my honest opinion would be to go for an ipad 2 for someone who is a little older and has had no experience in android and although android is very good it just simply isnt as simple as ios.
ofcourse you get flash , customisable homescreens ,etc.but you do have to learn to use it. unlike ios where its click on app, press middle button back to home. all the apps on the app store are tested to work on your hardware unlike android where some apps are just incompatible.
its one of those things where by the more effort you put into android the better the user can make it and when you do have it managed, ios cant touch it.
now interms of the sony s. yes it doesnt feel as nice as cold metal and the build seems like its lacking. but when the actually took it apart they found that all the components in the inside where surrounded by platic for added rigidness. unlike other tablets where a knock could dislodge a chip(like the tramsformer).
It also features the same infrared tech as those £200 universal remotes. another benefit of the tablet is the wedge, yes it means its thick but no other tablet feels as comfortable holding vertical.
have a look at the tech republic teardown of the transformer and then the tablet s, the said how the transformer was a mess of circuit boards botched together. so yes it may seem like it is buiot hetter due to astetic reasons but in reality, the build in the inside is what counts and the sony is build far better.
not only is it lighter than the transformer(probably why its lacking the metal), but added to the spine of the sony s it is unmatched for vertical use. it makes an excellent ebook and magazine reader.
now the screen has really good blacks, probably why the background looks so dark even though it is set to brightest.
yes the transformer has an ips panel, for excellent brightness but the sony is 9.4" for better pizel density with a much smaller bezel on the side meaning your thumbs dont have to stretch as far and better blacks and lets be honest, you rarely use a tablet at full brightness like the shops if you value your battery life. at the lower end of the brightness the blacks of the screen blend into the black of the bezel, making it look very classy indeed.
now it doesnt have hdmi, which isnt good, they claim dlna is the future but in reality. dlna is stuck to the software and their formats and any tablet can download a dlna app. the transformer has the upper hand in this respect.
thne charger port is rubbish but the cable is good and long.
also sd card does not expand internal storage yet.
the other gripes like typing on these forums etc(hence the typos on this reply as correcting them is so difficult) are all android related and I hope icecream sandwich will sort this out.
its not gorilla class, which is shame but sony say this is to make the screen more responsive so they used a thin sheet. it did seem to come with a screen protector pre installed and I placed one ontop as I didnt notice it.
