It's estimated more than 100 new tablet computers are being unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
It's not surprising, because manufacturers want a slice of what will undoubtedly be the era of tablet computing.
Apple's iPad has proved that there's huge demand for a portable, readable, fast and stylish touchscreen device. The iPad isn't taking over from netbooks or laptops or smartphones: it's created a whole new market.
The most likely rivals are the other 10" screen devices that have been shown to techno-journos at the CES...because, as Steve Jobs said, 10" is the minimum for a good user experience, while still being practically portable. And these rivals run the Android operating system.
More after the jump...
The trouble is they need an in-built app store - like the hugely-successful iTunes iPad app store. And they don't have one.
The Android Market store at the moment only runs on devices up to 7". So, no app store now on 10" Android OS machines.
Manufacturers are desperate for Google to formally release the updated Android 3.0 Honeycomb, which WILL run the Market App Store. We've seen it previewed...but it won't be released for public consumption until "later this year".
By that time, Apple will have released the iPad-2 and will have well and truly dominated tablet sales.
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