Sony is moving its tablet devices into the Xperia mobile family, with a new model set for an IFA unveil this August.

Several slides detailing specs and price for the Xperia Sony Tablet were published on xda-developers.com and describe the tablet as being slim, made from aluminium and splashproof. 

The device will be a follow-up to Sony’s Tablet S announced in August 2011 but it will be the first time a tablet device will be rolled out under the Xperia banner, a brand previously reserved for smartphones.

The Xperia Sony Tablet looks set to feature a 9.4-inch LCD display and will run on at least Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, possibly Jelly Bean, and will house the Nvidia Tegra 3 CPU. 

Music, videos, cloud photo storage, PlayStation games and ebooks will all be accessible on the tablet via the Sony Entertainment Network, with ebooks also available from the Reader Store. 

If you’re willing to let a friend use your tablet but don’t wish them to have access to all your contents, then the "Guest Mode" enables you to limit what applications are displayed and can be used. 

There’s an HDMI and USB port, while the slides also reveal a selection of appealing accessories, including a cover that doubles up as a stand for the tablet and also houses a keyboard. 

According to the document, a 16GB version of the Xperia Sony Tablet will retail for $449.99, a 32GB version for $549.99 and a 64GB variant for $649.99. We'd guess that the 16GB price would translate into something like £299 in the UK, pricing it some £100 dearer than the Nexus 7.

Tell us what you think of the Xperia Sony Tablet. Let us know in the comments below...