Google, Microsoft to test Apple's tablet dominance

Google Inc and Microsoft Corp’s attempts to loosen Apple Inc’s grip on the booming tablet-computer market will be put to the test this week as PC makers unveil new models at the Computex trade show in Taipei.

Investors and analysts will be looking to see if Google’s Android operating system can match the popularity of the iPad, while Microsoft may preview its next Windows platform for tablets a year after Apple’s first offering hit store shelves.

“Investors want to know which tablet is better, which has the best price-performance, and when the non-iPad camp is going to get going,” said Angela Hsiang, an analyst at KGI Securities Co. in Taipei. “Previously, people couldn’t actually see the products. At Computex, we’ll be able to touch and use them.”

Acer Inc and Asustek Computer Inc, which upended the computer market when they showed low-cost netbooks at Computex in 2007 and 2008, will demonstrate new tablets featuring Google’s Android this week. The operator of the world’s most popular search engine and Microsoft will both send executives to the event to meet with reporters and update companies on their plans.

Intel Corp, the world’s largest chipmaker, and ARM Holdings Plc, whose chip designs are used by Qualcomm Inc and Nvidia Corp to run tablets, will also try to convince manufacturers that their products are the best as the desktop and notebook markets slow.

Microsoft will preview its operating system designed for tablets this week, using hardware with ARM-based chips, three people with knowledge of the plans said this month. Windows 7, the current version of Microsoft’s computer platform, isn’t compatible with ARM chips, which are used in tablets from Samsung Electronics Co and Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc.