The Xperia Tablet Z release date has long been slated for May, and Monday, Sony finally announced that the Xperia Tablet Z would begin shipping May 24. You can pre-order the Sony Xperia Tablet Z now to receive the device by its scheduled release date, or possibly even sooner.

When the Sony Xperia Tablet Z begins to hit store shelves, it will be the most lightweight and thinnest 10-incher on the market: it weighs in at 17.5 ounces and is only 6.9mm thick. The Sony Xperia Tablet Z also boasts a pretty impressive specs sheet: the tablet is powered by a 1.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon processor and 2GB RAM. It runs Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean out of the box and features an 8.1-megapixel camera, 32GB internal storage, 4G LTE data connectivity, NFC and S-Force surround sound. The display measures 10.1 inches and produces a resolution of 1,920 x 1,200. Like all new Sony Xperia devices, the Xperia Tablet Z is waterproof, so feel free to take your new tablet into the tub with you.

While the Sony Xperia Tablet Z will be among the most robust and portable tablets on the market once it arrives on its May 24 release date, the new device is not without its shortcomings. Previously, Engadget reported that in its pursuit to create as thin and light a tablet as possible, Sony put out a $600 device that was "a bit bendy and creaky." To put that into context, the iPad 4 costs less at $499, and is probably the most solidly built tablet currently on the market. In light of this, it's somewhat unclear precisely what the Xperia Tablet Z's value proposition is.