Sony's Honeycomb-powered clamshell device, the Tablet P, isn't what you'd call a conventional Android tablet. So it should come as no surprise that it had a fittingly unconventional path to release, with a variety of different sizes and form factors being considered before everything was finalized.
According to Engadget Chinese, which was recently given a tour of some early Tablet P prototypes, the device started life as a mock-up made out of a cheap wallet, before a host of more practical designs were considered. These included various 5 to 7-inch setups, and during the height of the netbook craze, Sony was even considering going with a Windows/Intel x86 combo for the device's hardware and software base.
Eventually, due to battery life and heat dissipation issues, that idea was dropped, paving the way for the Tegra and Honeycomb-based device that we're all familiar with today. The Tablet P may not have set the world alight just yet, but at least the story of its development shows how Android's versatility can leads to all kinds of unique products finding their way into being.
Source: Engadget Chinese
