Sony’s Android Honeycomb Tablet Luanch Scheme Is A Little Odd

Sony held a little press junket in the US the other day to introduce the US to their upcoming Android Honeycomb tablets. The Japanese tech giant did the same thing in April but in Japan only. At the US event Sony didn’t let the press have alone time with their 9.4-inch S1 or dual-5.5-inch S2 tablets, but they did talk a bit about how they will launch the two different tablets in the US.
The Son S1 and S2 won’t be released the same way as you would think, a Wi-Fi only model and a mobile broadband model aren’t coming for both models. According to Allthingsd reporter Ina Fried Sony will be launching the dual-screen S2 as a 4G HSPA+ tablet only and the 9.4-inch S2 will be offered in Wi-Fi only models. AT&T Wireless announced earlier this week that they would be getting exclusive rights to offer the HSPA+ Sony S2 on their network.
The plan to offer the two tablets in the fashion just described isn’t prudent. Ideally both tablets would be available with mobile broadband and without it as well. Not every buyer wants to be tied to a carrier just to buy a tablet. I hope that Sony fixes this oddity before or shortly after the S1 and S2 are released, it would be what’s best for consumer choice.