PC Site’s forecast for new tablets set to be released in 2011

We’re now in the third year of tablet sales and the market is steadily being divided up between the technology giants, with the lion’s share naturally headed for the Apple coffers. We’re looking to the future and the coming months will see many second generation tablets being released. They promise to be of a higher standard, hopefully without the flaws of their forefathers.

Dell 10 inch

Dell is keeping this one close to its chest; little is known (much to the online community’s frustration) other than the fact that it will be powered by Windows 7, and will be aimed towards commercial and enterprise markets. Not much to go on, but a 10 inch tablet will be a rival for the iPad Mini also set for 2011.

Rumours follow most of these pre-release tablets with a whisper of “iPad killer” but so little is known that most discussion of the Dell 10 inch is indifferent, at least until we’re thrown a little more meat.

HP PalmPad

Talk of the HP Slate was all the rage until the project disappeared mid 2010, it has now re-emerged as the HP PalmPad. Dell’s mystery about its new product is said to be a consequence of the intriguing info released by HP.

It has a 9.7 inch touchscreen (Gorilla glass like the Dell Streak), weighs in at 1.5 lbs and is just over a centimetre thick. It also has a SIM card slot micro USB, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 3G and 4G LTE for full connectivity.

Its dual core is a step forward in handhelds with a 1.2 GHz Qualcomm processor and 512 Mb of RAM and a healthy 8 hour battery charge. Additional features include a 1.3MP camera, A-GPS, gyroscope and accelerometer; distinguishing features include Beats by Dre audio to boost low bitrate CD rips.

With handhelds it’s all about syncing, so if you’re planning on getting a new phone wait for the Palm Pre 3, so you can hook up tablet and phone together. Such HP products are angled for the business market and to make fast movers lives a little easier.

Release date September 2011.

Sony Tablets 2011

Since January when Sony’s Head of Networked Products, Kaz Hirai, revealed plans of “launching a line of Sony tablets” speculation of a PlayStation tablet amongst other things have crossed the online forums.

With the release of Qriocity (pronounced ‘curiosity’) in the UK, a Sony Tablet would be a worthy investment – allowing wireless connectivity to a mass of multimedia through a handheld tablet is an excellent feature.

Also in the Sony line up is the VAIO S1 tablet. VAIO’s design team continue to impress with their notebook range and are said to branch into the tablet market and would almost certainly come out with a formidable piece of mobile tech. The Sony squad are known for their patience with up and coming technology markets – a wait-and-see approach has served them well. A late entry in to the netbook ended with them cornering a sizeable chunk of the market for themselves.

Asus Eee Slate EP121

Asus caught everyone’s attention this January with the boast “no compromise – this is the most powerful tablet in the world”. The Asus Slate will have full Windows compatibility and is stacked like a PC, with an i5 processor. It has the rare feature of a stylus, offering you the option of finer detail in your work.

The downside is that there isn’t much hope of battery life lasting over 4 hours and the Bluetooth keyboard will be sold separately.

Most release dates are to be confirmed.

Image credit: Microsoft Sweden