10 New Tablets Ready to Challenge the iPad

One of the standout trends of CES 2011 was the tablet. No fewer than 80 tablets were on display from manufacturers from across the globe, each hoping to take a piece of the growing market, led by the iPad.

Most of the tablets, unsurprisingly, were running Android. With details of Android 3.0 Honeycomb just starting to eke out in earnest at the show, most tablet makers were instead running customized versions of Android 2.2 or 2.3. By the time many of the tablets we looked at hit the market, we expect that they will ship with Honeycomb.

We’ve compiled a video gallery of some of our favorite tablets from the floors and hotel suites at CES. While most of these run Android, the BlackBerry PlayBook and the Windows 7-based ASUS Eee Slate EP121 also made strong showings.

The first Android 3.0-based tablet, the Motorola Xoom, was one of the big stars of CES, and we can’t wait to see it do more than running demos.

One of our surprise favorites of CES 2011 was the ASUS Eee Transformer. As someone who previously wasn’t sold on the concept of a detachable netbook/tablet combination, I have to say, I like ASUS’s approach in this space.

2011 is going to be a great year for tablets — Android or otherwise — and we look forward to watching these devices come to market and seeing what other surprises are in store for us from other manufacturers.

Do you plan on buying a tablet in 2011? Let us know in the comments.