After an initial announcement in Japan last month, Sony today officially revealed that the Xperia Tablet Z will be rolling out to the rest of the world as well. Those of us in the U.S. will get a crack at Sony's new Android tablet this May, with the black 16GB Wi-Fi model featuring a price tag of $499 and the black 32GB Wi-Fi variant carrying a price of $599. Sony also plans to offer a white 32GB version of the Xperia Tablet Z exclusively at Sony Stores and through its website.

The Xperia Tablet Z that launches here in the U.S. will be largely the same as the unit that we got a peek at in January. That means that it packs a 10.1-inch 1920x1200 Reality Display, 1.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro processor, 2GB RAM, 8-megapixel rear and 2-megapixel front cameras, microSD slot, S-Force Front Surround 3D sound that uses a pair of speakers, universal IR remote and NFC connectivity. The Tablet Z also features IP55 and IP57 ratings for resistance to dust and water. All of that is packed into a frame that's 6.9mm thick, which Sony says makes the Tablet Z the world's thinnest 10.1-inch tablet. It's also worth noting that while the Tablet Z will come to market with Android 4.1 preinstalled, an Android 4.2 update will roll out after launch.

While it's not terribly surprising to learn that the Xperia Tablet Z plans to make a trek to U.S. shelves, it's still good to finally get the details on Sony's launch plans. The Tablet Z borrows a few design details from the Xperia Z smartphone that Sony introduced at CES earlier this year, but considering that that device received a fair share of praise for its looks, I'm sure that many folks are glad to see the Tablet Z adopt a similar appearance. If you count yourself as one of those people that digs the design of the Xperia Z and Xperia Tablet Z, you'll want to continue scrolling down, as we've got an image of the white Xperia Tablet Z as well as a Sony promo video for you to feast your eyes on. Enjoy!

Via Sony, AllThingsD