Is Sony now competing with Apple’s upcoming iPad 3? [Video]

Sony S1 and S2 tablets — Both the tablets will run on Honeycomb and will hit the markets later this year. Sony

Japanese electronics giant Sony has become the latest company to enter the tablet market and in the process has given apple more reasons to be worried. The Cupertino-based company is already facing all kinds of threats from the likes of Cisco Cius, Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and Motorola Xoom. Now Sony has entered the arena and looks all set to give Apple a tough competition.

The Sony-made tablets, codenamed S1 and S2, were previously spotted in several YouTube teaser videos which failed to say anything about the upcoming tablets specifications and release date. The company earlier, however, revealed that the tablets will run on Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) and said that the device will deliver the perfect combination of hardware, content and network with seamless usability for a high-quality, engaging entertainment experience.

The S1, loaded in a wedge-shaped case, offers a 9.4-inch screen. The S2 is a dual screen clamshell tablet with two 5-5-inch displays which can be used together as one large screen to browse websites. The user will also have the option of watching a video on one screen while using the other for a different purpose.

The tablets have been developed to work with the Sony PlayStation Suite platform. Services such as Qriocity and various other video services have also been included to provide rich video and music content. The tablets are expected to come with Wi-Fi, whereas 3G and 4G can be accessed optionally. A new feature, infrared lamps, will be introduced in both the tablets to control devices connected to a Sony Bravia. Sony, like Apple’s AirPlay, will also be able to send music and videos to compatible devices via a DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) wireless protocol. Nothing is known about the tablets' processors at the moment.

Apple, in comparison, will be releasing its anticipated iPad 3 later this year. The upcoming tablet is expected to come with retina display which will have an improved resolution of 2058X1536 pixels. An enhanced Apple A6 chipset is also expected and has been rumored to be powered by a quad-core processor. The tablet will run on the next-gen iOS 5 and will have a Thunderbolt port and wireless synchronization.