Hewlett-Packard & Dell Dive into Tablet Mania

PCs appear to be taking a backseat to the ever popular and always innovative tablets, currently offered from the likes of Apple AAPL, Amazon.com AMZN and soon Microsoft MSFT. As the competition comes to a head, others want to hop on the bandwagon before it's too late, as Hewlett-Packard HPQ and Dell DELL are both set to launch combination tablet PCs after the release of Windows 8.

According to DigiTimes, the competitive duo will each begin a new Windows tablet venture in 2012, with Hewlett-Packard adopting chip solutions from Texas Instruments TXN and Dell using chips from Qualcomm QCOM.

Both Hewlett-Packard and Dell have some fierce sales to catch up to if they plan on dominating the tablet industry anytime soon. Taiwanese supply chain makers recently said that Apple is expected to move about 19.5 million iPad and iPad 2 panels in the company's third quarter alone.

"As Apple is revising the new iPad and plans to launch a new version of iPad, the vendor is expected to adjust inventory level of iPad panels, with shipments decreasing in July and August and then increasing in September, the sources said," DigiTimes reports.

While Apple's autumn shipments are projected to experience a boost, Hewlett-Packard is may see a rough month in October. Jefferies noted that the company may endure weak printer sales, as foreshadowed by Canon's CAJ lowered printer guidance (the company from which Hewlett-Packard sources its laser printer engines).

However, these estimates could all change with the introduction of a new tablet. The question is, when can the new models be expected to launch?

While the report stated that competition such as Asutek Computer and Toshiba have already introduced Windows RT tablet PC designs, it gave no indication for when Hewlett-Packard would drop its model on the scene.

Dell's Windows RT tablet PC will likely be made available on store shelves after October 26.

Hewlett-Packard closed Wednesday at $17.66, down nearly 31.5 percent year-to-date, while Dell was also down about 19.5 percent year-to-date, closing at $11.79.