Sony could be working on smaller Z3 Tablet compact

It’s fair to say that 10in tablets aren’t selling quite as well as their 7in and 8in smaller brothers, with Google’s Nexus 7 and Apple’s retina iPad Mini accounting for the majority, so news that Sony could be working on a new, smaller addition to its Xperia Tablet range shouldn’t come as much of a shock.

Mention of an unreleased Xperia Z3 Tablet compact can be found in an instruction manual for Sony’s BSC10 Bluetooth speaker, first spotted by Russian website Techtastic, which suggests the company is looking to launch a device smaller than the existing 10in Xperia Z2 Tablet.

The name would seemingly suggest that a vanilla Xperia Z3 Tablet is also in the works, but there have been no further leaks to confirm it. Sony, for its part, has yet to comment on the leak.

That means there are currently no details regarding specification, a price or release date. Considering Sony already has a 10in device we would imagine the new tablet would use either a 7in or 8in screen, in order to compete directly with Google’s Nexus and Apple’s iPad. A Full HD resolution display seems likely, especially in light of Samsung’s super-high resolution Galaxy Tab S, and Sony’s X Reality Pro and Bravia for Mobile picture engine are almost certain to make an appearance – assuming the device is real, of course.

With IFA in Berlin just around the corner in September, we shouldn’t have too long to wait to find out what Sony is up to; the company could reveal it alongside the rumoured Xperia Z3 smartphone at its press conference on the 3rd.

We’ll be at the show to bring you all the details, including a more compact Xperia tablet if there is one.