UK firm X2 unveils its own iTablet

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British PC maker X2 Computing has unveiled its own consumer-friendly tablet PC range, naming it the iTablet - a clever marketing move, if not possibly the best one from a legal standpoint.

That name was one of the front runners for the name of the Apple tablet, which has since been dubbed the iPad.

Whether Apple will care about the 'i' based moniker remains to be seen, as they may be too busy selling millions of their own iPads to worry about their smaller competitor.

The X2 iTablet range will feature 10.2 inch or 12.1 inch touchscreen or multitouch screens, with a starting weight of 1.18 kg.

X2 promises "easy to use" on-screen keyboards and integrated graphics, making it useful as an e-reader, video player or Windows machine. The X2 iTablet uses Bluetooth and WiFi for connectivity, with 3G and GSM also available.

It also offers three USB ports - missing from the iPad - and a 1.3 megapixel camera, a feature also missing from the iPad, but rumoured to be showing up before the device ships.

Presumably taking another dig at Apple, X2 stressed that its iTablet runs Adobe's Flash, which the iPhone and iPad are missing. "Significantly, Flash animations can be played to maximise the web browsing experience and enable access to websites using a choice of browser software," it said.

The X2 iTablet will run Windows 7, Windows Tablet or Linux with a 1.6Ghz Intel processor and 250GB of storage.

X2 said it chose those OSes for a good reason. "They provide high levels of processing performance enabling multiple applications to run simultaneously – something that cannot be achieved with some other operating systems," it said in a statement, presumably taking dig at Apple's OS.

Robin Daunter, technical director of X2 Computing, said in a statement: “The iTablet is extremely powerful with a vast array of features and data storage capacity and, what is more, it uses the well received Microsoft Windows 7 operating system making it a more compelling proposition for users wishing to share data with their existing Windows-based systems and networks."

Shipments are expected to start in April, but no pricing, other specs or photos were available from X2.

Read on for more tablet alternatives to the Apple iPad.

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