Acer Jumps Into Tablet Fray

As the rise of tablets threatens its low-cost laptop business, computer maker Acer Inc. unveiled plans to begin selling tablets that run either Microsoft Corp. and Google Inc. software.

The Taiwan company said it will release three touchscreen tablets next year. The first, based on Microsoft's Windows platform, will have a 10.1 inch screen and be released in February. The company will also release two tablets using Google's Android platform in April, one with a 7-inch screen and one with a 10.1-inch screen.

Acer is the latest personal-computer maker to join the tablet bandwagon after Apple Inc.'s iPad, released in April, attracted strong consumer demand. Samsung Electronics Co. has begun selling a Google-based tablet with a 7-inch screen. Other companies, including BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd. and Hewlett-Packard Co., have announced plans to introduce tablets to compete with Apple's product.

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HP Introduces Slate 500 Tablet

Hewlett-Packard on Friday introduced its Slate 500, a Windows 7-powered touch screen tablet PC for $799, billing it as "the ideal PC for professionals who don't work at a traditional desk, yet need to stay productive in a secure, familiar Windows environment."

Besides the iPad, the Slate 500 will compete against the Android-powered 7-inch Samsung Galaxy Tablet, which will retail for $599.99 at Verizon Wireless in November; the 5-inch Dell Streak from AT&T, for $550, and a 7-inch BlackBerry PlayBook tablet that Research in Motion announced in September. Since Apple launched the iPad last April, it has sold more than seven million units. Apple has marketed the iPad as mainly a consumer device.

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