Review: Sony Tablet S and JBL OnBeat Xtreme 4

Worth the wait
Sony Tablet S

Now Sony enters the crowded tablet bazaar with S. Is it any good? In fact, it is surprisingly good. First, it has an innovative wedge-shaped design - it feels like a folded magazine. Its screen is good, measuring 9.4 inches diagonally. The hardware is solid, the touchscreen experience smooth, the screen resolution brilliant. All these should make it a winner. But it costs the same as an iPad 2 with the same specifications, and knowing that the iPad 3 will almost certainly be released soon, paying this kind of money for it is downright stupid. The only way to compete against the iPad is to undercut it on price, not match it. Look what happened to the Blackberry Playbook.

+ve: Nice ergonomics, good performance
-ve: Too expensive for an iPad competitor
Price: Rs 29,990

Sounds great
JBL OnBeat Xtreme 4

iPad owners rejoice. Finally there is a decent dock that works with Apple's tablet , and it is surprising that it took so long to arrive. JBL already had some of the better iPod docks out there. The OnBeat Xtreme is one of their larger docks, and it also produces surprisingly good sound, both in terms of volume and playback quality. In addition, with JBL's unique 'weave' design, this dock looks good too, but the designers have not sacrificed sound at the altar of design.

+ve: Great sound, decent price, works as an iPhone speakerphone
-ve: Does not work with older iPods or the iPod Classic
Price: Rs 24,990

Compiled by Kushan Mitra