Tablet war: Meet iPad's 12 biggest rivals

The good old computer is gradually being replaced by sleek and flashy tablets.

Media tablets are expected to displace around 10 per cent of PC units by 2014, according to Gartner.

Apple has a clear edge in the tablet market with two versions of iPad. Apple sold nearly 15 million iPads in 2010. IDC said the iPad represented nearly 90 per cent of media tablets shipped in the third quarter of 2010.

As Apple launches iPad2, rivals are catching up. Here's a look at iPad's 12 biggest competitors according to The Businessinsider.

1. HTC Flyer

Light yet powerful, the HTC Flyer tablet with a 7 inch display and a superfast 1.5 GHz processor is perfect for web browsing at home, in the car or on a business trip.

It features Adobe Flash support, multi-window browsing with pinch to zoom. You can make live video calls and its magic pen can draw, paint, write, and even retouch pictures.

The HTC Flyer can link audio to the notes you take for work. The tablet also lets instantly play the best games in the world anywhere if you have a fast Internet connection. A built-in library of classics is at your fingertips.

Specs:

CPU speed: 1.5 GHz
Memory: Internal storage: 32 GB
RAM: 1 GB
Android with HTC Sense
5 megapixel colour camera with auto focus
1.3 megapixel front camera

2. HP webOS

A 9.7-inch table with multi-touch display, virtual keyboard, instant-on access, support for Adobe Flash Player 10.1 beta in the browser and access to thousands of webOS applications.

It's ideal for anyone who wants the benefits of the webOS platform on a large scale. The TouchPad user interface is a visual representation of your workspace, so you can manage your workflow well. You can listen to music, update your status on Facebook, read email and chat on IM at the same time.

TouchPad offers a great internet experienc. There is Wi-Fi for easy access to the web and entertainment. HP TouchPad is expected to be released by June.

Specs

High-speed connectivity
Either 16 GB or 32 GB of internal storage(14)
Qualcomm Snapdragon dual-CPU APQ8060 1.2-GHz processor
9.7-inch diagonal XGA capacitive
multitouch screen with 18-bit colour, 1,024 x 768 resolution display
190 mm x 242 mm x 13.7 mm (7.48 inches x 9.53 inches x .54 inches)
Weight: 740 gms (1.6 pounds)

3. BlackBerry PlayBook

A 7-inch BlackBerry Tablet with multi-touch capacitive display screen and featuring 1GHz processor, dual camera (front 3MP and rear 5MP), micro USB, micro HDMI, full HD video support, multi-tasking, WiFi and 1GB RAM . 3G option will be available in the future models.

Specs
5.1″ x 7.6″ x 0.4″ (130mm x 194mm x 10mm)
Built-in microUSB connector
Multi-touch capacitive screen
Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n
Full Adobe Flash 10.1 enabled
Built-in support for HTML 5
Weight: 400 gm

4. Motorola Xoom

Motorola's Android-based computer is the first tablet to run Android 3.0 Honeycomb. The Xoom supports up to 1080p video playback.

It features a 2 MP front-facing camera for video chatting over wi-fi or cellular Internet and a rear-facing 5 MP camera that records 720p video. Launched on February 24, 2011, it features a variety of sensors.

Specs

Android 3.0 (Honeycomb)
Power 6500 mAh
CPU Nvidia Tegra 2: 1 GHz dual-core processor
Storage capacity Flash memory: 32 GB, external slot: microSD card after SW update
Memory 1 GB DDR2 RAM
1280 800 widescreen, 10.1-inch display
3D graphics acceleration

5. Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1

Galaxy Tab 10.1 has a 8 megapixel rear-facing camera and a 2 megapixel front-facing. It will support MPEG4/H263/H264 and you will be able to play 1080p Full HD video on it a 30fps.

It has better connectivity with super-fast HSPA+ 21Mbps, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR and Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n.

Specs

599 gm in weight and mere 10.9mm
16 or 32 GB of storage
Wifi and Bluetooth Compatibility
10.1-inch HD widescreen display
Dual surround-sound speakers

6. Samsung Galaxy Tab (7 inch)

The Android-based compact tablet computer has a 7-inch (180 mm) TFT-LCD touchscreen, wi-fi capability, a 1.0 GHz ARM Cortex-A8 processor, and the Swype input system.

The Galaxy Tab has a calendar, email and instant messaging applications and a launcher for e-reading applications.

Specs

16GB/32GB of storage with optional micro SD card
Wifi and Bluetooth compatibility
7-inch screen
1.3MP front camera, 3MP rear camera
3.2 megapixel rear-facing camera and a 1.3 megapixel front facing camera for video calls

7. LG G-Slate

One of the outstanding Android tablets, it has a dual-core Tegra 2 chipset, 8.9-inch 3D display, 3D camera. It runs on T-Mobile's 21mbps HSPA+ network.

Specs
5 MP rear camera
2 megapixel frontside camera for video conferencing

8. Acer Iconia Tab A100

The new Acer Iconia Tab A100 is a large 7-inch tablet powered by powerful dual core processor and runs on Android v3.0 OS.

The Acer Iconia Tab A100 comes with Wi-Fi and the Iconia Tab A101 comes with Wi-Fi and 3G.

Specs

8GB storage, expandable memory capacity up to 32GB
Wifi and 3G
5MP rear camera and 2MP front camera
7-inch, 1024 x 600 display

9. 10-inch Acer Iconia Tab A500

The new Acer Iconia Tab A500/A501 is a 10.1-inch capacitive multi-touch display tablet running the latest Google Android v 3.0 (HoneyComb) OS. Powered by a powerful dual core NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor , it has WiFi, 3G and Bluetooth 2.1 and EDR and Full HD video playback.

Specs

10.1-inch capacitive multi-touch screen
WXGA resolution
Powerful nViDIA Tegra 250 dual-core CPU
NVIDIA GeForce GPU
5MP auto-focus camera at rear
2 mega-pixel front facing camera for video calling/chatting
Ability to run HD arcade and 3D games

10. Toshiba 10-inch tablet

The latest offering from Toshiba is likely to be released by June this year. The system uses an Nvidia Tegra 2 dual-core processor, capable of 1080p video decoding, smooth Adobe Flash support, and full-resolution video output via the integrated HDMI port.

The screen is glass-covered, capacitive, LED-backlit, and supports multitouch and accelerometer screen reorientation.

Specs

Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, stereo speakers, GPS
Digital compass
10.1-inch 720p 1280 x 800 display
2MP front camera, 5MP rear camera
HDMI port and SD card slot

11. Dell Streak 10

Dell Streak 10 unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show is likely to be released this month.

12. Sony 'S1' PlayStation tablet

Sony's tablet will have a PlayStation gaming built in. Sony tablet is likely to have a curved design resembling a book.

It is expected to be 9.4 inches in size with Android 3.0.

Specs

Dual-core Tegra2 processor
USB-A port supporting flash drive input
1280 800 resolution