Competition finally coming to the tablet space

When the Apple iPad came early this year it redefined the a new market segment. The iPad brought with it the promise of truly untethered mobile computing without the need for a physical keyboard or even a full-blown operating system. Eight months down the line, challengers are beginning to emerge  but are any of them truly competitive or is Apple too far ahead?

It did email, it managed the web and even tiptoed around the Flash animation and video web-standard causing a shift in the way people watched video online to such an extent that YouTube even re-processed their videos to fit the iPad’s requirements.

The iPad challenged the eBook reader market, it slayed the netbook market and slowly but surely began encroaching in the notebook space. Apple’s app store dominance, the availability of music and movies plus the staggering support of the developer community made the iPad the new platform to beat. But where was the competition?

Not until late September was there any news of a viable competitor to the iPad. RIM (Research in Motion) was the unlikely challenger. The BlackBerry maker unveiled the oddly named PlayBook, a 7’ inch tablet that is powered by a 1GHz dual-core processor, can multitask and manages true 1080p vide playback. RIM even managed to get Adobe behind its effort and as a result the PlayBook can manage Flash 10.1 as well as Adobe Air.

Will the PlayBook emerge as a true competitor or as the token accessory for BlackBerry fanboys and fangirls? Its hard to tell since no pricing nor availability information has yet been released for the device that’s expected to ship “early 2011.” But without a healthy app store selection behind it as well as developer interest, it is doubtful that the PlayBook can make a dent in the iPad’s market share. Then there’s the idea that you need to “pair” the PlayBook to an existing BlackBerry device or account in order for it to work.

The iPad works because it is a standalone device which doesn’t need to be tied in to another Apple product or service, so it will be interesting to see how the PlayBook plays out in this respect.

On the Android front, Samsung is the one manufacturer that’s taking the fight to Apple with its sleek Samsung Galaxy Tab. Another 7-inch tablet with the latest Android OS, the Galaxy Tab will be widely distributed across different countries and mobile carriers and hopes to match the iPad as a computing and entertainment device. We haven't had hands on time with the Samsung Galaxy Tab but if it is anything like the recent Galaxy S smartphones, it will likely be impressive in form and function even if its mostly plastic design and smaller form factor may make it feel cheaper and lower quality than Apple's precision-built aluminum and glass iPad.

The Galaxy Tab and the PlayBook’s size seem to address one of the biggest complaints about the iPad, that it is too big and heavy to be held with one hand. It is certainly a problem, especially for prolonged periods of use. The biggest indicator of the newcomers competitive viability, aside from specs and features, is price. Any new tablets or slates need to undercut the iPad to be even remotely interesting to consumers.

This is where companies like Dell and HP come in. Dell is expected to launch a slew of Android enabled tablets in 4’inch, 7’inch and 10’inch form factors next year. With the variation of sizes are expected to be aggressive pricing schemes that will put tablets within the reach of the mass market.

HP is also said to be readying its own tablets, these running Palm’s WebOS cloud-enhanced OS, HP has the experience of developing tablets. Compaq, which HP acquired some time ago, was a pioneer in the TabletPC market so this expertise will no doubt carry over.

Those are just the big players, expect Lenovo, MSI, Asus and Toshiba to field their own tablet devices using any variety of operating systems.

Is there a tablet in your future? Does the prospect of ultra light, ultra mobile computing excite you? Well you will soon see an explosion of choices in terms of price, size and operating system. Hit up our monthly poll on the right and drop us your preferred tablet device.