On sale today, prices start at £399 for 16GB + Wifi

A couple of months after Sony first started taking pre-orders, its Xperia Tablet Z slate is now available to buy in the UK. Prices start at £399 for 16GB of storage and Wifi connectivity (black only), or you can opt for 32GB with Wifi (black and white) or 16GB with Wifi and 4G LTE connectivity (black only). The Tablet Z isn't the cheapest Android tablet option around, but it does boast a Snapdragon S4 Pro quad-core CPU inside, a 1080p display and Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, backed up by Sony's suite of apps. For the hacking crowd, there's also AOSP support through Sony's GitHub.

Across the Atlantic, Sony's still taking pre-orders for the Xperia Tablet Z through its official online store, with devices expected to ship out this Friday, May 24.

Source: Sony Store UK

Vanilla, open-source Android available for 10-inch tablet on Sony GitHub

Like the Xperia Z before it, Sony has announced that it's bringing the Xperia Tablet Z into its version of the Android Open-Source Project (AOSP). The project brings the latest vanilla Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean to the tablet, with the caveat that it's not "certified or intended for daily use," and many of the features from the shipping ROM will be missing.

You'll also need to do a bit of legwork yourself if you want to get AOSP up and running on your Xperia Tablet Z. The code is available on the Sony GitHub, just as it is for the Xperia Z, but you'll need to download and compile it yourself. So this is by no means a quick, easy fix to turn the Tablet Z into a Nexus-style device, but active development from Sony -- not to mention community developers -- could eventually make this a tablet of choice for Android hackers.

You'll find more technical details over on the official Sony blog, linked below. The Xperia Tablet Z is already available in some countries around the world. The Sony U.S. store is currently taking pre-orders, with an estimated ship date of May 24.

Source: Sony Blog

Looks like a Galaxy Note 8 that lost its S Pen

Samsung's continuing its Android tablet push with the Galaxy Tab 3 series, and it looks like there might be an 8-inch variant on the way alongside the current 7-incher. SamMobile obtained the shot you see above, which it claims shows the Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 8.0.

According to a spec sheet released alongside the image, the 8-incher will come in Wifi-only and 3G flavors, and run Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean on a 1280x800 panel. On the inside, it's supposedly an unnamed 1.5GHz dual-core CPU doing the number-crunching, with 1GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage and a microSD slot. A 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera and 5-megapixel rear shooter are also listed. The dimensions are also a point of interest, with a thickness of just 6.95mm being reported, potentially making this an extremely thin tablet.

The shot itself appears to be little more than a mock-up, but if accurate it would indicate that the 8-inch Tab 3 is running a the latest version of TouchWiz, and is also lacking the earpiece of its 7-inch counterpart. No release date is reported just yet, but we imagine it'll appear sometime after the 7-inch Tab 3's roll-out, due to take place over the next month.

Source: SamMobile

Quad-core, Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and 3G capabilities in Archos' latest 'Elements' line tablet

Archos has today introduced another tablet to their Elements series, the Archos 80 Xenon. This 8-inch tablet comes with 3G and WiFi, Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, a quad-core Snapdragon S4 1.2GHz processor and a 1024x768 resolution IPS display. So, we're looking at a solid mid-range tablet, with Jelly Bean and full Google Play access as is now the norm for Archos tablets. 

Other specs to mention include 1GB of RAM, but just 4GB of on-board storage expandable by way of microSD card. It comes with a pair of cameras, though neither is much to shout about. The rear camera is just 2MP, with a front facing 'webcam.' 

The 80 Xenon is set to be available sometime in June, priced at $199.99. 

Source: Archos

HP's second entry into the Android market is decidedly different from the Slate 7

Following in the footsteps of both ASUS with its Transformer series as well as other Windows OEMs with their convertible laptop/tablet hybrids, HP is announcing SlateBook x2 today. We're basically looking at a standard 10-inch Android tablet, but in the configuration of what HP is calling a "two-in-one device" that has a keyboard dock. As is usually the case, the tablet is completely contained as a stand-alone device, with a 1920x1200 IPS display, Tegra 4 processor and 64GB of storage. The SlateBook x2 is also shipping with Android 4.2.2, and what looks like very limited customizations from HP -- it even goes so far as to say this is "HP’s push to offer access to the Google experience". The docking station has a full keyboard and trackpad, along with a USB port, SDcard slot and an additional battery to charge the tablet.

Based on the information given to us right now the HP SlateBook x2 is expected to ship in August in both grey and white lid colors, and the pricing seems quite nice at $479.99. However this is a "starting price", and it isn't clear whether or not that includes the keyboard dock. The tablet market may be a bit different by the time this device hits store shelves, but it certainly seems like it will have a better shot at grabbing sales than the Slate 7 does. Stick around after the break for a promo video of the device by HP.

