14 DAY TRIAL // There have been many tablet announcements over the past month, especially during the 2011 International CES, and it seems that such news are still going to show up, as made clear by Vibo.
The thing about media tablets is that, despite skepticism and how PC makers didn't think they would affect netbooks, they boomed in sales anyway.
Even when the iPad was alone in the world, so to speak, it still sold by the tens of thousands.
It was the success of this device, even in absence of Flash support, that showed PC makers how the physical keyboard was not as important as they would have believed.
Granted, the netbook market is still strong, but growth decline has already been predicted for 2011, while tablets are set to only grow.
The most recent slates have been shown to use next-generation Intel or ARM chips, that being the reason why many models haven't really begun selling (Oak Trail chips, for instance, are still on the way).
A recent report now showed that even a certain telecom carrier from Taiwan, Vibo Telecom by name, has launched a tablet device.
It is known as S7 and is described as a customized slate built by Huawei Device, a subsidiary of Huawei Technologies.
Its hardware is not exactly elaborated upon, but the report does mention that e-book reading functions are included, along with voice communications and Internet.
Multimedia entertainment is also said to be amongst its assets, though whether or not this includes video playback and games is still unknown.
Regardless, its price is set at NT$7,990, which is the equivalent of roughly US$272. Its screen size is not made clear and it is just one of the 10 slates Vibo is said to have planned for the ongoing year.
What remains to be seen is if the newcomer can hold its own against all other competing solutions.