Nokia, Dell and Lenovo are all planning on releasing Windows 8 tablets this year. While Nokia hasn't said when exactly the new tablet will come out Dell and Lenovo seem to be racing to be the first manufacturer to release a Windows 8 tablet this year.

Dell CEO Michael Dell said Thursday that the computer manufacturer is building a tablet for Microsoft's new Windows 8 software.

"Having a secure Windows tablet that works with all the Windows applications - we're hearing a lot of demand for that and we think that will be quite attractive," Dell told Bloomberg television.

Dell said the company will release the Windows 8 tablets on the exact day that Microsoft ships the new OS. Dell isn't the only manufacturer making this promise as Lenovo is also "internally planning to be the first manufacturer to release" a Windows 8 tablet. According to the Verge Lenovo's Windows 8 tablet could be the prototype IdeaPad Yoga the manufacturer showed off at CES in January. The Yoga is a 13.3 inch hybrid tablet that turns in to an ultrabook laptop.

Rumors about Nokia's own Windows tablet just got some confirmation as Nokia design head Marko Ahtisaari told Finnish magazine Kauppalehti Optio that "we are working on it". The magazine wrote that Ahtisari spends a third of his working time developing the tablet which is rumored to be released at the end of 2012. Supply chain sources have suggested that Nokia's Windows 8 tablet will have a 10-inch screen and run on a dual-core Qualcomm processor. Nokia's official stance on the matter is a coy one saying, "We continue to eye the tablet space with interest but have made no specific announcements."

While Apple still holds sway over the tablet market especially with the release of its new iPad, Windows 8 tablets could prove to be a viable rival to Apple in the market. Tablets based on Google's Android software made little headway in the tablet sphere where Apple is king. While Microsoft could have a tough time in the consumer market Windows 8 tablets could succeed in the business sector where enterprise customers will be attracted to the software because of its availability in desktops and tablets.

Microsoft's next generation Windows 8 software will likely be released in October this year. Microsoft released a consumer preview of the software that was downloaded more than a million times after it was made available.