Sony Announces Its First Windows 8 Tablet, The VAIO Tap 11

You could be forgiven for not know what IFA stands for. The Internationale Funkausstellung Berlin was originally a radio exhibition, but has now become a consumer electronics trade fair.

And an important one at that, considering the timing that it is held.

Since consumer interest is at a high, several companies plan their product announcements around or at the event. And as expected, hardware makers like Lenovo and Toshiba have unveiled their Windows 8.1 products recently. Now Sony has joined them.

Microsoft is said to be hard at work on the next generation Surface Pro tablets, but Sony has already announced its first Windows powered tablet that appears to be highly similar to what is cooking over at the Redmond campus.

Called VAIO Tap 11, this is the first Windows 8 tablet that Sony will release to the public.

The Japanese technology titan confirmed the device as part of its IFA announcements, saying that the VAIO Tap 11 will sport an 11.6-inch display with a small built in kickstand. And just like the Surface Pro, the Tap 11 comes with a magnetic keyboard (that serves as a cover) and a digital stylus.

Engadget is further reporting that the display on the Sony VAIO is a full HD 1920 by 1080 pixels resolution, and the tablet comes with either an Intel Pentium or Haswell processor inside. A choice of black or white colors and between 128GB and 512GB SSDs is also on offer.

What is still unknown, however, is the pricing and estimated release date of this sleek slate.

Sony has also announced an all-in-one PC called the Tap 21, which comes with a large 21.5-inch touchscreen. And finally, the company also plans to launch a new Windows 8 tablet notebook hybrid that goes by the name of VAIO Flip.

The hybrid is set to be released in 13, 14 and 15 inch screen sizes, and is said to come with options of up to 512GB of SSD storage and the latest Intel Haswell processors.

Once again, launch dates or price tags for both these devices are yet to be provided.