Twenty years ago, inexpensive desktop PCs were the latest consumer craze. Ten years ago, the laptop was the latest thing to have which completely revolutionised the personal computing game. Today, tablet computers are the latest ‘must have’ consumer computing purchase.

Tablet computers are perfectly suited to today’s mobile lifestyle. They mean almost anyone can run digital applications and access the Internet from almost anywhere. They combine many of the advantages of a smartphone and a laptop in one package.

And you might not realise that selling tablet computers could be an opportunity for you. How? Because wholesale ‘factory gate’ prices in China are now becoming very affordable, now starting from around $45 (about £28.60) a unit. These are very similar to budget tablets that sell for around £90-£100 in the shops.

Let’s be honest. You’re not going to be competing with Apple’s iPod. But you could go into the low-cost tablet PC market. Buying up inexpensive, unbranded ‘white label’ tablet computers, adding your own brand name, then selling on into the budget market to those can’t afford to shell out £££s for an iPad or whatever. These budget tablets are ideal for selling into the growing kids computing market too.

If you’re interested in this opportunity, you can find wholesale suppliers on an import directory site like Alibaba at www.alibaba.com. (Remember to add on shipping costs and import taxes to the prices you’re quoted to see what your net price will be.)

If you’d like more information on opportunities in the tablet computer market let me know. I could bring you more information, sources and contacts over the coming weeks.