Tech industry descends on Las Vegas for 4-day Consumer Electronics Show
An array of tablet computers are being unveiled this week as the technology industry seeks to mimic the phenomenal success of Apple's iPad.
The 44th International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) starts in Las Vegas today.
And although Apple won't be attending the annual trade event, talk of the iPad is already dominating proceedings anyway as its competitors try and make up lost ground.
01.jpgThe IdeaPad U1 is currently only on sale in China, but is due to be released in Britain and the U.S. later this year.
Taiwanese firm Asus, meanwhile, came out with all guns blazing as it announced plans to sell four tabletcomputers - including laptop / tablet hybrids - in the hope that variety is the best weapon against the iPad.
They included the Eee Pad Transformer, which is another laptop that splits in two to function as a tablet, and the Eee Pad Slider, a tablet with a keyboard that slides out of its left side.
Best of both worlds? Like the Eee Pad Transformer, the Lenovo IdeaPad U1 is also a laptop that can function as a standalone tablet (above and below)
Mr Shih said: 'We admire companies like Apple that offer great innovation, but they provide very limited choices for the customers.
'Different kinds of customers have different kinds of needs, and the best way to better serve them is to provide choice.'
Asus, which essentially created the market for low-price netbooks with the 2007 launch of the Eee PC line, will need this strategy to pan out if consumers gravitate toward tablets as quickly as analysts expect.
Analysts believe the iPad will still account for the bulk of the 55million tablets that are expected to be sold this year, but there's still room for rivals to vie for sales of the remaining ten to 15million devices.
Asus hopes the Transformer and its other tablets will be among the winners.
When using a full-sized keyboard docking station, the Transformer appears to be a black laptop, but once opened its screen detaches by sliding out of a slot on the keyboard's edge. The device's touch-screen will measure 10.1inches diagonally and is half an inch thick.
Another tablet: Motion Computing's device uses Corning's Gorilla Glass, has special seals for outdoor use and can accept extensions such as barcode scanners or card swipe devices
Among the other devices being previewed was the Smart Blood Pressure Monitor from Withings, a traditional arm-strap style blood pressure monitor which connects to an iPhone or iPad for instant readouts
Molded headphones: Sonomax Technologies boss Nick LaPerle displays a device for creating custom-molded earphones in only four minutes by injected silicon into the deflated earbuds while they sit in the users' ears
Mr Shih said the Transformer will run the upcoming Honeycomb version of Google's Android software, which will be more geared toward tablets than the current version for smart phones.
It will get up to 16 hours of battery life and include an Nvidia Tegra 2 dual-core processor.
The Transformer is set to begin selling in the U.S. in April for $399 to $699, depending on its configuration. It is set for release in Britain later this year.
Asus has not said how much memory it will include.
The Slider will have the same hardware features as the Transformer - including the same processor, 10.1inch screen, and Android operating software - but its keyboard won't be detachable.
The Slider, which will be 0.7 inches thick, is scheduled to be sold in the U.S. starting in May for between $499 and $799, and in the UK later this year. Mr Shih did not say how much built-in memory it will have.
The company presented two other tablets as well - the Eee Slate, which appeared to be the same tablet he showed at the Computex Show in Taiwan last year, and the Eee Pad MeMO.
The Slate, which will run Microsoft's standard PC operating software, Windows 7, will come with a 12.1inch touch screen that has 1280 x 800 pixel resolution. It will include a 34-gigabyte or 64-gigabyte hard drive and a more powerful Intel Core i5 dual-core processor.
The MeMO will have a seven inch touch screen and a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor. It will run the Honeycomb version of Android.
Exodus: Rohan Marley, the son of late reggae musician Bob Marley, displays a Marley Jammin' Roots Rock Speakerbag featuring an FM radio and a docking station for iPhones and iPods
Slalom science: Liquid Image previewed this pair of snow goggles, which come with an HD video camera and high resolution still camera integrated into them
The Slate will cost $999 to $1,099 and be available in the U.S. this month, while the MeMO is set to be sold for $499 to $699 in June. Both are expected to be sold in the UK later in 2011.
All the upcoming tablets will include the ability to play high-definition video. All but the Slate will have cameras on the front and back for taking photos and video chatting; the Slate will have one camera on its face.
DisplaySearch analyst Richard Semenza estimated that a hundred different tablet models are in development, though not all of them will reach store shelves.
Competing tablets will have a hard time catching up to Apple's lead, at least this year. Certainly, no one managed to do so last year, even though a lot of manufacturers, including Dell, brought out tablets. Samsung did have some success with its Galaxy Tab, but sales didn't come close to the iPad's.