Source: HP

NVIDIA promises to change mobile gaming with the Shield -- a handheld console that's pure Android and pure fun

Think back to CES this past January, and chances are you'll remember NVIDIA's Project Shield. It sort of stole the whole show, and it's finally here. In case you missed all the hub-bub surrounding the device, think of a 5-inch, 720p multi-touch display, paired with a full game controller powered by NVIDIA's Tegra 4 chip. It's plenty powerful to play console-grade games, and the best part -- it runs Android so it launches with a full compliment of optimized titles to put it all to use.

It doesn't stop there, either. Using an NVIDIA graphics card in your gaming desktop (GeForce GTX 650 or higher) you'll also be streaming titles using Steam, getting a cross platform experience like no other. The Shield promises to bring your gaming to a whole new level. And of course, we expect things to work quite nicely between the Shield and NVIDIA's new Grid platform.

To get you started, there are two great titles pre-loaded -- Sonic 4 Episode II, and Expendable: Rearmed. You'll also have all the great games in Google Play available, including Tegra 4 optimized titles like Dead Trigger and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. In addition, NVIDIA has five new titles all lined up to make the most of the great hardware the Shield has on-board: Broken Age and Costume Quest from Double Fine, Flyhunter: Origins from Steel Wool Games, Skiing Fred from Dedalord Games and Chuck's Challenge from Niffler. Look for these titles to come soon.

It all sounds pretty exciting, but the big questions are when, where and how much? We're going to detail the full availability, including how preorders will work, but know that general preorders start May 20, and the Shield will have a retail price of $349 when it ships this June. We're expecting this to be a whole lot of fun, and we can't wait to get units into our own hands. In the meantime, the forums are open for all the discussion you would ever want about the Shield, and the press release is after the break.

More: NVIDIA Shield forums

Budget tablet with a focus on cookery

If you've ever wanted a tablet designed especially for your kitchen, Archos has a product that might be worth a look. The newly-announced Archos ChefPad is a budget-level Android tablet with a 9.7-inch XGA screen, an adjustable stand and silicone case to protect against splashes. Archos also has also loaded it up with a selection of cooking apps and suitably foody wallpaper.

The ChefPad is powered by an unnamed dual-core 1.6GHz CPU and Mali 400MP GPU, with 1GB of RAM and 8GB of internal storage, expandable via microSD slot. On the software side it's running a pretty vanilla-looking Android 4.1 Jelly Bean UI with Google Play.

The food-centric tablet is due to become available from June, with prices starting at $209.99 from the company's online store.

Source: Archos

To celebrate the new Star Trek: Into Darkness movie release, Google Play in the UK has a host of previous movies on special offer

If you're looking for some weekend watching, you could do worse than taking a look at the Google Play Store right now. In celebration at the release of the new Star Trek: Into Darkness movie, Google is throwing a promotion on a host of previous Star Trek movies. If that's not enough, Google also sat down with Benedict Cumberbach, star of the new movie, for an exclusive interview. Because we're good to you, you'll find that interview down below after the break. 

The price cuts have been made to both rental and purchase prices. Rentals start at £2.49 with purchases down to just £3.99. Virtually the whole library is there, from Star Trek I through to Insurrection and the 2009 new Star Trek movie. Nemesis seems to have been excluded for whatever reason but for not a lot of money you can own the rest of the Star Trek back catalog. 

The U.S. doesn't seem to be included in the promotion, at least for purchases. Rental prices are showing up at $2.99 for most of the catalog, so while you're waiting to see Into Darkness, feast on some classic Trek movies this weekend. While you're at it, be sure to jump into the comments below and share your favorite Star Trek movie with us, and let us know if you're somewhere other than the UK that's seeing the promotion. My favorite is First Contact, for what it's worth. 

It may be on the slow track, but the Xoom LTE is set to receive Jelly Bean nearly a year after its ICS update

As it tends to do shortly before releasing an official update, Motorola is sending out "soak test" invitations to owners of the Verizon Xoom LTE for an impending Jelly Bean update. The soak test is usually the final line of testing with a slightly wider number of users before an update is pushed out for general availability. While it doesn't guarantee an immediate release to everyone, it's a pretty good sign. The soak test invite refers to "Jelly Bean" nondescriptly, but we have to assume this will just be a bump to Android 4.1 rather than 4.2. 

We're not going to shun an update of any kind though, as a jump to Jelly Bean brings a whole bunch of welcomed improvements. If you're part of the Motorola Feedback Network, be sure to check your email and see if you've received an invite as well. Otherwise, keep an eye out for the official update to be hitting devices sooner rather than later.

Thanks, Dave!

More: Motorola Xoom Forums

Comments are closed folks. Look for more spring cleaning soon!

Let's make a pretty big dent in the pile on my desk, shall we? The ASUS MeMO Pad might be far from our favorite 7-inch Android tablet out there, but that doesn't mean we don't want it to go to a good home. Despite what the box shows, we're giving away the same one we reviewed, in its "cherry pink" color. (Which really is more cherry than it is pink.)

To win this guy, just leave a comment on this post. We'll shut things down at midnight EDT tonight and pick a winner. (And, yes, we'll be announcing all the winners later this week.) Good luck, everybody!