Five Linux Tablets to Challenge the iPad

Lately, all the buzz has centered on one tablet, the Apple iPad. After all, the hype is inevitable. The Apple fanboys have decided that Steve Jobs' products are always a "revolutionary success". However, there are a few other contenders in this new market.

Namely, Android, and a collection of other Linux-based tablets that are about to hit the market.

Believe it or not, quite a few exist. The Dell Streak, (above) has a 5-inch touchscreen, a 1 gHZ Snapdragon processor, and a front-facing camera. The Streak fits in your pocket, and ships with 3G connectivity on a smartphone-style data plan. It also offers an add-on bluetooth headest for just $0.99, so it's closer to a smartphone, than a portable PC. The WeTab (below) is a German tablet designed as a desktop replacement. It includes a flip-up stand, that allows consumers to comfortably watch movies and consume web content. With its 11.6' touchscreen, the WeTab is the closest to an iPad-clone, in terms of price,  size and feature-set. It features a snappy 1.66 ghz processor, 1 GB of RAM, and six hours of battery life.

The Archos 7 (below) runs a custom Linux distribution, boasts instant-on capability and has 7 hours battery life. The Archos 7 sadly lacks the ability to install any of the 70,000+ apps from the Android Marketplace.  

The Shogo (below) has a relatively low 256mb RAM, a 10-inch touch-screen and 8 hours of battery life. 

The Notion Ink Adam (below) will retail for just $300.

The Adam's inexpensive pricetag makes it attractive to lower-end consumers searching for a tablet that simply "get's the job done".

HDMI output allows one to connect the Adam to a HDTV and stream television and movies from the internet. These six tablets personify the latest Linux tablet trends, focusing on the large Android application marketplace, speed, and lengthy battery life. The Adam, the Streak and the WeTab seem the most likely to upset the iPad, and become ubiquitous. Even if the iPad remains 1# worldwide, against all these Linux tablets,  Microsoft won't stand a chance.