Laptop Thoughts: Android Tablets Coming Soon to a Store Near You

"This report doesn’t come from one of our usual suspects in the tech blog word but the good folks over at Appolicious had a conversation with a T-Mobile rep. The most worthy note here, if this report is to be believed is that T-Mobile have an Android tablet available before the Christmas holiday. What’s more interesting is that this report coincides with our inventory sheet leak yesterday showing off the LG Optimus T which some of our readers believe is an Android tablet."

With slate tablets being as hot as Georgia asphalt these days, it is no surprising that companies are exploring the possibility of adapting the Android OS to the tablet form factor. While some say that Froyo may not be the ideal candidate, Android 3.0 is coming along and manufacturers such as HTC and Motorola will try anything for a piece of the tablet pie. I find it interesting that at least with the North American market, it looks like there will be two main categories of tablets to choose from. Generic, multi-purpose tablets that can be had from PC companies such as Dell and HP, and then those that will be tied to telecommunication carriers. Carriers must be salivating at the revenue potential of these babies. Not only will people be tied to their carriers owing to hardware limitations but with separate app stores like Verizon's V Cast's proposed app store, they stand to make a considerable amount of money. It does not seem that the strangehold that carriers have in the United States and Canada will not be loosened anytime soon.