The race among tablet makers will be highlighted Tuesday, Oct 22, 2013 as gadget makers Microsoft, Nokia and Apple introduce their newest tablets.

Nokia, Apple and Microsoft are set to introduce their newest tablets on the same day. They will be gearing up to get the attention of consumers against a number of recently released gadgets from other tech heavyweights, the likes of Google, Samsung and Amazon, reports say.

The three tables will add to the already tight competition in the market, as demand for tablets rise. In the year 2012, around 120 million of these gadgets were shipped. Compared to data in 2010, 2012's numbers are seven times as many according to the New York Times.

Apple is still in the lead, but with other makers trying to catch up to get a piece of the action, tablets are now as abundant as the trusty smartphone.

Apple will be announcing significant upgrades of its iPad Mini and its iPad Tuesday, and the iPad Mini will likely to have a higher resolution display as rumoured in prior weeks. The iPad, on the other hand, will likely be slimmer than its predecessor, weighing a mere pound or even less. Sources say that these two gadgets will have the new processors from the tech giant but is unlikely to sport the fingerprint sensor from its new iPhone.

Microssoft will be releasing its newest Surface on the same day, while Nokia is expected to come out with a new tablet. Sources say that Nokia will be releasing the tablet in Abu Dhabi.

The three manufacturers are doing great in introducing their tablets, experts say, but have slightly different target populations. Microsoft is rumoured to be targeting professionals this time around, since many professionals need tablets that work as good as a PC.

Samsung, another big player, has a number of tablets that include those that enable the user to draw or jot down notes. This makes Samsung different from Microsoft because they cater to different interests.

Apple, on the other hand, usually offers versatile devices that can be used both for leisure and work.

While some manufacturers are enjoying the tablet market, others are struggling. Hewlett-Packard's newest addition, the TouchPad tablet, was taken out of the shelves because of low sales. PlayBook from Blackberry suffered the same fate.