Review: Sony Tablet P shows 2 screens aren't better than 1
— -- One constant of almost every tablet computer introduced since the original iPad is a slate-style design. That is why the dual-screen Sony Tablet P represents such a departure.
The two 5.5-inch touchscreen displays on this Android tablet are hidden when you fold the entire thing into a clamshell that can fit an inside blazer pocket. It's Sony's second unique tablet design of late. The first was the Sony Tablet S that came out last year, which is meant to evoke a folded-back magazine.
Folded in your pocket, the Tablet P, which went on sale this week and is available through AT&T Wireless, is something altogether different. It's just over an inch thick, which makes it feel rather chunky. You also feel every bit of its 0.8 pounds too. Of course, you can't slip an iPad into a pocket, including the latest model that Apple unveiled Wednesday in San Francisco.
As for the clamshell, you don't immediately know what to make of the gray contraption with the black hinge on the bottom. It reminds you of a hard case for eyeglasses or for a fancy ballpoint pen. The presence of Sony and AT&T logos and a camera peephole (for one of the two mediocre cameras on board) provides the biggest hint that this is an electronic gadget of some sort. But you're still not sure of its purpose even if you look closely at its oval-shaped bottom and see the power button, AC-power port, volume buttons and micro USB connector.
It becomes clearer when you unfold the device and see the two handsome screens, each with 1024x480 resolution. The design is vaguely similar to the Nintendo 3DS portable handheld. But the reason for two screens still isn't obvious.
You can lay the entire tablet flat or angle up just the panel with the upper screen, which lets you prop the tablet up on desk or night table. Unfolded, the device is rectangular and just over 6x7-inches.
Under many scenarios, such as when you're browsing the Web, the two displays are effectively combined to form one larger viewing area. But the pivoting bezel, smack dab in the middle, obstructs your view and mars the experience.
In some instances, the displays can be used to show independent but related content, such as a virtual keyboard on the bottom screen you use to enter a Web address on the top screen. Too bad that keyboard lacks a dedicated ".com" key, a nicety found on numerous other tablets. Another unfortunate drawback: You cannot display separate apps on the two screens. That's in stark contrast to another dual-screen device I've reviewed, the Kyocera Echo smartphone.
Sony says 40 dual-screen optimized apps were available at launch. One two-screen app that works well is UStream. You can watch say the PBS NewsHour stream on the upper display while checking out viewer comments on the bottom.
I tried the Virtual Table Tennis app game in which you control your paddle on the bottom while watching the ping-pong action on the top.
If you're viewing a movie in the top screen, the play controls appear on the bottom. Similarly, while you can read the contents of a specific e-mail in that upper screen, the bottom screen might display your inbox or the keyboard you can use to compose a new message.
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