The Sony Xperia Z tablet is making a splash at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this week -- like its sibling, the Sony Xperia Z smartphone, it's waterproof.
Videos are circulating of the Xperia Z tablet taking a bath or getting splashed while playing movies. As long as the small rubber flaps covering each of the ports are in place, it looks like the Xperia Z tablet really will survive a dunk.
It's not invincible, though. Sony says the Xperia Z tablet is waterproof up to a meter below the surface and can stay under for up to half an hour.
Like most touchscreen devices, though, it's not usable underwater. Touch screen activate when an electrically conductive human appendage interrupts the tiny current on the screen. And water is an excellent conductor.
But once the Xperia Z tablet is out of the water, it's fully functional again. That makes it much more user-friendly, particularly in precarious situations like the kitchen (those rubber flaps will also keep out dust and flour), the bathroom or even the bath (though it's unlikely Sony will ever suggest using the tablet in the bath; the risk of electrocution is never zero).
The Xperia Z tablet is also winning accolades for its sleek design. At 7 mm in depth and only 1.1 pounds, it's the world's thinnest and lightest 10-inch tablet.
It runs a 1.5 GHz quad-core Snapdrgaon S4 Pro processor with 2 GB of RAM. The screen is a 10.1-inch Full-HD 1920x1200 pixel display. It comes with an 8 megapixel rear camera with extra low-light sensitivity and a 2 megapixel front-facing camera.
The Xperia Z tablet should hit the American market in May. A 16 GB model will run $499, while the 32 GB model will be $599.
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