BT and O2 prepare tablets for release

BT and O2 will both bring out medium-sized tablet devices later this year, the communications providers have said.

The BT Slate was shown off in prototype form at the company's investor day on Thursday. A BT spokesperson told ZDNet UK on Friday that the "exciting new home device" is the "size of a digital picture frame", has smartphone functionality and is partly the product of BT's own development processes, but declined to give any further details.

O2, meanwhile, will carry Dell's Mini 5 tablet device this summer. The device, also called Streak, is an Android tablet with a 5-inch touchscreen and was revealed to the audience on Thursday at the Synergy Citrix conference in San Francisco.

Brandishing the Streak, Michael Dell said he had installed Citrix Receiver on the device, allowing him to remotely view virtual desktops. "[The Streak] will be available starting next month, first with our partner O2 Telefonica in Europe and later in the summer with our very good partner here in the States, AT&T," Dell said.

On Friday, O2 representatives in the UK were unable to confirm the June launch. Any new tablets will join a market invigorated by the high profile appearance of Apple's iPad , which will launch in the UK at the end of May. A few other tablets, such as Fusion Garage's JooJoo, are already available.