We have all heard of it, we have all pretty much seen it and everybody has mixed views and opinions on it. Reviewers show mixed praise, bloggers show mixed posts. But just what are you to do if you are in the market for a tablet, but want one which will multi task? The iPad is the first tablet to be shown the major spotlight, and with the official UK release date now revealed, you may be tempted to splash out for Apple’s latest offering.

But you do not have to snap up the iPad just because this is the first tablet to offer what you might want. Here is a round up of the best iPad alternatives on / soon to be on offer;

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MSI Tegra Tablet – $499 (more for higher specs)

Computer and portable electronics maker MSI will launch its tablet PC in the second half of 2010 with an NVIDIA Tegra chip, the tablet was originally shown off at CES using the dual-core Tegra 250 chip and featured a 10-inch color touchscreen, but it wasn’t given a hard release window at the time. MSI will launch different versions of the tablet as well, some with bigger hard drives and added ROM.

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HP Slate PC – $499 (£320)

The HP Slate will run Windows 7, and apparently be as portable as a mobile phone. Multi tasking galore, this tablet which is to be on sale later this year and will be under $500 and as such should be able to compete directly with Apple in terms of price range. The only question is – do you want simplicity and apps, or a powerful and highly functional UI?

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Lenovo IdeaPad U1 hybrid – $999 (£610)

The Lenavo Ideapad U1 Hybrid is, and will be throughout 2010, one of the products I would love to own. Unfamiliar? Well heres the good bit; The 11.6-inch Ideapad U1 hybrid features a detachable, tablet-style screen. When the screen is locked in to the chassis it’s a Windows 7 Home Premium laptop with an Intel Core 2 Duo processor. When it’s pulled from its shell it becomes a Qualcomm Snapdragon-powered, multi-touch slate with 16GB storage, running Lenovo’s Skylight Linux system.

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T-Mobile Vega – $TBC (£TBC)

Aimed at people who have a T-mobile phone contract, or internet connection, The Android-based Vega uses the Tegra 250 chipset that we now know as the NVIDIA Tegra 2, and T-Mobile are targeting the slate specifically at the ‘Mum’ segment who, they hope, will readily adopt it as the linchpin of their family lives. An Android powered tablet? Definetely worth a look. It could mainly be used as a home hub media center, controlling various PC extensions and connections.

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Google Tablet – $TBC (£TBC)

Granted, it is early days yet – and granted, nobody knows exactly how it will look yet – and granted, it will bear the Google logo, seen as some as geeky. But come on, with the Nexus One being an awesome phone, you’d only expect the GTablet to be awesome too. Although no release date has been confirmed yet, expect it mid-end 2010. I will keep you updated, as this should be a major competitor to the iPad.

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