After quite a long time, Sony showed off an Android smartphone at the CES this year that took the consumers and tech enthusiasts by surprise and impressed (almost) everyone – the Xperia Z, a beautiful and well-designed smartphone with top of the line specs, with a release date rumored for late February/early March.

However, if rumor is to be believed, Sony might also be planning to launch an Xperia Z tablet as well despite making no announcement about it at the CES. This rumor comes from TechKiddy, according to whom the Xperia Z tablet is expected to launch in Q2 2013 and will make its way first to the Japanese market, followed by Hong Kong and then to European markets.

In terms of specs, the Xperia Z tablet sports a Full HD (1920 x 1080 pixels) 10.1-inch display, a quad-core 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4 Pro processor, 2GB of RAM, and 32GB of internal storage. There’s also an 8 megapixel camera and 2.2 megapixel one on the back and front, WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC and LTE connectivity, a 6000 mAh battery, and Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean. Like the phone, the Xperia Z tablet is also said to be both waterproof and dustproof.

As of now, these rumors are unfounded and should be taken with a pinch of salt, though if the Xperia Z makes an impact on the market on its launch, a companion tablet with the same specs does sound plausible. Sony hasn’t been able to make even a small dent on the tablet market yet, but the Xperia Z tablet may turn the tables around.

But anyhow, guess we’ll find out whether there is any truth to these rumors at the Mobile World Congress next month in Barcelona. Sony recently announced their new commitment to high-end devices, so I for one am in for the ride. Well, provided the price is right, and provided Sony starts pushing out updates faster than they do now.

Via: Tablet News