Intel may just have built a platform that will help tablet-makers compete with Apple’s hot-selling iPad, and make netbooks sleeker and faster. The ‘Oak Trail‘, an Atom-based SoC (system-on-chip), is a development over the earlier introduced energy-efficient ‘Moorestown‘ platform for tablet PCs. The only difference, and what maybe a major development, is the support for Windows 7. Now who wouldn’t like to have good old Windows on a thin flashy tablet? Especially when Oak Trail promises 1080p video playback, HDMI support, better battery life with 50% power reduction and a thinner form factor. The platform would also support MeeGo and Google’s Chrome OS. Expect a slate powered by the ‘Oak Trail’ in the first quarter of 2011. It’s a while, but should be worth the wait.