Hot new tablet computers are shaking up the stodgy computer industry — possibly giving consumers reason to buy yet another PC.
Dell, Lenovo and Hewlett-Packard each unveiled tablet PC models at [the] Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Each features a touch-screen that eliminates or reduces the need for a keyboard.
Apple is expected to come out with its own tablet later this month. Apple declined to comment.
It’s too soon to say whether the new computers will be a hit. Many models are pricey, and older attempts at tablets have not sold well, says Allen Nogee, a tech analyst at researcher In-Stat.
But the buzz suggests that their time may have come. “More people (are) adapting to small, touch-screen devices, like the (Apple) iPhone … and more people (are) attracted to netbooks,” Nogee says. That makes them more willing to embrace portable, touch-screen computers, he says.
“Is there a market above smartphones and below netbooks? Obviously, we think there is,” says Philip McKinney, a vice president at Hewlett-Packard.
Tablets have been around in different forms for a decade, but they make up less than 1 percent of the laptop market, says Mikako Kitagawa, tech analyst at researcher Gartner. Among new models:
* Dell tablet. The No. 2 PC maker showed off a prototype with a 5-inch screen Thursday. The device is expected to come out during the first half of this year. No name or price have been announced.
* Lenovo IdeaPad U1. This tablet looks like an ordinary clamshell laptop with a keyboard and 11.6-inch screen. But the screen can be removed and used separately as a 1.6-pound tablet. It is expected around midyear at less than $1,000.
*HP slate. Few details are available about this prototype that Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer showed at CES. But McKinney said it’s a real, mainstream product that will appear sometime…