The fastest, the thinnest and the most powerful, the Xperia Z2 clocks up a list of world firsts for an Android tablet.
Announced Monday on the opening day of the Mobile World Congress, the tablet is the first device to run the Snapdragon 801 processor, Qualcomm's latest and greatest quad-core chip.
However, by the end of this week's event, once every company has finished unveiling its latest mobile wares, there's a very good chance that it won't be the only gadget packing the same processing punch.
But Sony probably won't care as this is a device built to compete with the best that Apple, rather than Android, has to offer.
So, as well as top-notch processing capabilities, the tablet has integrated digital noise-canceling technology (a world first) and at just 6.4mm thick and tipping the scales at 426g despite its 10.1-inch display, Sony can not only claim that it's the slimmest, lightest waterproof tablet ever made, it can also say that it's thinner and lighter than the 7.5mm thick 469g iPad Air.
The display is wonderful, thanks to Sony's TV know-how, and the device has clearly been designed to perform in the areas that tablet users really want -- multimedia consumption, gaming, web browsing and occasional productivity.
For instance, the ‘What's New' app helps users discover and recommend everything from new albums to interesting games, while the Walkman app offers access to a catalogue of 25 million songs.
Then there's the range of supporting accessories. A set of special headphones to make the most of the tablet's noise-canceling technology, a Bluetooth speaker dock and even a Dualshock controller for Playstation-like gaming.
For those who will use "it will make me more productive" as an excuse for buying the tablet, Sony has bundled OfficeSuite Pro 7on the device so that Microsoft documents can be opened, edited and shared, plus a secure file transfer system for greater protection when transferring work-related documents. And of course, there's an optional Bluetooth keyboard-cum-protective case available too.
The Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet will go on sale in March with a choice of wi-fi only or wi-fi plus 4G and with either 16GB or 32GB of internal storage. Expect it to cost around €450.
