Tablet PCs Grow In Popularity at CES

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Last year's CES was dubbed "The Year of the Tablet PC" but this was the year tablet computers were refined. Several new devices were put out on display this year, mostly run using an Android OS. What were some of the cool highlights from the tablet world? Below is a list of things we found noteworthy.

Motorola Xoom

This is somewhat of a two-tiered announcement. Motorola's new tablet was named the best tablet PC at CES this year, though the only demo seen was through a video. What makes this device special is the operating system it utilizes in Android's new Honeycomb update. Motorola's new tablet is slated for a release this Spring once Google's new OS is completely refined for production.

RIM's Playbook

The makers of Blackberry officially throw their hats into the tablet ring with their new Playbook. Unlike most of the other tablets at CES, this device doesn't run on an Android platform. Instead, Playbook runs on its own custom Blackberry Tablet OS. The details of this device weren't new to the public since most of the specs had been available to the public since this past fall. However, RIM announced one new feature unknown until the show: the Playbook would be run on a faster 4G network. In addition to its 4G capabilities, the 7-inch Playbook features a front-facing camera, built in Adobe Flash, USB drive, HDMI video output and even a feature for video conferencing. It certainly lends itself to the business market that the Blackberry phone has its thumb on.

Not a Tablet Device But Still Cool

This isn't a new tablet computer but definitely shows one of the directions applications can go in tablet development. Crayola is currently testing a new iPad application that allows children to color using a digital crayon of sorts. Each coloring book page has other hidden features within each blank page. We could write more about it but it'll be more fun for you to see it for yourself below. iVideo courtesy of C.C. Chapman.

Crayola ColorStudio HD from C.C. Chapman on Vimeo.