet S.A prime method is via the Android Market where there are an amazing number of games available from free to very reasonable prices.
Selecting a game from the Android Market couldn’t be easier. I downloaded and installed a special app from Nvidia, makers of the graphics processor in the Sony Tablet S. Once installed, this app opened up yet another way of selecting and installing games onto the Sony Tablet S.
I really want to be impressed and so select a good game. Honestly it is very hard to know which game to select as there are so many to choose from. I decided to install a highly rated game called “Dungeon Defenders – Second Wave”. This game took an extraordinary long time to fully install all the required components. The initial part of the installation was very quick to install and the app appeared to have been completely installed. However after selecting the game from the apps list, the runtime then required no less than 230 separate data files to be downloaded. This process stalled for around an hour so I restarted the game and the remaining files then downloaded ok. The whole process took over two hours!
This game appears to be on a whole new level to video quality and complex game play in comparison to Pinball Heroes and Crash Bandicoot. The graphics are superb, incredible when one considers the size of the tablet in comparison to say a PC or an iMac.
Welcome to the Hayward family’s review of the Sony Tablet S.
The Sony Tablet S is a long awaited new entry into the Android based tablet market. So we have waited with considerable eagerness to discover what Sony has to offer. Thanks to CNET for this opportunity.
Our household has a number of Sony based products. We have a relatively old, 16x9 format 36” CRT large screen Sony WEGA TV which although now rather dated in the face of the new flat screen TV’s, it still produces a great image. We utilise a Sony high definition set top box for our digital television reception. We have also coupled the Sony WEGA TV to a rather aging Sony receiver/amplifier. This unit still produces an excellent sound through my ETI Series 4000 speakers (Philips drivers) I built as a kit, almost 30 years ago (my, how time flies).
My son Alex (18), has recently saved some money from working after school to buy a Sony Bravia 46” television which he has coupled to a Sony PS3 Playstation.
So it was with a very pleasant surprise, we were informed of our chance to review the Sony Tablet S with an accompanying Sony Handy HDR video camera to record our experiences. Especially considering, as it is a Sony product, it is supposed to have a number of extensions/ apps to the Android based operating system to suit other Sony products including emulating some games from the Sony PSP handheld gaming console.
Alex is lucky enough to have an Apple iPad 2. I also have access to a new Blackberry Playbook. So we are able to directly compare the three platforms for not only ourselves but also for you.
For this week, we are comparing the three tablets abilities with their respective still and video cameras. This one of a number of tasks that CNET have asked us to cover in the coming weeks.
Tablets have been around for some time now in various forms and mostly all have been based on desktop operating systems that in hindsight, were clearly inadequate for the form factor and they were also priced only for use within large enterprises. Early tablets have been niche products at best.
Then along came Apple with the iPad. Isn’t it amazing how things have changed ever since?
Below, I discuss the Sony Tablet S at length and provide some comparison photos and videos of the other tablets.
Sony Tablet S:
The Sony tablet has two cameras, one a front facing camera for video conferencing and the other a rear facing camera for higher definition stills and video. In this respect, all the tablets are similarly equipped. The Sony has a stills resolution of 5 megapixels. This is amazing to me, considering the small size of the lens.
For this review I have concentrated on the rear facing camera as this is the highest resolution camera.
Like the other two platforms, the Sony Tablet S has a single “camera” app that may be used in either still or video mode. Switching modes is very easy.
For stills, the Sony has a surprisingly high level of control. This does not mean the camera is in anyway a replacement for a DSLR however some of the features are very handy and exceptionally easy to use.
1. Switching between Still and Video modes is straight forward in operation.
2. Stills mode - Format and Resolution. Now this is interesting. There are five settings to choose from ranging from a lowly VGA (640 x 480) to the full 5 megapixels in, oddly, a 4:3 format of 2592 x 1944. There are also three in between resolutions of either 4:3 or 16:9 formats. Just why there is a 4:3 format I’ve no idea especially where at the highest resolution for the far more convenient format of 16:9, is ‘only’ 3.6 meg and also given the format of the tablet is fortunately, 16 x 9. It seems the optimal or native format of the sensor is in 4:3 format and when the 16:9 format is selected, the image is simply cropped, top and bottom, in camera.
3. Stills mode – Hey there is a zoom facility, but don’t get too excited as it is simply a ‘digital’ zoom. To me, this is of little use, simply crop the image later if required. I prefer to capture as much “information” as I can and then carry out any desired cropping later.
4. Stills mode - The location the image was taken can be stored. Neat IF you want this facility.
5. Stills mode – A very nice feature included is a method to override the exposure up to +/- two stops in 1/3 stop increments. As a keen amateur photographer I find this is a really nice to have feature.
6. Stills mode – There are several white balance or ‘scene modes’ to choose from. Potentially handy in the absence of a raw file capability (all three tablets do not have a raw file format, simply jpg format).
7. Still mode – Surprisingly there is a very effective ‘macro’ mode. This will no doubt be handy for many situations including business scenarios i.e machinery and part break downs, problem reports etc.
