Sony Ericsson 4G tablet prototype pictured

It's just a prototype for now, but Sony Ericsson could be releasing a tablet in the future
It's just a prototype for now, but Sony Ericsson could be releasing a tablet in the future

Sony Ericsson is rumoured to be working on a 4G, Android-running tablet, a prototype of which has been snapped by a Dutch blog.

Hiding in plain sight, the tablet was spotted on the TDIA stand over at Mobile World Congress.

The inclusion front-facing camera comes as no surprise – apparently it's a 3MP snapper – and that screen is estimated to be 6 or 7-inches.

Chubby Android

The TDIA representatives on the stand confirmed to NieuweMobiel.nl that it will run Android on release, although they did not specify which iteration of the OS.

There are three buttons on the prototype device – home, menu and back – which are pretty standard for Android phones but most tablets these days do away with as many buttons as possible.

Of course, there's no guarantee that all three buttons will make it to the final device, nor, we hope, will the enormous bezel or overall thickness of the tablet.

Sony ericsson tablet prototype

The unnamed Sony Ericsson tablet is branded TD-LTE; a 4G China Mobile network. Obviously, a 4G tablet isn't much good to us Brits at present, but there's a good chance we'll see a WiFi or 3G model launch as well if the tablet ever hits the market.

When we spoke to Nathan Vautier, MD of Sony Ericsson UK, last week, he denied that Sony Ericsson was working on a tablet at all; but these branded prototypes and comments from CTO Jan Uddenfelt suggest otherwise.

Via NieuweMobiel and SlashGear

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Former UK News Editor for TechRadar, it was a perpetual challenge among the TechRadar staff to send Kate (Twitter, Google+) a link to something interesting on the internet that she hasn't already seen. As TechRadar's News Editor (UK), she was constantly on the hunt for top news and intriguing stories to feed your gadget lust. Kate now enjoys life as a renowned music critic – her words can be found in the i Paper, Guardian, GQ, Metro, Evening Standard and Time Out, and she's also the author of 'Amy Winehouse', a biography of the soul star.