Sony Xperia Tablet Z on the way

Sony is working on a new Xperia Android tablet called the Sony Xperia Tablet Z, reports claim.

While this is by no means a certainty, the rumour comes from a Japanese Twitter account called @Xperia_info and we're leaning to the side of cautious optimism with this one.

The 10.1-inch slate will follow on from its predecessors, the original Sony Tablet S and the revamped Sony Xperia Tablet S. Like its immediate predecessor bearing the same Xperia brand, the Xperia Tablet Z will feature a waterproofing treatment.

The display will be a 1920x1200 pixel LCD while inside will be a Qualcomm S4 Snapdragon Pro APQ8064 clocked at 1.5GHz with 2GB of RAM and 4G LTE support. Supposedly a Wi-Fi only model is also likely.

For storage there's 32GB onboard and while there hasn't been any mention of microSD we wouldn't rule it out just yet. You'll also get an 8-megapixel camera and a huge 6,000mAh battery pack.

Software will be Android 4.1 Jelly Bean probably with Sony's new UI seen on the Xperia Z smartphone layered on top.

Allegedly the whole device will measure a mere 6.9mm thick which surely has to be a contender for the thinnest tablet ever.

There aren't any pictures yet and there's no word on styling or design, but if it's sharing the Xperia Z monkier with its smartphone cousins chances are good it'll also share a similar aesthetic. Glass on the back panel perhaps?

Of course there's no info on when or where the Xperia Tablet Z might get a release, but if real we wouldn't be at all surprised if it popped up at Mobile World Congress next month.

We will be sure to bring you any more we hear on this.