8. Video mode – Not so many controls in this mode, first a ‘video quality’ selection of “high’, ‘low’ and a ‘You Tube’ high resolution mode.
As can be heard in this video, there is something wrong with the microphone or microphone location? The sound is very distorted. Perhaps I had my hand over the microphone? I need to do some more testing for sure. By searching the online support forums it seems I'm not alone with this problem.
Here are some stills from the camera. To me the camera performs impressively:
Above: at the maximum 16:9 resolution
Above: at the maximum 4:3 resolution
Above at the maximum 16:9 resolution
Above at the maximum 4:3 resolution
Blackberry Playbook:
The little Blackberry is also an impressive tablet, however it is not based on either the iOS or the Android operating system, rather as Blackberry has purchased the QNX operating system, the Playbook has a derivative of QNX as its operating system. It is also coupled with similarly equipped cameras as found in the Sony Tablet S.
In stills mode, the Blackberry has some camera controls and also includes a "stabilization" mode, a 'whiteboard' mode that turns a whiteboard picture actually white rather than the commonly found 'grey' when taking pictures of whiteboards (I find sometimes this is handy in business meetings). It is also switchable between 16:9 and a 4:3 modes, a 'sports' mode and 'Auto' whitebalance mode. Unfortunately, unlike the Sony I have not been able to find an exposure override. This is a big omission for the Playbook.
In video mode, the Blackberry has the same controls as the stills mode except it has switchable resolution modes, 480p, 720p and 1080p.
Here is a video and some stills from the little Playbook, as with the Sony the camera's capabilities is impressive:
All shots above at the maximum 16:9 resolution
Note: All the shots above were taken at the newly opened Burnside Village shopping centre in Adelaide's eastern suburbs. It features an impressive atrium replete with a magnificent gum tree fully enclosed.
Apple iPad 2
Little needs to be said about the features of the Apple iPad that has not been covered in a multitude of other media reports. With respect to the still camera and video camera modes though, it is exceptionally easy to sum up the controls as there are very few available. In stills mode there is only one control, a selection to turn on a grid, giving guidance to the 'rule of thirds'. I doubt it would be used very often. In stills mode there are no controls other than front/ back camera select. Simple, however far too basic for my liking. For me, this really lets down the iPad.
Of particular annoyance for me is the location of the camera lens. Rather than being centred and out of the way, when I gripped the iPad to take shots, I would invariably cover the lens with my fingers depending on the orientation of the unit itself.
These annoyances aside the camera is impressive if not quite to the same standard of either the Sony or the Playbook.
Note: Apple seems to be sticking with the 4:3 format in both video, stills and even the screen. This seems strange given the modern tendency towards 16:9 format for large screen TV's, movies and photo formats.
Summary:
All three units are incredibly impressive feats of modern technology. Not too long ago, only a couple of years perhaps, I would never have dreamt I would be reviewing such superb units. All three have their strong points however with respect to camera and video operation I'd have to favour the Sony over the Playbook, only because of the ability to override an exposure by up to +/- 2 stops. Something that is not possible on the other two units. The Playbook comes a very close second, almost neck and neck with the Sony. The Apple iPad is a clear third.
One thing I have noted about photography with tablets. I suspect one can easily look somewhat silly holding such large devices in outstretched arms in public places. Then again, some may claim "what's new" for yours truly.
My family and I look forward to bringing you coverage of other aspects of the Sony Tablet S over the coming weeks. Thanks for reading.
I don't normally like HDR shots as they are too often, way over done. However to get some detail in the arch I took a series of 9 shots, each a stop apart up from -3ev. Cam handheld on the tourist platform ledge. Converted to 16 bit tiffs in Capture NX 2, merged in Photomatix 4 pro.
Yahooo ... as if by magic, I'm now have the www.boxflat.net URL when hit, redirecting you to my Blogspot site. i.e back to "normal". I'm trying to figure how best to integrate my new web based photo hosting site with boxflat.net and yet still make it look like you are really at www.boxflat.net not the hosting site and at the same time still have my boxflat email, ftp site etc etc ... much fun but at times frustrating mucking around with terms like "cnames", MX records, @ records, email domains, name servers, dns's, name registrar's etc etc etc
All very confusing and one step wrong and the pack of cards comes crumbling down:)
Oh well there is only one way to learn .... dive in and have go ... in the meantime my new photo hosting site can be accessed at http://boxflat.zenfolio.com :)
The Net never ceases to amaze me ... just
discovered "dlvr.it". Now one can send posts from a heap different blog
engines e.g. blogger (I use), twitter, facebook, myspace, linkedin, rss
feeds, word press etc etc and all at the right price.
Alex had some money burning a hole in his pocket so out comes another RC Nitro car. These are seriously hard to photograph due, I think, to their relative size and speed. The lad is seriously quick and getting quite good at steering these around a tight course. Aaaah to be that age :) Shots taken in the office block just over the back fence .. don't tell anyone ... I won't...
