There are also smaller tablets like the Archos 5 with a 4.8-inch screen and the Dell Streak with a 5-inch screen. You’ll also find tablets with screens bigger then the iPad screen, like the Asus EeePC EP121 who has a 12-inch screen.

The prices are very different from each other. The Indian tablet will cost only 35 dollar while the Toshiba Libretto W100 has a price tag of $1100. What do you think? Will one of these tablets defeat the iPad?

Source: Technologizer

Bloomberg says their sources connected to the plans of the company. RIM, the BlackBerry manufacturer, recently acquired the domain BlackPad.com. Further details are not yet available. It’s also not clear if the BlackPad will run BlackBerry OS 6. The price will be somewhere near the price of the iPad at $499. RIM plans a press conference next week, maybe they’ll release some more info then.

Source: Bloomberg

Although I say tablets, Steve Ballmer says slates:

This year, one of the most important things that we will do in the smart device category is really push forward with Windows 7-based slates. This is a terribly important area for us.

The slates will come in a variety of form factors: some slates will have keyboards, others will be touch only, dockable, able to handle digital ink, etc. That means the slates will also be offered at different price points.

Oe manufacturer is missing from the list: HP. The planned to release a HP Slate, demonstrated last January at the CES 2010 keynote from Ballmer. But HP has bought Palm and webOS and is now planning to develop and release tablets and other devices based on webOS.

In 30 seconds HP tries to show their product in a nicely designed (and edited) video. A big pro might be the built-in camera. You can make photos and have video-chats. There will also be support for Flash, since the Slate will run Windows 7. I don’t know how long the battery will last with an operating system like this one, but I don’t have high hopes. On the other hand, you can install third party apps without the need of some kind of App Store. As for the necessary ports: the Slate has USB-ports and an SD card reader.

I’m very curious to see how HP will perform in this ‘new’ market.

The devices introduced at CES all have similar functionality. All have multi-touch screens, a build-in webcam and a relatively powerful processor. Still the audience is a little disappointed. Why? Because so far there’s no news about the Courier, which seemed it could have been the big surprise. A much heard comment is that all the tablets run an unadapted version of Windows 7 or Android. Even more disappointing is the fact that all these products seem to be in a concept stage. No computer developer dares to set a launch date or name a price.

I first thought Apple would be too late with introducing a tablet (later this month), but with all this disappointment at CES I now think Apple will be the big surprise of 2010. At least they know how to introduce a new product on the market with their stylish events. And at least they dare to name a price and tell the world when everybody can buy the device.

The hardware runs Windows 7, Microsoft’s latest operating system. Steve Ballmer presented the audience with a few touchscreen devices with HP being the “biggest” in terms of the brand name. The short demo showed that the tablet will be equipped with the Kindle-software from Amazon to make it possible to read books.

It’s unknown what the price of the device will be and when the ’slate’ will be available on the market. It also remains unclear if Microsoft will release the Courier soon. There was no word about the device at the demonstration. The very short ad (17 seconds) below shows a glimpse of the HP device:

“On Wednesday, Mr. Ballmer, Microsoft’s chief executive, will unveil a novel take on a slate-type computer during his evening keynote at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, according to people familiar with Microsoft’s plans. The slate will be made by Hewlett-Packard and possibly available by mid-year, these people said.”

The tablet will be introduced as a multimedia device with e-reader and multi-touch functionality. Some time ago I already posted about the ‘Courier‘, but it’s not clear if that’s the device Microsoft is going to introduce today.

It seems that Ballmer’s tablet device has similar functionality to that of Apple’s device. Previous rumors, here, here and here, are claiming that Apple will introduce their own tablet computer this month as well and launch the device in March. And another report confirmes Apple does indeed has plans for a January introduction and a launch in March.

“However, Coursesmart Executive Vice President Frank Lyman has a very different take on the potential of tablet computers for reading. Tablets could include the ability to look at color graphics and integrate other sources of information such as video and outside links, he said.

“The key is that with multifunction devices, you can do more than just read the textbook. You can interact with the content,” he said. “It is all about having your textbooks integrated with other tools and resources that you use for learning.”

CourseSmart developed a preview video demonstrating eTextbook usage on a Apple Tablet computer. The company clearly looked at the software on a MacBook and an iPhone and based its concept on that knowledge. Take a look at the video below:

Slashgear released some details of Notion Ink’s “Smartpad”. It’s a 10.1″ sized device and the computer is one of the first to use the Pixel Qi’s 3qi screen, which is also a possible candidate for the Apple Tablet computer.

Below is a list of the specs:

• 6.3 x 9.7 x 0.6 inches
• 1.7 lbs
• WiFi b/g, Bluetooth, UMTS/HSDPA (3G)
• Digital Compass, Accelerometer, Proximity, Ambient light, Water sensors
• USB, HDMI, 3-megapixel autofocus camera, Video Recording
• 32GB SSD, SD Slot
• Android OS with Gesture Support.
• 1024×600 Pixel Qi display
• 48 hrs standby battery, 8 hrs HD video playback, 16 hrs internet surfing over WiFi

The price is unknown but the list above gives you an idea of what the Apple Tablet might hold. The Apple Tablet is also rumored to have a touchscreen of similar size. And instead of the Android OS the device Apple will bring on the market is expected to run a version of the iPhone operating system.

The picture looks stunning to me and somewhat futuristic and that’s what I like. Let’s hope Apple will offer something similar.

The company Troll Touch is specialized in equipping Macs with a touchscreen. This can be done with a kit so you can do that yourself, but you can also let Troll Touch handle it. You can buy a Mac from them with a pre-installed touchscreen.

If you want to equip your Mac, you have to have a big pocket filled with money, because it’s not cheap. The price for equipping the 21,5-inch iMac with a touchscreen is $1099 and it costs $1699 for the 27-inch model. The MacBook-kit is $699. These prices are for the kits alone, you have to install it yourself. If you want a pre-installed touchscreen on an iMac, prices start at $2299.

Source: Engadget