24 Companies Planning Tablets

TownHall Investment Research (www.townhallresearch.com) report that 24 tablets are expected to become available between now and Q1′11. Included in the list are:
-Two 7-inch tablets from Acer (one using Windows 7 and the other using Android 3)
-Two 9-inch tablets from HP: the Windows 7-based Slate 500 scheduled for Q4 and the WebOS-based PalmPad scheduled for Q1′11.
-Nokia’s 7-inch and 9-inch Meego-based tablets are due in Q4
-Samsung’s Android-based Galaxy Tablet is scheduled for a September 10th release. --Verizon's Android-based, 10.1-inch Zpad for Q4 release at a price of $199
-Augen’s 7-inch Gentouch 78 appeared in some Kmart stores and flew off the shelves at $150.
-Notion Ink Adam, one version of which may have a Pixel Qi display, is scheduled for November 10
-Cisco’s Cius not expected until Q1′11.
-There are insistent reports that Apple will have a 7-inch iPad model out at about that time.

Also on the TownHall list are Archos, Asus, Dell’s Streak (with only a 5-inch display), HTC (with a Google Chrome OS and a "greater than 7-inch" display), Lenovo, LG, RIM, Toshiba, ViewSonic, and Olive.

All, or nearly all, of these tablets have (or will have) LCD panels. One intriguing possible exception, as we have said before in the context of eBook readers, is the Qualcomm MEMS Technologies (QMT) reflective color mirasol display with video-compatible response time.

Townhall research believes that tablet PC sales will grow more rapidly than smart phone sales and will probably constitute a larger market within five years.