The 11 hottest Windows and Android tablets unveiled at CES
10 of these tablets run Android or Windows, and one runs both
While Apple's iPad is likely to remain the top selling tablet in 2011, hardware vendors like Acer, Samsung, Asus and Toshiba previewed a host of rival devices at this week's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. With single screens, dual-screens, and slide-out keyboards, the tablets come in a range of physical form factors. All of them run Android or Windows (and, in one case, both), and most will be available within three to six months. Here's a look at 11 cool tablets displayed at CES.
Similar to Microsoft's canceled "Courier" project, Acer's Windows 7 tablet has two 14-inch touch screens. The crowd for Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer's keynote was impressed by the ability to browse the Web across two screens as well as another cool feature: place 10 fingers on the bottom screen and it turns into a virtual keyboard, complete with a mouse trackpad. With a 2.66GHz, Intel Core i5 processor, and up to 4GB of RAM, it should be fast. One downside: the battery will only last three hours.
Expected to be sold in March for $700, this tablet/laptop hybrid comes with a real, physical keyboard, which can be hidden by sliding it underneath the tablet portion. The slider will use the Intel Atom netbook processor, rather than more powerful notebook chips, but will have battery life of up to 9 hours and 2GB of memory. Features include a 10-inch touch screen, 4-in-1 memory card reader, USB port, webcam, and lightness, with base configurations starting at 2.18 pounds – lighter than a MacBook Air but heavier than an iPad.
Available for pre-order on Amazon.com for $1,100, this is a standalone tablet that comes with a Bluetooth keyboard and runs the 64-bit edition of Windows 7. This Eee Slate has strong hardware specs with 4GB of RAM, an Intel Core i5 processor, two USB ports and a 64GB SSD drive. Battery life, however, is an unimpressive "up to three hours," according to the description on Amazon.
The IdeaPad will sell as a standalone Android tablet for $520, or in a package that also runs Windows 7 in notebook form for $1,300. When the slate is attached to the keyboard it can run either Windows or Android, and when it is detached it runs just Android. In notebook mode, IdeaPad runs an Intel Core i5 processor with speeds of 1.2 GHz and 2GB of memory and a 320GB hard drive, while the slate has a 1.3GHz processor from Qualcomm, 1GB of RAM and 16G or 32GB of flash storage.
One of the first tablets to use Android 3.0, an upcoming version of Android designed for tablets, Xoom will be sold by Verizon in March as a 3G device and will be upgraded to 4G later in the year. Using the Nvidia Tegra 2 dual core processor for up to 2GHz of power, Xoom will have a 10.1-inch widescreen touch display and support Adobe Flash Player.
NEC's Android tablet will feature two 7-inch touch screens, and fold up like a book or newspaper. The two screens can be used to run different programs, or can be used in conjunction with one another. For example, the second screen could accept user input or display extra information to complement what's being shown on the primary screen. NEC's tablet, which runs on an ARM Cortex A8 processor, is based on the older Android 2.1 but NEC is working on a version based on the current version, 2.2.
This upcoming 4G tablet to be sold by T-Mobile will be powered by Android 3.0, also known as "Honeycomb," but not much is known about the device so far. "The Honeycomb user experience improves on Android favorites such as widgets, multi-tasking, browsing, notifications and customization," LG and T-Mobile said in an announcement. "It will also feature the latest Google Mobile innovations including Google Maps 5.0 with 3D interaction, collection of more than 3 million eBooks and Google Talk with video and voice chat."
Designed to run Honeycomb, the forthcoming Eee Pad Transformer transforms from laptop to tablet and back again by using a dock that includes a keyboard. The Transformer sports a "10.1 inch IPS display with a resolution of 1280 by 800, Tegra 2 processor with 512MB or 1GB of RAM, Android 3.0 operating system, 1.2 megapixel front camera and 5 megapixel rear camera," the IDG news Service reports.
The tablet without a name will come out in the spring and include Toshiba's Resolution Plus, which makes standard-definition video look like high-definition. Based on an Nvidia Tegra processor, the Toshiba tablet will have a 10-inch screen, front- and rear-facing cameras, and slots for USB, Mini USB, HDMI and an SD card.
Preloaded with Windows 7 Home Premium and a trial version of Microsoft Office 2010, the itablet is powered by an intel Atom 1.6GHz processor, 2GB of memory and 32GB storage capacity. The tablet offers flexibility with an SD card reader, HDMI output and two USB ports. Video and VoIP conferencing are supported with a webcam and microphone.
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Running Android 2.2 and to be sold by T-Mobile within a few weeks, this 4G tablet "features a brilliant 7-inch WVGA touch screen with Gorilla Glass, dual core NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor and full Adobe Flash Player 10.1 support," T-Mobile says. The tablet will be capable of peak speeds up to 21Mbps.
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