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Make room, iPad: AT&T to sell Intel-based tablet too

At CTIA, AT&T announces it will sell a tablet that will run, like the iPad, on its 3G network, but will be powered by Intel's upcoming Moorestown Atom processor.

Brooke Crothers Former CNET contributor
Brooke Crothers writes about mobile computer systems, including laptops, tablets, smartphones: how they define the computing experience and the hardware that makes them tick. He has served as an editor at large at CNET News and a contributing reporter to The New York Times' Bits and Technology sections. His interest in things small began when living in Tokyo in a very small apartment for a very long time.
Brooke Crothers
2 min read

AT&T is already expanding its selection of products in the nascent tablet market. In addition to the upcoming Apple iPad, AT&T will market a tablet based on a future version of Intel's Atom processor.

At the CTIA trade show in Las Vegas this week, AT&T announced a tablet that will run, like the iPad, on its 3G broadband network. The tablet is based on a design from Boca Raton, Fla.-based OpenPeak, which designs and develops products for companies like Verizon and Telefonica--two of its current customers.

Inside OpenPeak's "OpenTablet" will be Intel's latest Atom "Moorestown" silicon, which is a system-on-a-chip due sometime in the next few months. The Moorestown chip is also slated to power a large 5-inch class smartphone from LG. The iPad is powered by Apple's A4 system-on-a-chip.

OpenPeak tablet: to be sold by AT&T, powered by Intel.  Some future Intel-Apple rivalry at AT&T?
OpenPeak tablet: to be sold by AT&T, powered by Intel. Some future Intel-Apple rivalry at AT&T? OpenPeak

In a January CNET interview, Dan Gittleman, chief executive of OpenPeak, offered his thoughts about how the tablet could be used, describing it as both a device for viewing multimedia content--like the iPad--and as a home monitor, for keeping tabs on energy consumption and security, for example.

Specifications that AT&T announced at CTIA include 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, a high-resolution 7-inch multitouch TFT LCD screen with LED backlighting, HDMI output for connection to HD televisions, dual cameras for high-definition video and still images, an onboard USB connector, and a MicroSD slot.

The device measures 9 inches by 5 inches, is 0.59 inches thick, weighs 1.15 pounds, and will be sold with a desktop docking station.

Though AT&T isn't revealing specific retail outlets yet, it will be available nationwide "via multiple retail distribution channels...later this year," according to a short announcement on Intel's Web site.