Amazon's $199 (6,230 baht) Kindle Fire and Barnes & Noble's $249 (7,795 baht) Nook, released in December 2011, have exposed millions of people to tablets and are likely to lead to consumers wanting a second device. Both tablets focus on content consumption.

What can you expect from tablets due out this year? Here are some of the highlight models showed off at the recent International Consumer Electronics Show 2012.

Motorola's Droid Xyboard 8.2 is powered by a 1.2 GHz dual-core processor, with 1GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage (32 available), plus a 5 megapixel shooter on the rear with LED flash and on the front for video chat.

The Xyboard is deemed a multimedia-centric tablet because it features 2.1 virtual surround sound with the aid of the speakers built into its sides. It also packs the usefulness of an infrared blaster, which is something that's becoming more prominent amongst tablets.

Acer's Iconia Tab A700 has a 1.3GHz quad-core NVIDIA Tegra 3 with 1GB of RAM, Android 4.0, with the gorgeous 1080p IPS display.

The Iconia tab is 9.8mm thick and also has the Acer Ring installed, which is a custom Acer Launcher designed to give you shortcuts to your favourite apps on the home screen, along with recent docs for fast switching.

The 7-inch ASUS Memo 370T tablet is packed with the Tegra 3 Quad Core processor and runs on Android's 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich operating system. It features a brilliantly vivid IPS panel that delivers smoothly scrolling menus. Equipped with 1GB of RAM and at least 16GB of storage, the tablet features a Micro USB port, a Micro SD card reader and a Micro HDMI port, with an 8MP camera.

One Laptop per Child, a non-profit organisation, unveiled the XO 3.0, a customisable device that starts at $100 (3,130 baht), offering minimum specs of 800MHz CPU, 1,500mAh battery, 512MB of RAM, USB ports and 4GB of Nand storage. The XO 3.0 is worthy of mention because of the OLPC's overall mission.

Lenovo's IdeaPad Yoga is the industry's first multi-mode notebook with a 360 degree flip-and-fold design. Created for the convergence of professional and personal lifestyles, the 13.3-inch multi-touch tablet introduces an intuitive design that optimises the user experience of both an ultrabook and tablet across four different usage modes _ notebook, tablet, stand and tent.

Powered by the Intel Core processor family with a Windows 8 operating system, Yoga supports an 8-hour battery life with up to 8GB RAM and 256GB SSD.

LG showcased a new tablet dubbed the Optimus LTE LU8300 measuring around 10 inches. Running on Android's 3.2 Honeycomb operating system it is paired with a custom LG overlay and a series of pre-installed LG apps. The tablet can connect to one of the company's new wi-fi-enabled Smart TVs and mirrors the content playing back on its own display, or can even let you stream a second channel to the tablet while watching something on the TV.

Running on Android's 3.2 Honeycomb operating system in a slender 7.89mm body and weighing 340g, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 incorporates AMOLED plus display technology, offering high-pixel density. Powered by a dual-core processor, the Tab allows seamless multitasking and faster webpage loading. There are also multiple cameras for video-chatting and snapping candid shots.

RIM has updated its BlackBerry PlayBook operating system, allows it to receive email without being connected to a BlackBerry smartphone. The PlayBook OS 2.0 leveraged BlackBerry's strengths in communications, social networking and productivity, to allow people to use their PlayBook in new ways throughout the day, according to the company.

Toshiba introduced its Excite X10 tablet, which measures 7.7mm thin and weighs 535g. The Excite X10 features a high-resolution AutoBrite display offering an ideal canvas for browsing and entertainment. Designed for durability and style, the device also features a magnesium alloy surface and a scratch-resistant Corning Gorilla Glass display with an anti-smudge coating for greater resilience.

Toshiba also unwrapped its 7.7-inch and 13.3-inch tablet prototypes that are light and thin with rounded corners and textured backs.

Sony, in a meantime, exhibited its concept Slate at the fair, a device that comes with a beautifully designed wireless keyboard, but Sony disclosed nothing about the specifications.

It also started to get excited over the release of Microsoft's Windows 8 operating system. Windows 8 is Microsoft's first attempt to delivering an OS created from scratch to work with touchscreens. How much pressure Windows can potentially place on Android is unknown at this time. But an analyst commented that the main obstacle to Windows 8 is the Android market's huge diversity of apps.

This year consumers can expect tablets with improved panel resolutions, improved designs and materials, and the ability to better directly connect with other wi-fi-enabled devices.

According to NPD Display Search, the tablet PC category will gain higher-resolution displays in 2012. The resolution will increase by 78 pixels per inch (ppi), going from 134 ppi in November 2011 to 212 ppi this year.

The ability to pass content between devices will become important as more tablets appear in homes and families gain the need to quickly and easily move videos and photos about. However, pricing is not expected to decline by much.

In Thailand, 2012 is the first year that the emerging smart devices (smartphones and media tablets) are on the verge of overtaking the PC as the number one choice of technology accessory, after desktops and laptops have dominated the universe of personal computing for years.

PCs are still needed by both consumers and enterprises, but the real growth will be in smart devices as IDC forecasts that the shipment of smart devices in 2012 will be 6.7 million units compared to only 4.1 million units of PCs.