Sony’s next-gen Tablet Z coming by mid-year

The new 10 inch tablet from Sony announced near the beginning of this year, but just after CES, has a release date, with availability announced at Mobile World Congress in Spain.

The next entrant in the Xperia range – just after the Xperia Z, which hits stores in March – will be, according to Sony representatives, hitting stores in Q2 of this year, which essentially means somewhere between April and June.

Sony’s update to its fold-over design Tablet S from 2011 looks to be a bold update, featuring a 1.5GHz quad-core processor, 2GB RAM, Android 4.1, 10.1 inch Full HD screen (slightly higher, actually, with 1920×1200 resolution), and a design that makes it thinner than the iPad Mini at 6.9mm thick.

Keeping with the theme of the Xperia Z, it has a very clean minimalistic look while still being dust and water resistant, and including some of the neat features like “Battery Stamina” mode appearing on the Xperia Z smartphone.

Pricing has yet to be announced for the 10 inch slate, though Sony has confirmed that it will be available in both black and white finishes, and with a selection of accessories at launch.