It may seem like 2010 was the year of the tablet, but the reality is that 2010 was really just the year of the iPad with 15 million units sold and no real competitors for the Apple tablet. However, 2011 will be very different with a diverse variety of tablet options emerging--including some particularly relevant entries from major players.
The leaked details on HP and Palm's WebOS tablet keep on coming, though HP has said we haven't seen everything yet.
With so much chatter about tablets this year, you might think that the handheld, rectangular devices being unveiled represent a significant innovation. The reality is that so much of what we're seeing is not a whole lot different than what we saw in previous years; these products offer only a few new twists. But those new twists could make the difference between tablets' remaining a niche item and their finally busting out to the mass market in a meaningful way.
When it comes to the bevy of new tablet computers coming to market, a tablet maker's brand will take on more significance than ever.
We haven't seen HP hype a tablet since last year's flirtation with Windows 7, but that could change after February 9, when the company has all but confirmed that it will introduce its first WebOS tablet.
When Ben Fried left his post as IT managing director at Morgan Stanley and took over as Google's CIO in May 2008, he knew what he was getting into: supporting a user base full of technology experts and computer industry stars, like co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, CEO Eric Schmidt and Vice President Vint Cerf. In a recent interview with IDG News Service, Fried spoke candidly about his job and shared tips and advice for fellow CIOs, including the urgent need for tablet device strategies. An edited transcript of the interview follows.
My pockets are stuffed full of business cards from people I do not remember meeting, my head is thumping like a flamenco dancer, there's margarita salt on my laptop, and I can't seem to locate my pants. That can mean only one thing: I just returned from my annual pilgrimage to the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
Last week's CES brought forward a huge number of tablets. It doesn't take a genius to realize we're entering the era of tablet computing. Either that or there will soon be a lot of red-faced manufacturers. (Don't laugh; it happens regularly in the world of IT.)
Cringely here, reporting from CES in Vegas, where rude beasts walk the earth (at least, the ones that don't crawl or slither), impeded in their forward progress only by hip-deep mounds of tablet PCs. Everyone appears to be tapping, swiping, and gesturing on some kind of sleek black touch-sensitive device, when they're not squinting at blurry 3D screens waiting for their turn with the polarized glasses.
This year is already shaping up as a wild ride for Apple. So what's in store for the biggest tech company on the planet? What should we expect to see from the geniuses in Cupertino? Here are three things to keep an eye on.
Costing just $299, Telstra's T-Touch Tab is the first budget-priced tablet released in Australia. While the Apple iPad, Dell Streak and the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Tab could be described as competitors, their higher price means the T-Touch Tab Touch is effectively alone as an affordable, entry-level tablet that doesn't skimp on too many features.
The coming PlayBook tablet from Research in Motion straddles the line between consumer-centric and business-centric device, symbolic of the dilemma RIM faces serving both markets.
Research in Motion announced a BlackBerry PlayBook tablet Monday that will do battle with Apple's iPad and the Samsung Galaxy Tab early next year when it becomes available in the US.
Research in Motion's tablet, rumored for months, is nearly official, according to the Wall Street Journal's unnamed sources. If the report is accurate, RIM could reveal the so-called BlackPad next week during a developer conference in San Francisco.
It's all been speculation and rumor for the last year, but now that the Wall Street Journal has joined the rumor mill, many are saying that Research in Motion will launch its top-secret "BlackPad", or Blackberry tablet, in San Francisco on Monday.