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December 14, 2010 |

Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) plans to unveil it’s new Windows tablets powered by Windows 7 in January by Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer at the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, according to a published report.

Ballmer will demo the tablets from Samsung, Dell (Nasdaq: DELL) and other manufacturers “familiar with Microsoft’s plans,” according to the report. It was also reported that Redmond will also demonstrate a tablet running Windows 8.

Microsoft is under pressure to produce a tablet that can compete with Apple’s iPad as well as devices powered by Google’s Android OS.

The Samsung tablet will be “similar in size and shape” to the Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) iPad, but not as thin and will have “a unique and slick keyboard that slides out from below for easy typing,” cited an anonymous source. It will also “run the Windows 7 operating system when in landscape mode, but will also have a layered interface that will appear when the keyboard is hidden and the device is held in a portrait mode.”

Microsoft’s credibility in the tablet market is in jeopardy, as they failed to deliver on previous promises to deliver the tablets. CEO Steve Ballmer demonstrated a Windows-powered HP slate a year ago and in October, he told an audience that they would have Windows tablets in stores “by Christmas,” which did not happen.

Apple’s iPad and devices powered by Google’s Android OS already have a solid hold on the market.

Microsoft has not yet confirmed the report.