Sony Xperia Tablet Z global launch in Q2 from $499

Sony has confirmed US and global launch plans for its Xperia Tablet Z, the 10.1-inch Android tablet it revealed for Japan last month, with pricing kicking off at $499 in the US. The slate will arrive sometime in Q2 2013, offering a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro quadcore processor and, like its Xperia Z phone sibling, immunity to spills and splashes thanks to IP55/IP57 water resistance.

The slate measures in at 6.9mm thick and 495g, and will be offered in both WiFi-only and WiFi/LTE versions. White and black finishes will also be sold, and there'll be three memory options: in the US, the 16GB Xperia Tablet Z will be $499, while the 32GB version will be $599. A top-spec 64GB model will be offered.

Up front is a 10.1-inch WUXGA display using the same Mobile BRAVIA Engine 2 image-processing technology as Sony implemented on the Xperia Z. There's also an 8-megapixel camera with Exmor R for mobile processing, and a 2-megapixel front camera. Stereo speakers get so-called "speaker halls" for extra resonance.

Sony has also thrown in Battery STAMINA mode, which cuts off the data supply to any apps not given explicit approval while the screen is turned off. OS is Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, with a 4.2 update in the pipeline.