Gadget: Elonex eTouch 10in Android Mobile Internet Tablet

This will undoubtedly be the year of the internet tablet. And if this month's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas is anything to go by, at which more than 28 new tablets were launched by everyone from Motorola to BlackBerry, the Apple iPad is going to have some fairly stiff competition.

However, with the iPad 2 rumoured to be released at the start of next month, the digital landscape may shift yet again. Enter the Elonex eTouch 10in Mobile Internet Tablet, a digital device that has obviously been inspired, at least in the looks department, by the iPad.

Out of the box, the eTouch feels plastic but not entirely fantastic. The build quality is a little creaky in places, but with a price tag of 149.99, that's to be expected.

The 10.1in 1024 x 600 pixel touchscreen is not quite up to iPad's, but to its credit, despite some fuzziness here and there, it handled web browsing and HD video playback with aplomb.

The eTouch runs Google's Android 2.1 operating system which doesn't support Flash, but on the flipside, you do get access to more than 10,000 Apps from Android Marketplace.

With built-in Wi Fi and a reasonably nippy LNX 1GHz processor, webpages loaded up well, although it wasn't the quickest; the BBC News site took about 12 seconds to load in full.

Battery life is rated optimistically at three hours, but you'll be lucky to get more than half that for intensive internet surfing.

The eTouch is not designed to beat the iPad, and it's definitely no pedigree performer, but for less than 150, it's a viable alternative for those on a budget.

For those on a budget, it's a viable alternative to the iPad

Elonex eTouch 10in Android Mobile Internet Tablet

149.99, available from Toys R Us, Asda and www.amp3.co.uk

This article was first published in The Scotsman, 22 January, 2011