The Little Tablet That Could
When the iPad was released last April, it seemed the tech world didn’t quite know how to react. Here was a device that wasn’t quite a laptop and couldn’t quite be dismissed as a scaled up iPod touch; some loved it, some hated it, and the New York Times featured a two-part review to address the perspectives of both tech wizards and casual consumers. Millions of units and a 95% share of the tablet market later, it’s clear now that Apple’s pioneering tablet could hardly have been more successful – the iPad is changing the architecture of tech markets, and other companies are taking notice.
Right now it’s hard to imagine another device breaking the iPad’s decisive branding lead when it comes to tablets, but a number of Apple’s competitors, including Samsung, Toshiba, Research in Motion and Hewlett-Packard, are aiming to do just that this year. To do that, different companies are adopting different strategies in a common effort to carve out their own niche in the tablet market. Some, like RIM and HP, are addressing their efforts towards the business world where Apple products traditionally haven’t penetrated as well as they do with other consumers. Others are looking to compete on price, or by offering new features that the iPad currently lacks. Regardless of what form the competition takes, Apple can be sure of new challenges to its tablet dominance in the coming year.
Meanwhile, Apple has teased its fan-base suggestions that the iPad 2 will be announced on March 2nd. Playing on tech blogs that labeled 2010 the “Year of the iPad” or “Year of the Tablet,” Apple has asked consumers to, “Come see what 2011 will be the year of.” Whether they’re waiting for Apple’s next launch, or for competitors’ announcements at the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show, potential tablet buyers will just have to hold their breath a little while longer.
- Grayson Clary