The Sony Dash: Pros and Cons

Not too long ago, I was looking for a present to get my mom. I knew I wanted to get her some kind of tablet other than the iPad because that was just too expensive for me. So somehow, I came across this product: The Sony Dash. It seemed really cool and it was really cheap, compared to the Apple iPad, coming in at just around $200. It wasn't until I read more into it that I didn't really like and opted for something else.

PROS:

1. Completely customizable.
The Sony Dash comes with many different apps that you can download to add to your Sony Dash. Unlike the iPad, you are able to have a stream (such as Facebook or Twitter) on the home screen that updates it automatically. There's no need to have to wait to update just when you open the app; the Sony Dash updates itself in real-time.
2. Apps are completely free!
When I came across this piece of information in the FAQ, I was amazed that they offered all of their apps for free! If you tried to get all of the top apps on an iPad, you can easily find yourself up $5 for each app!

All for around $199.

This product only costs a mere $200! That amount of money at the Apple store won't get you anything except for accessories to their products.


CONS:

1. Listen to internet radio... what about my own?
Sony provides an internet radio app so that you can listen to your favorite radio station. They even say you can reach your photos and videos... online. The Dash does not actually store any kind of information. It has no storage at all. The only way to get to your own music, photos, or videos is if they are online.
2. How portable is this "tablet"?
If you go to the Sony Dash website and look through the pictures, you won't even see one that shows a power cord connected to the Dash. It wasn't until that I read on the FAQ pdf file that I realized it had to be connected to a power source the whole time it is on because it has no battery. This is directly from the FAQ page:

8. Is DASH™ portable? DASH™ does not have a battery and requires an AC power cord (included).

I don't know if it's just me, but I would have liked to know this on the original website instead of having to look through the FAQ page.
3. Read some of the reviews of the product. Some of the customers have said things like, "Waste of money", "Not Worth It", "Returning it after 2 weeks." It seems to me that most people aren't a big fan of Sony's product that's supposed to compete with the iPad.

If you have a Sony Dash yourself, leave a comment below and let me (and everybody else) what you think about it!