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Sony to unveil 12.9-inch tablet in the first half of 2015?

By Cookie Monster - on 26 Dec 2014, 8:57am

Sony to unveil 12.9-inch tablet in the first half of 2015?

 Sony announced the 8-inch Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact at IFA 2014.

Similar to what's happening in the smartphone space, the tablet industry is shifting towards a "bigger is better" mantra and Sony is said to be working on a large-sized tablet for release next year.

Quoting sources from the supply chain, DigiTimes reported that Sony's large-sized tablet is expected to be launched in the first half of 2015 which will cost more than US$1,000. Some of its rumored specs include a 12.9-inch (3,840 x 2,400 pixels) display, a Qualcomm processor, an 8-megapixel camera and an ultra-thin chassis of 8.6mm.

DigiTimes - "Sony's above 12-inch tablet is expected to target mainly the high-end segment and its price may exceed US$1,000, the sources said."

The manufacturer is alleged to be Pegatron Technology, which also assembles tablets for Apple and Microsoft. Sources told DigiTimes that more vendors will release large-sized tablets next year, which is likely to affect sales of notebooks.

It remains to be seen whether large-screen tablets will appeal to consumers as a laptop replacement. Besides their expensive price tags, large-sized tablets are difficult to handle. When we reviewed the Samsung Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 earlier this year, we found that it wasn't easy to handle the device despite its 7.95mm thin chassis. 

However, expanding the tablet portfolio seems to be a logical decision as the increasing popularity of phablets is cannibalizing sales of 7 to 8-inch tablets. Apple is also speculated to be joining the fray next year with the fabled 12.9-inch iPad Pro to boost its iPad sales. 

We're not quite sure of their decision since several notebooks and 2-in-1 laptops are available at that price point with decent specs, run full a Windows 8.1 operating system, able to convert between notebook and tablet form, and have a great form - like the Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro.

Source: DigiTimes

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