Report: Sony Preparing Tablet With Android OS, PlayStation Suite

Sony is working on a 9.4-inch display tablet device that will feature its PlayStation Suite framework, its Qriocity service, and Google's Android 3.0 Honeycomb operating system, according to media reports. Codenamed "S1", the product is being developed by a team from Sony's VAIO unit with help from the company's PlayStation, Reader, and Sony Ericsson divisions. Citing multiple independent sources, tech site Engadget says the device will feature custom-built transitions and user interface elements on top of the Android OS. The S1 is said to be "100 percent focused" on Qriocity, Sony's on-demand streaming service for music, games, e-books, and video (currently available only in select European countries). It's also expected to have pre-installed PS1 games and support for PlayStation Suite, the company's cross-device gaming framework. Sony's PlayStation Suite platform serves as a PlayStation-branded app store for original first-party and third-party titles to release on Android devices. The NGP, its forthcoming PSP successor, will support PlayStation Suite, as will Sony Ericsson's Android-based Xperia Play phone when it releases next month under Verizon. The tablet will reportedly have a Tegra 2 processor, a 1280x800 resolution, front- and rear-facng cameras, an IR port for controlling devices, a possible Qriocity button, and a "wrap design" mimicking "an open paperback stuffed into the back pocket, or a magazine folded backward upon itself such that only a single page is visible to read." Engadget claims the S1's WiFi-only version will ship in September (already delayed several times) with a price of $599, $100 more expensive than Apple's cheapest iPad model, which Sony initially hoped to match in price.