Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC appears to be readying a tablet device for global markets.
The company has filed a trademark application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for the name, “HTC Scribe” to be used on a tablet device, according to the filing.
On a section of the application where it asks what Good or Service the trademark will be used on, HTC wrote, “Handheld wireless device, namely, a tablet computer.”
The trademark application has sparked widespread speculation that the company will soon market its first rival to the iPad, but HTC has offered little extra about what the new tablet will look like.
The company did not return requests for comment on this story.
Dozens of companies are expected to unveil new tablet devices at the upcoming International Consumer Electronics Show, which opens next week in Las Vegas. Chip maker Freescale Semiconductor, for example, has said it will show off over 20 tablet devices made by users of its chips, and most of those devices use Google’s Android mobile software on board.
The rush to build tablets was sparked by Apple when it launched the iPad in April. The company has reported selling nearly 8 million of the devices as of October and has offered up apps and other services made specifically for the iPad.