Microsoft is to unveil a new line of tablet computers to challenge the dominance of Apple's iPad, according to The New York Times Tuesday. The device will debut at January's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas and will run on the Windows 7 operating system, dpa cited the report as saying. The initial devices will be made by Dell and Samsung, and unlike rival tablets from Apple and Google will feature a slim slide- out keyboard. The report described the Samsung device as "similar in size and shape to the Apple iPad," and said that it would focus on the needs of business users, which Microsoft believes represents a "huge market." Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer demonstrated a Windows 7 tablet earlier this year made by HP, which subsequently pulled its support from the device when it bought rival operating system Palm.
