Toshiba Tablet Revealed Down Under

Tom Jowitt,

Toshiba looks set to join the tablet party, after an Australian company executive publicly showed off a tablet prototype, dubbed the SmartPad

Toshiba is joined a growing number of tech rivals looking to take on the Apple iPad, after the boss of its Australian unit publicly revealed a tablet prototype.

The manager of general Toshiba Australia, Mark Whittard, used a press event down under to flash around a prototype of the device, dubbed the Toshiba SmartPad, which he hopes will become a rival to the iPad.

Android or Windows 7?

Details on the device are sketchy at the moment, and it is not certain what operating system Toshiba will opt for, either Windows 7 or Android seems the most likely contenders. For example, Toshiba has already chosen Android for its AC100 netbook.

What Whittard did reveal however is that the tablet device will come with HDMI output and USB support, both of which features the Apple iPad lacks.

The SmartPad is slated to be launched in October. But there is no official confirmation at the moment. eWEEK Europe UK was told by Toshiba UK that it cannot comment on it.

Toshiba will be joining an increasing number of competitors offering their own alternatives to the Apple iPad. This includes HP with its PalmPad (WebOS) or the Slate, Dell with the Streak (Android), LG Electronics tablet (Android), Lenovo LePad (Android), Samsung Galaxy tablet (Android), and even BT is working on a tablet prototype.

iPad Success

They will certainly have their work cut out, given the sales success of the iPad so far. And a research note from Barclays Capital recently predicted that Apple will sell 20 million iPads in 2011, leaving manufacturers such as Hewlett-Packard and Dell to try to catch up in the burgeoning tablet PC space.

Last month Toshiba released a laptop that comes with not one, but two touchscreens, that will allow users to generate content and browse the web at the same time.

The Libretto W100 is being touted as a “next-gen ultra-mobile concept PC” that comes loaded with Windows 7 (Home premium). It has two 7-inch, LED-backlit touch-screens that work at 1024 x 600 resolution, which can used used either horizontally or vertically. The W100 also contains an 3D accelerometer so that the user can quickly change the screen orientations.