Some PC vendors, including Hewlett-Packard (HP) and Dell, reportedly plan to venture into the development of Microsoft's Windows 8-based tablet PCs with the new models likely to be launched in the third quarter of 2012, according to industry sources.

Amazon's launch of the low-priced Kindle Fire has not only triggered a price war among Android-based tablet PC vendors, but has also pushed the vendors to alternative platforms in order to avoid fierce competition, commented the sources.

Motorola Mobility began to market a low-priced version of its Xoom tablet through Best Buy on October 16, the sources indicated.

While Acer and Asustek Computer are expected to continue to roll out Android-based tablets, Dell and Lenovo reportedly will focus on business-use tablets, said the sources, noting that Dell's business tablets will run on Windows, while Lenovo's ThinkPad tablet models will run on Android OS.