Sony won't compete on price in tablet market

New Delhi: Sony Corp won't be drawn into price competition in the tablet PC market amid a plethora of new cheap models from other makers, the executive in charge of the Japanese company's mobile devices division said on Tuesday.

Sony is also lithe enough and has enough research and development capability to compete against rivals Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics in smartphones, Kunimasa Suzuki, an executive vice president at Sony, said at a press briefing in Tokyo.

Sony, a few days back, released an upgraded version of its Android tablet, branding its rival to Apple Inc's iPad and Samsung Electronics' Galaxy as "Xperia" in a bid to unify its mobile devices under one name. It features a 9.4 inch screen, and is powered by Android 4.0 operating system.

$Sony won\'t compete on price in tablet market$

Sony is also lithe enough and has enough research and development capability to compete against rivals.

The Xperia tablet will retail in the US from September 7, costing $399 for a 16 gigabyte version and $599 for a 64 gigabyte model, the company said in a press release. Like Microsoft's device it is also available with a keyboard that doubles as a cover, for which consumers will be asked to pay an addition $99.99.

Though more powerful than its predecessors, the new tablet from Sony also faces a more crowded marketplace. In June, Microsoft Corp introduced its first tablet, dubbed Surface.

Signs of a turnaround for Sony are yet to emerge.

The iconic Japanese consumer electronics brand also wants to boost sales of digital cameras and games consoles, while nurturing new businesses including medical devices.

With inputs from Reuters