Samsung is apparently working on a Windows-based tablet. According to the sources who spoke to Blogeee, Samsung is preparing a 10-inch tablet PC dubbed as Gloria that runs on Windows 7 OS. What’s more interesting is that the tablet is rumored to have a sliding QWERTY keyboard.

The site claims that we can expect the tablet sometime in March or April but unless something substantial surfaces, we’ll look at Gloria with raised eyebrow.

[Via Samsung Hub]

Apple has decided to steal some press amidst the tablet frenzy going on at Computex. The Cupertino giant has announced that they’ve surpassed two million iPad sales since it first went on sale on April 3. The incredible feat was achieved well under two months and was possible due to the recent availability in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the UK.

Apple will also launch the iPad in  Austria, Belgium, Hong Kong, Ireland, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand and Singapore in July.

MSI’s pre-Computex showcase has officially begun and they’re wooing the crowd with two new 10-inch tablet PCs. First is the WindPad 100 that runs Windows 7 OS on an Intel processor. Intel’s Atom Z530 CPU is the heart of the device and includes features like a webcam, USB and an HDMI port. The tablet was also running a customized UI which is known as Wind Touch UI. Remaining specs are unknown at the moment but will reach the market later this year for price of around $499.

Next up is the WindPad 110 tablet. Though MSI didn’t give it an official acknowledgement, the tablet was showcased during the press conference. The only things known about this tablet is that will run Android OS and sport a Tegra 2 processor.

[Via Engadget]

Microsoft’s dual-screened Courier tablet may be dead before its arrival but Microsoft hasn’t –expectedtly – left the tablet arena yet. This comes directly from Bill Gates who in his interview with Fox News confirmed that Microsoft is working on a lot of different tablet projects.

“Microsoft has a lot of different tablet projects that we’re pursuing. We think that work with the pen that Microsoft pioneered will become a mainstream for students. It can give you a device that you can not only read, but also create documents at the same time.”

Interestingly, Gates is also bullish on using stylus on a tablet, which he claims could be great for students for taking notes. He did not speak more about other features but needless to say, the upcoming tablets will have something or the other from the deceased Courier.

[Via Slashgear|Img]

Yes, we’ve heard this before but Asustek CEO and president Jerry Shen seems more clear on this as compared to Jonney Shih. Shen has confirmed that Asus will unveil two EeePads this season, one running on Android OS whereas the other one running full-fledged PC OS, Windows 7.

The Android OS tablet will be powered by Tegra 2 and we think it’s the tablet that Asus will try to entice everyone with an aggressive price. The Windows tablet on the other hand will have Atom CPU onboard and will try to cater to the crowd seeking a complete PC experience.

[Via Digitimes]

Apple’s newest shiny gadget has reached its first major milestone within a span of just 28 days of its official release. Apple sold its one millionth iPad on Friday and unsurprisingly, they’re elated about it.

“One million iPads in 28 days—that’s less than half of the 74 days it took to achieve this milestone with iPhone,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “Demand continues to exceed supply and we’re working hard to get this magical product into the hands of even more customers.”

Apple iPad’s Wi-Fi only version started shipping from April 3 whereas the 3G + Wi-Fi started shipping on April 30.

Press Release

In addition to Asus, MSI will be another Taiwanese company to unveil their tablet PCs at this year’s Computex. MSI will be unveiling tablets in sizes of 8.9- and 10-inches, will run on Android or Windows 7 OS and ship sometime in third quarter of this year. Although these are single screen tablets, the dual-screen tablet that we saw at this year’s CES won’t be out till end of this year. MSI executive Andy Tung has confirmed to Engadget that two screens and Atom CPU needs more optimization to achieve satisfactory battery life.

“The two screens are a major drain on the battery, and even with a higher density battery and the Menlow CPU we are only getting three hours.”

[Via Engadget]

A quick heads up to those waiting for the iPad. As expected, Apple has started taking pre-orders of their tablet device and will deliver on April 3. The Wi-Fi+3G model too can be pre-ordered but will be delivered in late April.

Alternatively, consumers can also reserve their iPad to be picked up from their local Apple store.

To recall, the Wi-Fi only variants cost $499 (16GB), $599 (32GB) and $699 (64GB) whereas the 3G model $629 (16GB), $729 (32GB) and $829 (64GB).

Pre-order iPad

We had expected a flurry of tablet PCs since the announcement of iPad but this is a huge figure. An ARM executive recently said that there could be more than 50 iPad-like products worldwide. ARM who makes chips for these devices also confirmed that consumers will see a few tablets from mobile carriers in Q2 but there will be much more in the following quarter.

The executive also said that there will be number of tablet options for Chinese consumers but big companies as well as top 10 cellular operators will also look out to tap other markets as well.

The biggest upcoming trade show related to tech is Computex and it’s the place where we’ll see most companies’ tablet creations. ARM even rented additional booth space to show products powered by their chips.

[Via ComputerWorld]

Acer Taiwan’s Prez Scott Lin confirmed that they have no plans of making a product to compete with Apple’s iPad. Lin says that although Acer can make a similar competing product but “such a product does not fit into Acer’s business model.”

Lin pointed out that churning out a device similar to iPad could fail since few or no companies have an ecosystem as large as iTunes to back the device.

When asked about the possible threat to netbooks, Lin said both netbooks and iPad are targeted completely towards different consumer groups.

[Via Digitimes]