Acer is rumored to be offering its A100 this month. Meanwhile, HP has been mum on the details of its next tablet following last month's debut of the 9.7-inch TouchPad, but word of its 7-inch TouchPad Go has . These two models join the 7-inch , the HTC-manufactured , the original and Wi-Fi-connected , and the .
The potential arrivals of two new small tablets from major manufacturers give new weight to the so far little-noticed 7-inch tablet market. Compact tablets--already very popular among low-cost tablet makers--are getting ready for the next battle for would-be tablet owners' dollars.
The majority of 7-inch tablets we've seen apart from those mentioned above have come from second- and third-tier manufacturers, who--eager to join the tablet stampede--have done so with "bargain" tablets.
The news that more top-tier manufacturers are dipping a toe into the 7-inch waters gives credence to this nascent tablet category. I expect to see even more 7-inch models hit with the arrival of the to the Android Honeycomb operating system, which adds support for additional screen sizes, including those that measure 7 inches.