More Tablets Than Just the iPad

The world of tablets is not just the iPad. There are several Tablet PCs which could become the Apple iPad alternatives.

1. HP Slate PC 

Hewlett Packards’s touchscreen slate, expected to go on sale later his year for “under $500”, was demonstrated running a PC Kindle app to a 3,500-strong crowd by Microsoft chief Steve Ballmer. The excitable CEO started: “It’s a beautiful little product… as portable as a phone and as powerful as a PC running Windows 7.”

Next to no specs have been revealed, but on first glance we’re not sure if it’ll be a real contender to Apple’s tablet anyway. Microsoft’s Courier concept, with dual screens that open like a book, looked far more interesting when it was previewed late last year. Having said that, the prospect of Windows 7 on such a small device is mouth-watering and demonstrates where technology is headed in 2010.

$499 (£300), www.HP.com/uk, Out early 2010

2. Sony Dash Viewer

Sony's quirky sidecar to the tablet bandwagon was this seven-inch touchscreen Wi-Fi “Personal Internet Viewer”, which runs the Linux-based Chumby OS. Users will be able to access the 1,000+ free Chumby apps for news, weather, photos etc, and it also can be propped up like a photo frame. One for home users, in short.

$199 (£120), www.Sony.co.uk, Out April

3. T-Mobile Vega 

 Available in the UK later this year, the Vega from T-Mobile and Innovative Converged Devices (ICD) is one of the first tablets to run on Android. With a 15-inch touchscreen and powered by an Nvidia Tegra 250 mobile web processor, it’s designed for family use within the home. T-Mobile calls it a “family communication network”, as it can be accessed remotely by multiple users. Pricing is still to be announced.

£TBC, www.T-Mobile.co.uk, Out early 2010

4. Lenovo IdeaPad U1 hybrid

The 11.6-inch Ideapad U1 hybrid from Lenovo features a detachable, tablet-style screen. When the screen is locked in to the chassis it’s a Windows 7 Home Premium laptop with an Intel Core 2 Duo processor. When it’s pulled from its shell it becomes a Qualcomm Snapdragon-powered, multi-touch slate with 16GB storage, running Lenovo’s Skylight Linux system.

The notebook has built-in Wi-Fi and can use the tablet’s 3G connectivity to get online. Better still, whether you use the notebook or tablet to create documents, all data will be synchronised once the hardware is re-attached. A novel approach to the standard tablet design.

$999 (£610), www.Lenovo.com/uk, Out Summer

5. Dell Android Slate

This sexy looking slate is currently referred to as the “Dell Concept Tablet”, seeing as it’s a tablet concept made by Dell. It’s got a five-inch screen, runs the Android OS and also totes a five-meg camera with LED flash. The device is expected to have 3G and Wi-Fi capabilities and there are rumours of a SIM card slot and a choice of different screen sizes.

£TBC, www.Dell.co.uk, Out 2010

Read also about Google Tablet, JooJoo and Tablet PC Wars.

Sources:

1. T3