Toshiba plans to launch tablet device.

Wednesday, March 10, 2010 at 02:12 PM | Posted by kazouz

Toshiba is developing new tablet devices that will fit into the category created by Apple’s iPad, according to Toshiba’s head of U.S. notebook business Jeff Barney.

Barney said that the company plans to introduce a line of tablets late this year or early 2011, noting that it would have to move fast to claim some of the market share.

“It has proved to be a mistake to underestimate these new categories,” says Jeff Barney, head of Toshiba’s U.S. notebook business. Toshiba plans to introduce a line of consumer slates in late 2010 or early 2011. “And besides, we need new category creation to grow our industry.”

The company released Journe Touch (pictured) late last year in Europe but this device is not considered to be in the category in question as it does not allow third party applications.

It is unclear what operating system Toshiba would use for its new tablet although the company has rarely used anything other than Microsoft’s Windows platform. However, the processors that Windows 7 would require means that Toshiba’s choice is not easily predictable.