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BOB MOON: Later this week, Las Vegas hosts to the Consumer Electronics show — one of the largest gadget tradeshows of the year. Nearly every big tech company shows off their latest gizmo.

Jennifer Collins reports that this year, the tablet computer is taking over.

JENNIFER COLLINS: Stop into Best Buy later this year, this is what you’ll see.

MICHAEL GARTENBERG: Tablets Tablets Tablets Tablets.

Michael Gartenberg is with tech research firm Gartner. With an estimated 13 million iPads sold, he says Apple is the king of the tablet, for now.

GARTENBERG: This year is going to be the year where vendors try and take that crown from Apple.

Vendors like Hewlett-Packard, Motorola, Blackberry maker RIM may introduce as many as 47 new models at the consumer electronics show, alone. Tim Bajarin is a tech consultant with Creative Strategies.

TIM BAJARIN: Whether it be RIM or even Microsoft, the ultimate success lies on thousands of thousands of apps behind developed for these platforms.

Gartenberg says some of the new tablets are bound to strike consumers as too expensive, too cumbersome.

GARTENBERG: Some will be in the words of Dorothy Parker, products that should not be tossed aside lightly but rather thrown with great force.

But there will be dozens of others to choose from.

I’m Jennifer Collins for Marketplace.