They were supposed to get a taste of Ice Cream Sandwich at the same time, but I guess that hinge in the middle turned out to be a bit of a speed bump. As you might recall, the Sony Tablet S got the official ICS update late last month, but Tablet P owners have been stuck with Honeycomb in the interim. That’s changing now, Sony is ready to push out Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich to the dual screen Sony Tablet P. As with the Tablet S, the update will be pushed out automatically via the software update feature.

The skinned version of Android 4.0 going to the Tablet P is pretty much identical to the one for the Tablet S, except that it’ll be displayed across the two screens. What this means is that you’ll get access to the “small apps” of the browser, remote control, and calculator that can then be overlaid on top of the full app you have running behind it. There’s also the quick access to the camera from the home screen, as well as the inclusion of a native screenshot feature. The better file manager with full direct access to the SD card should be there too, as will the “enhanced gallery media viewer.”

Android 4.0 ICS update for the Sony Tablet P will be officially unleashed onto the world on May 24. While the official announcement only made mention of the Japanese market, the international release should be at or around the same time. All you have to do is keep your Tablet P connected to Wi-Fi and it’ll let you know when a software update is available.

[Source]

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Although all tablet lovers are waiting anxiously to know all about what’s new from Apple, at least some of you are looking forward to play with the Tablet P, Sony’s unique clamshell Android tablet. The dual-screened device, which was announced last year, is finally making its way stateside via AT&T on March 4^th.

Just to refresh your memory, the Tablet P boasts a pair of 5.5-inch LCD screens which work independently or combined into a single large screen. So, when folded, that will be a 10-inch device in your pocket.

Running Android 3.2 Honeycomb with the company’s software additions (upgrade to ICS has been promised to arrive in a few months), the Tablet P also features a dual-core Tegra 2 processor, 1GB of RAM, 5MP rear cam and just 4GB of storage with a microSD card slot for cards of up to 32GB. You will have access to many apps optimized for the dual screens of the tablet from the company’s Select App, and of course Android Market is always there. And it is PlayStation Certified as well.

Via AT&T, the Tablet P will be available for $399 with a 2 year contract. It is a 4G device and you can choose from two monthly plans: $35/mo for 3GB of data or $50/mo for 5GB. But if you choose the latter, after two years you would have spent $1600. But you can get the device contract-free for $549 and select a pre-paid data plan that suits you.

But forget about all that if you have marked March 7^th on your calendar.

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The world of Android tablets is about to get a little more crowded. We first saw Sony’s ambitions into this realm earlier this year, but the official launch of the Sony Tablet S and the Tablet P is just around the corner. So, let’s take a quick preview of what you can expect.

With the Tablet S, you get a more conventional “slate” style design, but they’ve opted for an unconventional 9.4-inch TruBlack display to go along with the NVIDIA Tegra2 processor. There’s a full size SD card slot, dual cameras, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and your chocie of 16GB or 32GB of internal storage. From the side, you get a unique “angle” or tapering to the design too. The display is “very good” and Android 3.1 has been customized by Sony. They’ve also included something called “Quick View” that’s supposed to expedite page load times in the web browser, plus a new home screen with your favorite content.

Like the Xperia Play, the Tablet S is also PlayStation Certified, though you don’t get the hardware controls. While it’s not like the Eee Pad Transformer’s dock, there is also an official Bluetooth keyboard available too. In any case, the Tablet S will ship next month for $499 (16GB) and $599 (32GB) and preorders are being taken now.

Personally, I’m more intrigued by the Tablet P, the dual-screen Android tablet that we had previously known as the Sony Tablet S2. There are two 5.5-inch TruBlack displays, Android 3.2 Honeycomb, dual cameras, 4GB storage, full size SD slot, and “Sony Services.” And yes, it does the PlayStation Certified thing too, which totally lends itself to a DS/3DS comparison. No pricing info has been announced, but they are planning a release later this year.

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