tablets

Editors' note: Updated January 12, 2011.

As manufacturers rush to capitalize on the attention given to the Apple iPad, there's seems to be a new tablet announced every week. We can't keep track of every slate thrown into the wild, but if you're curious to know what options are out there, we've compiled a general overview of the tablet landscape.

iPad

There's probably no explanation needed for this one. With a million iPads sold within the first month of its introduction, the iPad has quickly taken the lead position in the tablet category.

Pros: Elegant hardware; vibrant App Store; ideal for media playback; large selection of games; fast processor; responsive multitouch screen; long battery life; priced as low as $499.

Cons: Users must buy their software from Apple; existing Mac and Windows software isn't supported; lacks Adobe Flash compatibility; limited hardware support.

CNET's Apple iPad resource page | Full review: Apple iPad

Windows tablets

Historically, tablets running Microsoft's Windows operating system made up the major share of the market. These include several subcategories, such as slates, convertible laptops, UMPCs, and MIDs. Windows-based tablets still thrive, especially in niche professional applications that demand the capabilities and broad software compatibility of Windows.

Pros: Familiar interface; broadest software and hardware compatibility; Adobe Flash support; multitasking; wide range of screen sizes, pricing, and implementations.

Cons: Windows desktop interface doesn't always translate well to the touch screen without intermediating software or stylus input; typically longer boot times compared with mobile OS; cumbersome software installation; more prone to computer virus; typically shorter battery life.

Examples: Lenovo IdeaPad S10-3t, Archos 9 PC tablet, Asus Eee PC T91

Android tablets

Smartphones running Google's Android OS are some of the biggest competitors to Apple's iPhone. Android takes an approach similar to Apple's iOS, offering a streamlined interface based around lightweight, third-party apps.

In 2010, CNET reviewed several tablets running versions of Android up to 2.2 (aka Froyo), which essentially duplicated the Android smartphone experience onto a larger screen. Since that time, Google announced its tablet-optimized version of Android 3.0, named Honeycomb, due out in the first quarter of 2011 on Motorola's Xoom tablet.

Pros: A large variety of apps; quick boot time; third-party manufacturers competing to provide hardware; one-touch access to Google Web search; options priced as low as $199.

Cons: Many Android features and developer specs (pre-Honeycomb) are more fitting for smartphones than tablets; legacy apps designed for phone screens don't scale well; accessory compatibility changes from manufacturer to manufacturer; not all tablet hardware will support Android Honeycomb.

Examples: Motorola Xoom, Samsung Galaxy Tab, Dell Streak, ViewSonic ViewPad 7

… Read more

WebOS will be on a Hewlett-Packard tablet sometime in the next five months.

That's what Marty Wong, the head of HP's Personal Systems Group in Taiwan, said in an interview with Digitimes Friday.

"The HP Slate will hit the market before the end of the fiscal year ending in October, and consumers could see a wide range of software and application support at launch," Wong said.

WebOS is Palm's touch-screen operating system that now is only used in smartphones. In April, HP announced its intentions to purchase Palm for $1.2 billion. The Palm acquisition … Read more

When Apple first started selling the iPad, it didn't allow consumers to buy its tablet with cash. The idea, the reasoning went, was that forcing people to buy the iPad with a debit card or credit card would help ensure that no one violated Apple's two-iPads-per-person rule.

But all that has changed. Recently a California woman named Diane Campbell went to an Apple store in the hopes of buying an iPad with greenbacks. She was turned away by the store's employees, who cited the no-cash policy. After she contacted KGO, an ABC television affiliate in California, the … Read more

In a trend kick-started by the Apple iPad, more than 46 million media tablets are expected to ship in 2014, according to the new "Worldwide and U.S. Media Tablet 2010-2014 Forecast" released by IDC on Thursday.

Up substantially from the 7.6 million tablets likely to ship this year, that forecast points to a compound annual growth rate of 57.4 percent. Of course, that includes not just the iPad but other tablets following its lead and competing in the marketplace, including the new Archos 7 Home Tablet, a tablet from the likes of Intel, and a … Read more

When Hewlett-Packard announced its intentions to acquire Palm for $1.2 billion a few weeks ago, the company had big things in mind for Palm's WebOS. On Tuesday during the conference call for HP's second-quarter 2010 earnings, CEO Mark Hurd revealed some additional detail on the company's plans for the mobile OS.

HP will acquire Palm "in order to enhance our intellectual property...in the connected-mobility space. We expect to leverage WebOS into a variety of form factors, including slates and Web-connected printers," Hurd said Tuesday.

"With a whole series of Web-connected printers, as … Read more

So that RIM tablet? It's not going to be a tablet in the standard sense.

Boy Genius Report said on Thursday that it confirmed with multiple sources that the upcoming Research In Motion tablet will be a "companion device." Where have you heard that before? Oh right: The ill-fated Palm Foleo. The "best idea" Palm founder Jeff Hawkins' ever had that was canceled after its announcement but before a single product was ever shipped.

Why did Palm cancel the Foleo? For the same reason RIM will find out soon enough: companion devices don't really … Read more

In the Soviet Union oil leaks get nuked. That's not a Yakov Smirnoff joke, it's apparently history. So we discuss whether we should do that in the Gulf of Mexico. But Steve in the chat room points out it might summon Cthullu. We also discuss the impending release of Office 2010, and the appearance of a second lost Apple iPhone 4G prototype. Those people can't keep anything in the lab anymore can they?

Microsoft Office 2010 takes aim at … Read more

An Intel executive's brandishing of a tablet design on Tuesday means rivals to the Apple iPad are a certainty.

And the first serious Intel-based designs will show up at Computex in June. "People ask me, are you serious about trying to participate in the tablet market? The answer is yes...The message is stay tuned for Computex," Intel Vice President Mooly Eden, who heads the chipmaker's client group, said at the Intel investor meeting on Tuesday.

Intel, not surprisingly, sees distinct advantages for devices based on its upcoming dual-core Atom for Netbooks and tablets. "(People) … Read more

Intel showed two future products--a dual-core Netbook and tablet design--at its 2010 investor meeting Tuesday, and didn't waste time in touting the advantages of an Intel-based tablet over the Apple iPad.

Intel Vice President Mooly Eden, who heads the chipmaker's client group, flourished a tablet and didn't mince words when comparing it with the iPad (though he didn't mention the iPad by name).

"You'll have USB, you'll have SATA (Serial ATA connector for storage devices), a cheaper memory solution, and you'll even be able to connect to your printer," he said. &… Read more