Will Apple's iPad continue to be the leader in tablets for 2011?

Posted by: Mike Pallante on February 28, 2011 at 4:37PM
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Regime Change: Tablet PCs Poised to Buck Apple Dominance

It seems like we've been here before. Poised at the start of a brand new calendar year and hearing the analysts and manufacturers promise that this is the year of the Tablet PC. Well we have been here before - last year. Despite announcements by multiple PC manufacturers that 2010 would be the year of the Tablet, only Apple eventually delivered. For months tablet enthusiasts suffered with two choices: The iPad or the bigger iPad. However now it looks like manufacturers are going to make good on last year's promise and 2011 may truly change the way we access information.

The Gartner Report

In October of 2010, technology research company Gartner Inc. issued a press release with predictions about the coming fiscal year. Gartner predicted that, driven solely by the iPad alone, tablet PC sales will reach 19 million in 2010. Further, Gartner suggests that as other manufacturers introduce Media Tablets and Tablet PCs in 2011, software and communications networks, designed for Tablet hardware, will push sales to over 54 million by the end of 2011. This trend is expected to continue. By 2013 it is predicted that nearly 500 million tablets will be sold worldwide.

The impact of tablet sales on existing markets is expected to vary. Carolina Minalesi, Vice President of research at Gartner, wrote, “ The all-in-one nature of media tablets will result in the cannibalization of other consumer electronic devices such as e-readers gaming devices and media players.” Most notably, Minalesi suggests netbooks are poised to take the greatest hit. As tablet devices drop in price to under $300.00 USD consumers will find it difficult to justify owning both when differentiation in use between netbooks and tablets is so limited.

"A Garden of Pure Ideology"

On January 4, 2011 at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas a number of PC and Netbook manufacturers unveiled new Tablet devices which will be available to the consumer market in 2011. Among the developers were Asus, Netbook Navigator and Velocity Micro.

ASUS Introduces a Dynamic Line

Asus introduced four new tablet designs, offering flexibility and choice where there was once just a single option (the iPad).

The ASUS Eee Pad Slider is a hybrid tablet / notebook device featuring a slide-out QWERTY keyboard. The Slider is powered by an NVIDIA Tegra 2 mobile processor which runs the Android 3.0 operating system. NVIDIA GeForce GPU promises superb video performance and to that end, the Slider is equipped with a 1.2 Megapixel front camera designed for video chat. There is also a 5 Megapixel rear mount camera for snapshots. The Eee Pad slider is also 3G compatible.

The ASUS Eee Pad Transformer is a tablet PC with a more multimedia focus. A 10.1 inch touch screen displays a special version of the Android 3.0 operating system designed for the Transformer's multimedia needs. A Tegra 2 chipset supports full Adobe Flash, HD Video Playback and conferencing. The Transformer offers an optional QWERTY docking station. Standard HDMI support allows 1080p true HD playback on external devices. As with the Slider, the Transformer includes both a 1.2 MP front and 5 MP rear camera.

The ASUS Eee Pad MeMo is a smaller offering with a 7.1 inch touch screen and ships packaged with a stylus for writing notes on the go. The Android 3.0 operating system runs a series of stock productivity and entertainment software. A micro HDMI port allows full 1080p HD playback on external devices.

The big dog of ASUS' new line of tablets is the Slate EP121. The unit is billed as a device for users who want hand held high performance. The Slate boasts an Intel i5 dual core processor and is capable of running standard office software. A massive 12.1 inch touch screen with 1280 x 800 resolution and a 1780 viewing angle displays a custom copy of Windows 7 Premium. An optional bluetooth keyboard and packaged stylus combine the features of ASUS' other tablet releases. Available in versions boasting 32 or 65 Gigabyte solid state hard drives, the Slate EP121 ships with a stock 4GB DDR3 Ram, Wifi, Bluetooth 3.0, 2 MP camera, two USB ports and a mini HDMI. The quintessential megalith of the tablet world.

Velocity Micro & Netbook Navigator: Not To Be Dismissed

Velocity Micro introduced three new tablet devices, L510, P38 and L37 with a 10.1'', 8'' and 7'' screen respectively. Each Velocity Micro device features identical technical specs. The Android 2.2 Operating System runs an HDMI interface (micro HDMI for the L37). Each unit comes equipped with Blue tooth and a GPS tracking system. Velocity Micro anticipates the cannibalization of e-readers by pre-installing a Kindle Reader app effectively negating the need for both a Tablet device and separate e-reader.

Netbook Navigator serves up three new Tablet devices. The Nav 7, Nav 9 and Nav 10i. The devices differ only in screen size, boasting the same impressive hardware. Powered by the Intel Axiom CPU and 2Gb Ram, the Netbook Navigator line boasts a custom version of Microsoft Windows 7 designed to be "touch friendly". Each device is WiFi and BlueTooth compatible and offers optional 3G network support.

The Year of the Tablet Pc

In 2010, Steven A. Ballmer, Microsoft's chief executive, stole the CES spotlight by introducing three Microsoft Tablet PCs. However, as we rang in 2011 not a single Microsoft device found its way to the market. Designer's weren't simply sitting on their hands waiting to see if the iPad would crash and burn. They were taking notes, listening to customer reviews and applying their own design principals as they let Apple soften the market for them. The 2011 rush of Tablet PCs features high quality video, more powerful processors, USB Ports and above all variety.