Sony packs 'the best' of all its technology into Tablet S and Tablet P, but is that good enough?

(Sony)

Sony says it is pulling out all the stops for the release of its first two Android-powered tablets, the Sony Tablet S and Sony Tablet P.

"These devices truly represent the best of everything Sony has to offer," said Mike Lucas, senior vice president of Sony Electronics' Networked Technology and Services Division. "From hardware to software and services, Sony Tablet devices embody all our innovations rolled into one."

The two tablets have previously been teased under the guise of the S1 and S2 but the official word on pricing, software and the full list of specifications was left for Sony’s August 31 press conference during IFA.

So far, technology enthusiasts are excited about the devices, praising Sony for offering tablets that stand out from the rest of the same-y crowd of Android tablets. But there is a lot of criticism too. Bloggers believe that the tablets are still too expensive and that Sony’s Android OS implementation is "messy."

Gizmodo writes, "they've designed something that's worthy of the Sony we love, with a unique and nearly genius form-factor, saving us from the multitudes of same same same Android tablets," and adds that the Tablet S is "the best Android tablet since the Samsung Galaxy 10.1, though depending on where you're coming from, that either says a lot or very, very little."

This is my Next says that "Sony seems to struggle on the software side, and that makes this device [the Tablet S] harder to recommend even against other Honeycomb tablets. There's no question that Sony has the raw materials — hardware know-how, a big ecosystem, great brands like PlayStation — to deliver a serious competitor in the tablet space, but that competitor is not the Tablet S."

The Tablet S and Tablet P will go on sale in the US in September while the European launch will see the Tablet S released in September for €479 ($499) and the Tablet P in November for €599 ($599). Customers can pre-order the tablets from http://www.sony.com/tablet now.

The promotional video can be viewed here: http://discover.store.sony.com/tablet/assets/video/s1_ad.mp4