Acer is planning to launch a 7-inch and 10-inch tablet PC in the fourth quarter according to Digitimes. Both will sport ARM CPUs and run Google's Android OS 2.2. These tablet PCs will go up against Apple's iPad and tout its multimedia capabilities including the ability to run Flash. There is no doubt many brands will enter the tablet market. Success will depend on an experience that matches or exceeds that of the iPad, providing the ability to easily purchase and consume media such as the App Store, iBookstore and the iTunes Music Store.
One of the main criticisms of the iPad is its closed ecosystem and so there will be a good portion of the market that will respond to a more open platform. Google's Android OS seems to be the platform of choice but where can users get the media they want? Rumor has it Google is working on its own music store and Amazon's Kindle app will help get the books, magazines and newspapers you want. There's a lot of options for video: Hulu, Netflix, etc.
Will 7-inch, 10-inch tablet PCs displace netbooks? Who is to know. But one thing is for sure: most if not all brands will do their best to market tablets the next big thing. Apple is on its way to success. Who will be next?