Hoping their tablet is the right prescription

APPLE MAY not have been at CES this week, but competition with the company was evident as rivals unveiled plans for smartphones and touchscreen tablet devices.

Sony showed off a new Xperia handset, the Xperia Arc, which comes with the latest version of Android – Gingerbread – and has a 4.2-inch touchscreen. The super-slim handset can connect to a high-definition TV too, and is the first to use Sony’s new mobile Bravia engine.

There could also be some tablets from the company soon, with Sony Computer Entertainment chief executive Kaz Hirai making brief reference to them in his address.

“Our new mobile strategy encompasses driving the development of a variety of new strategic products and services, including tablets currently in development, as well as smartphones, all the while of course integrating the know-how and the assets that we’ve accumulated from our PlayStation business,” he said.

However, there was no confirmation of the expected Sony PlayStation phone.

LG, meanwhile, hinted at its press conference on Wednesday that it would announce plans for an Android tablet device. It later emerged that the company was teaming up with German mobile network T Mobile to offer a 4G Android tablet that will use the version of Google’s operating system optimised for tablets, Honeycomb.

The electronics firm also showed off its Optimus 2x handset – the first phone to contain dual processors and the ultra-slim Optimus Black – which uses a Nova display, which LG claims is the world’s brightest display.

There were plenty of other announcements elsewhere at the conference. Samsung said it would make a version of its Galaxy Tab device offering WiFi only. At present, the Tab, which is a competitor for the iPad, supports both Wifi and 3G data connections.

A new tablet PC with a sliding keyboard was also shown. The PC 7 Series comes with Microsoft Windows 7 operating system and is powered by the upcoming Intel Atom processor platform, code-named Oak Trail.

Separately, Microsoft confirmed rumours that it was planning a tablet version of its Windows operating system. It said that it would develop a version of the system that would work with ARM chips.

Panasonic was another company making announcements in the tablet space, with president Shiro Kitajima showing off the Viera Tablet. The device is a smart terminal that allows users to access cloud services, such as video streaming and e-books, and is designed to work in conjunction with Viera TVs. It ca also work as a sub-screen to display information relating to images shown on the television.

Available in screen sizes from four to 10 inches, the device is expected to be available this year.