New Microsoft tablets in January?

As the trend towards tablets continues to grow, a report has claimed Microsoft will be next on the bandwagon with its own product line.

An article in the New York Times, citing sources familiar with Microsoft's plans, has claimed January will see the announcement of a family of tablets during chief executive (CEO) Steve Ballmer's speech at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.

Confirmed manufacturers are said to include Samsung and Dell, but others were also said to be partnering with Microsoft to make tablets based on its Windows 7 operating system.

Details of the Dell device were kept quiet but the source said of the Samsung product: "[It is] similar in size and shape to the Apple iPad, although it is not as thin. It also includes a unique and slick keyboard that slides out from below for easy typing."

Despite the instant comparison with Apple, Microsoft will be taking a different approach to applications for the devices. The sources claimed developers were being encouraged to work with HTML 5 and, rather than having an app store, they were urged to host the apps on their own websites.

"The company believes there is a huge market for business people who want to enjoy a slate for reading newspapers and magazines and then work on Microsoft Word, Excel or PowerPoint," added one source.

As well as the hardware, there are also rumours Ballmer might showcase Windows 8 on one of the new portable devices.

Last week, Generator Research released a report which claimed tablets were set to outsell netbooks and be close to the number of sales attributed to desktop PCs within the next four years.