With so many competitors in the tablet and e-reader market these days, it's getting harder and harder for manufacturers to differentiate themselves from similar offerings. Apple's iPad held 68 percent of the worldwide market share in the second quarter according to Massachusetts-based research firm IDC, while Samsung and Amazon claimed second and third with 10 percent and 5 percent respectively. While it can be hard for newcomers to get a foothold, there are a few new offerings from Japanese companies that aspire to take a bite out of the e-reader apple, so to speak.

For people who still prefer to jot down ideas with a pen and paper, Casio's new lineup of Paper Writer tablets incorporate more of a hybrid approach to note-taking that may prove popular. Powered by Google's Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and a 1.5 GHz processor, Paper Writer tablets feature a paper notepad in the devices folding case so that users can use a pen and paper to write down notes. Subsequently, those notes can be captured using the tablets camera and then organized via software on the device, which is a very clever idea.

With a shock resistant design, the 10.1-inch tablets feature 16 gigabytes of onboard storage, although you can add more via microSD and SD card slots. NFC support and Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity are built in. The Paper Writer line comes in four models with similar specs: the V-N500-WJ and V-N500-J support a business card reader function, which lets the user read key information from standard business cards, while the V-T500-WJ and V-T500-J primarily use the camera for still images. The WJ models have support for Docomo's high-speed Xi Crossy LTE network.