According to KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo the iPad portfolio will see all of one addition come Q3 2014-- an iPad Air refresh armed with a next-gen A8 processor and Touch ID fingerprint sensors.

As AppleInsider reports chances for an H2 2014 release of the supposed 12.9-inch enterprise iPad (or "iPad Pro") are "slim," since the larger display demands an iOS revision. Such an update has to wait due to Apple being too busy working on the OS for the much anticipated iWatch.

Kuo also forecasts declining iPad forecasts-- from 34 million units in H1 2013 to less than 30m for H1 2014. And "unless more aggressive promotions are launched" shipments will only decline further, with Q1 2014 iPad Air shipments dropping 30-40% and "weak" iPad mini with Retina display performance.

InZero Systems claims to solve security issues caused by using the same device for work and play with the WorkPlay Tablet, a device with two hardware-separated operating systems.

According to the company the OS pair does not share resources allowing cross-contamination, meaning malware operating in one OS cannot access the other. Bearing self-descriptive "WorkZone and "PlayZone" names, each OS is Android-based and can be autonomously managed.

Falling prices and display technology advances will lead to higher tablet shipments "increasingly" replacing notebook PCs in 2014 and beyond, NPD DisplaySearch reports.

According to the analyst global 2014 tablet shipments will reach 315 million units, making over 65% of the combined tablet/notebook market, before reaching 455m units by 2017 while encompassing nearly 75% of the market.

Meanwhile tablet ASPs should fall from $311 in 2014 to $296 in 2017, boosting adoption in emerging regions, namely E. Europe, MEA and China. Display technologies will also be more varied (including oxide, LTPS and AMOLED), with a variety of screen sizes and resolutions.

According to IDC Q4 2013 global tablet shipments reach 76.9 million units with 28.2% Y-o-Y growth-- an impressive growth rate, one might say, but not when compared to the 87.1% Y-o-Y growth from Q4 2012.

Meanwhile full year 2013 WW shipments total 217.1m units, up by 50.6% from the 144.2m units shipped on 2012. But you don't even need to be an analyst to realise the Q4 2013 totals represent a "significant" (as IDC puts it) sign of a market on slowdown.

"It's becoming increasingly clear that markets such as the US are reaching high levels of consumer saturation and while emerging markets continue to show strong growth this has not been enough to sustain the dramatic WW growth rates of years past," the analyst remarks. "We expect commercial purchases of tablets to continue to accelerate in mature markets, but softness in the consumer segment—brought about by high penetration rates and increased competition for the consumer dollar—point to a more challenging environment for tablets in 2014 and beyond."

Archos goes for customers with tighter budgets as it reveals the Neon tablet lineup-- a trio of devices armed with hardware on the lower end of the spectrum.

Similar to Archos' own Carbon and Cobalt tablets, the Neon devices carry a quad-core A9 processor, 1GB RAM and 8GB built-in storage (expandable via microSD). All run on Android 4.2.

The smallest of the three is the 90 Neon, with a 9-inch 800x480 display. Following is the 9.7-inch 97 Neon, while the biggest is the 10.1-inch, 1024x768 101 Neon.

Asus continues building on the Transformer tablet/laptop hybrid concept at CES 2014 with the Transformer Book Duet (TD300)-- reportedly the first "quad-mode dual-OS laptop and tablet convertible."

The Transformer Book Duet allows one to switch between Windows 8.1 and Android with either the press of a dedicated "switch" key or a virtual on-screen button. Impressively, switching between operating systems takes all of 4 seconds since, as Asus puts it, no OS virtualisation is used.

Specification-wise it is a 13.3-inch number with a choice of Haswell Core i3, i5 or i7 CPUs, 4GB RAM, 128GB storage (with up to 1TB in the keyboard dock) and either 1366x768 or 1920x1080 resolution IPS display. Meanwhile the hardware looks nice enough, with a keyboard similar to the chiclet number seen in Asus Zenbook ultrabooks.

CES might be as consumer related as tradeshows can get but Samsung uses it to make a couple of reveals more relevant to business customers-- the Galaxy NotePRO and TabPRO enterprise tablet lineup.

“We created the Galaxy NotePRO and TabPRO series to kick-off a year in which Samsung truly establishes its leadership in the tablet market,” Samsung Electronics CEO JK Shin boasts. “This new line offers the best-in-class content consumption and productivity, combining a stunning viewing experience with Samsung’s design legacy.”

The NotePRO is a 12.2-inch tablet with a 16:10 display handling 2560x1600 resolution, a first for Samsung. It features an optimised UI the company calls Magazine UX, S Pen input, a multiwindow mode allowing users to split the display in 4 windows and a virtual keyboard complete with haptic feedback.

Toshiba implies hybrid 2-in-1 laptops are bit passe at CES 2014-- not when you can have a 5-in-1 transforming laptop, one able able to turn into notebook, tablet(s) and more besides.

Seen behind glass in strictly prototype form, the 5-in-1 laptop looks like a nice enough device with a 13.3-inch touchscreen inside magnesium alloy casing. As well as familiar display and removable keyboard it also features a built-in kickstand housing a pair of Harman Kardon speakers.