Wrist wear: Mike Rush of Oregon Scientific displays the ATC action video camera. The HD device has image stabilisation, is waterproof to 60ft and has an LCD screen for playback
Cobra's iRadar product connects a smartphone to a radar detector (right) to view radar alerts, control settings and log alert history, and be warned of upcoming speed and red-light cameras displayed on the user's phone
'For the next year or two, we expect there to be a lot of false starts, failed attempts, and disasters,' Richard Shim, another DisplaySearch analyst, said in a blog post.
Apple sold 7.4million iPads until the end of September, in the device's first six months on sale. That means they're already outselling Apple's Mac computers, but not iPods or iPhones.
Analyst Shaw Wu at Kaufman Bros. believes Apple sold another 6.1million iPads in the October to December quarter, and there's every indication that it was a popular holiday gift.
Apple's would-be competitors include Motorola, which has been hinting that it will show off its first tablet at the show. Dell and Acer are also expected to show tablets.
Microsoft boss Steve Ballmer will likely touch on tablets in his keynote speech Wednesday, an annual fixture the eve of the show's opening
Mr Shih said the Transformer will run the upcoming Honeycomb version of Google's Android software, which will be more geared toward tablets than the current version for smart phones.
It will get up to 16 hours of battery life and include an Nvidia Tegra 2 dual-core processor.
The Transformer is set to begin selling in the U.S. in April for $399 to $699, depending on its configuration. It is set for release in Britain later this year.
Asus has not said how much memory it will include.
The Slider will have the same hardware features as the Transformer - including the same processor, 10.1inch screen, and Android operating software - but its keyboard won't be detachable.
The Slider, which will be 0.7 inches thick, is scheduled to be sold in the U.S. starting in May for between $499 and $799, and in the UK later this year. Mr Shih did not say how much built-in memory it will have.
The company presented two other tablets as well - the Eee Slate, which appeared to be the same tablet he showed at the Computex Show in Taiwan last year, and the Eee Pad MeMO.
The Slate, which will run Microsoft's standard PC operating software, Windows 7, will come with a 12.1inch touch screen that has 1280 x 800 pixel resolution. It will include a 34-gigabyte or 64-gigabyte hard drive and a more powerful Intel Core i5 dual-core processor.
The MeMO will have a seven inch touch screen and a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor. It will run the Honeycomb version of Android.
Exodus: Rohan Marley, the son of late reggae musician Bob Marley, displays a Marley Jammin' Roots Rock Speakerbag featuring an FM radio and a docking station for iPhones and iPods
Slalom science: Liquid Image previewed this pair of snow goggles, which come with an HD video camera and high resolution still camera integrated into them
The Slate will cost $999 to $1,099 and be available in the U.S. this month, while the MeMO is set to be sold for $499 to $699 in June. Both are expected to be sold in the UK later in 2011.
All the upcoming tablets will include the ability to play high-definition video. All but the Slate will have cameras on the front and back for taking photos and video chatting; the Slate will have one camera on its face.
DisplaySearch analyst Richard Semenza estimated that a hundred different tablet models are in development, though not all of them will reach store shelves.
Competing tablets will have a hard time catching up to Apple's lead, at least this year. Certainly, no one managed to do so last year, even though a lot of manufacturers, including Dell, brought out tablets. Samsung did have some success with its Galaxy Tab, but sales didn't come close to the iPad's.
Wrist wear: Mike Rush of Oregon Scientific displays the ATC action video camera. The HD device has image stabilisation, is waterproof to 60ft and has an LCD screen for playback
Cobra's iRadar product connects a smartphone to a radar detector (right) to view radar alerts, control settings and log alert history, and be warned of upcoming speed and red-light cameras displayed on the user's phone
'For the next year or two, we expect there to be a lot of false starts, failed attempts, and disasters,' Richard Shim, another DisplaySearch analyst, said in a blog post.
Apple sold 7.4million iPads until the end of September, in the device's first six months on sale. That means they're already outselling Apple's Mac computers, but not iPods or iPhones.
Analyst Shaw Wu at Kaufman Bros. believes Apple sold another 6.1million iPads in the October to December quarter, and there's every indication that it was a popular holiday gift.
Apple's would-be competitors include Motorola, which has been hinting that it will show off its first tablet at the show. Dell and Acer are also expected to show tablets.
Microsoft boss Steve Ballmer will likely touch on tablets in his keynote speech Wednesday, an annual fixture the eve of the show's opening
