Tablets that could potentially take on the iPad are getting closer to market — and some of them are taking direct aim at Apple.
PC maker Lenovo has chosen a name for its Android tablet that it says will be in the hands of consumers by the end of the year. The device will be called the “LePad,” and will debut in China. Last week, HP trademarked the name “PalmPad” in a move that signals the company may be set to bring out its own tablet, based on Palm’s webOS operating system. Separately, Dell offered its Streak to some U.S. gadget reviewers and said it expects to make an announcement about pricing and availability of the device in the next few days.
Since Apple introduced the iPad in April, it has sold more than 3 million devices. The company’s success with the iPad is forcing competitors such as HP and Dell to build similar devices. Dell’s tablet, called the Streak, has a 5-inch screen and is already available in Britain. It is expected to hit the United States in summer.
ABI research estimates that 11 million media tablets will be sold this year. The forecast is based both on the broader availability of the iPad and the delayed introduction of competing products, says the firm.
“Assuming that competing tablets from other vendors do arrive in the second half of the year as expected, we believe that the iPad will account for a significant portion — but not all — of the projected 11 million units,” says Jeff Orr, principal analyst with ABI Research.
Lenovo’s LePad is likely to combine ideas from Lenovo’s Skylight smartbook that the company showed at the Consumer Electronics Show in January and the IdeaPad UI notebook-tablet combination to create a new device that could potentially compete against the iPad.
In China, at least, Lenovo hopes to step into the gap left by Apple. Lenovo has long offered convertibles — notebooks that can be flipped over to act as tablets. But the company has not released a touchscreen only tablet so far. Earlier this month, Lenovo’s chairman Liu Chuanzhi told the Financial Times that Apple hasn’t focused on the Chinese market. Lenovo has seen success with its Android phone called “LePhone” that’s currently available only in China.
With the LePad, Lenovo hopes to do the same, says PCWorld. After all, there are a billion potential customers in China alone.
HP hasn’t offered any details on what it plans to do with the PalmPad name. But in its trademark application form, the company has said it will use it for “computers, computer hardware, computer software, computer peripherals, portable computers, handheld and mobile computers, PDAs, electronic notepads, mobile digital electronic devices.” That’s sounds like a range of products but it is the mobile digital electronic devices part that has perked up industry watchers.
HP, which bought Palm a few months ago, has already said confirmed that it is using webOS to build a device that has been called the HP Slate.
Photo of Lenovo x41 tablet: Oliver Regelmann/Flickr
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