The first real challenger to Apple's iPad, the Samsung Galaxy Tab, will launch in Australia in November for $999 for the 16GB version, the company has confirmed.

Meanwhile, BlackBerry maker Research in Motion is preparing to announce its tablet next week at the company's developer conference in San Francisco, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Samsung's Galaxy Tab it plans to release later this year.

And Dell overnight unveiled its second tablet computer, which like its previously announced Streak also runs Android. It has a 7-inch touchscreen compared to the 5-inch screen on the Streak, but Dell has not yet announced when either of the models would launch in Australia.

Apple has cornered the tablet market since the launch of its iPad but starting from late this year there will be a raft of challengers from companies including Acer, Asus, Dell, RIM, Lenovo, Samsung and Cisco.