[Sony Tablet S] vivftp:
Howdy all, hope it's fine to post my next-gen Sony tablet thread here. I've owned my Sony tablet for about 2 months now and love it, but as with everything there is always room for improvement. I ran across another site that posed the question of how you'd change the Sony Tablet S, and I thought I'd share my thoughts I posted there with everyone here:

. I think it may be a good move for Sony to introduce both an entry level and ultra high end version for their 2012 tablet. I'll admit that I haven't given too much thought into what the entry level tablet should have and my list below would be mostly geared towards the ultra high end tablet. I won't lie here, I know that some of my suggestions would increase the cost of the tablet significantly, but one can stil dream :)

SIMPLE THINGS:

- Gorilla Glass over the screen. Despite my efforts I did manage to get a light scratch on the screen before I was able to obtain the Sony screen protector.

- Increase stock battery life. The great thing that Sony has going for it compared to other tablets is that their folded magazine format gives them a lot more space to play with, so why not toss in a larger battery. I don't mean a monster battery or anything, but just something that can put it firmly on the level of the competition or maybe even slightly ahead.

- Add 1-2 full size USB ports. The tablet is thick enough to allow full size USB ports so why not? I have the micro USB adpater and while it works just fine, I would like the convenience of a full size port.

- Add a mini HDMI connector. I know Sony is pushing for DLNA usage instead, but I think it's all about giving the customers the option to use what they want. Not to mention with all the Playstation games and whatnot it'd be wonderful to be able to output to a larger screen.

- Improve the SD card interactions by letting you play directly from the default apps rather than having to search for third party programs.

- The universal remote is great already, but adding some features like being able to have a master power switch to turn on multiple devices like a Harmony remote would be nice.

-Improve the speakers. The speakers are currently located in a position where your hands could easily want to cover them up when holding it in landscape mode. I say place them higher up towards the thick end of the unit on either side. Not to mention I have to imagine that placing them in a thicker portion will give them a chance to put in larger, better speakers. One complaint I have is when I'm out with friends and there's a moderate level of ambient sounds, we can't hear a damn thing that comes out of the tablets speakers. Because of this I've had to purchase an external speaker for those occasions.

-Add a flash for the cameras. I don't see why they couldn't put in a proper flash for the rear camera and an LED flash for the front facing camera. Or hell, put in an actual flash and an LED flash for the rear facing camera to give the user an option just because a normal flash is likely to use up a lot of battery power.

-Add haptic feedback. I personally like being able to get some sort of feedback when typing or playing games.

-Either add support for the Playstation controllers to wirelessly connect, or start selling a dedicated tablet controller that can connect via Bluetooth.

-More accessories. Sony (at least here in Canada) sells accessories like keyboards and whatnot for the tablet, but nothing that would let you transport them all together. I propose better carrying cases for those would choose to purchase all their equipment. Maybe also something like the Kensington Keyfolio case where you can have the tablet and keyboard all in one case for those who want the notebook experience. Sure you have the third party market out there to cover most of this, but it'd still be nice to see items like this directly from Sony.

MORE COMPLEX STUFF:

-Add a projector to the tablet. Sony has a line up of Handycams that have a built in projector on the rear of the LCD panel. They can project up to a 60" image just fine. This tells us that the tech has been miniturized enough to easily be installed on a tablet so the only real question is how would this affect battery life. This particular option would REALLY help seperate the Sony tablet from the others as you would no longer need a TV if you wanted to watch a movie or play a game on a larger screen, just a way to prop up the tablet (another accessory idea), a wall and a darkened room.

-An accessory that's an expandable battery pack would be wonderful. With a minimal amount of redesigning I think it would be possible to create an additional battery that simply snaps into place on the current form factor. Simply make it long and thin enough to cover that silver portion on the bottom rear of the unit so that it doesn't ruin the slanted feel of the unit when it's sitting flat and a battery that size could potentially double the life of the unit. Now of course I'm not an expert in battery design, so I don't know if there would be techological limitations here.

-Dump a ton of money into the software to make it simpler and more user friendly. Presumably this is something they're already working on not only for the tablet but most of their product line, so we'll see how that all works out.

-A Bravia engine. They managed to put a Bravia engine into the Arc phone, so I have to wonder how a Bravia engine might help improve the tablet.

-Get with the curve of technology rather than being behind it. The Sony tablet was released pretty much right up near the launch of Tegra 3 tablets. I REALLY hope Sony doesn't wait an entire year to launch the next tablet and instead tries to push for a spring release so they can go head to head with the likes of Samsung and Apple. Otherwise they'll always be viewed as trailing them rather than competing.