Wow, is 2011 over already?
Just two years ago, the tablet sector we know today was practically non-existent. Yes, you had Windows-based tablets and specialized ones for all sorts of work. But with the launch of the first iPad, in early 2010, the consumer tablet sector truly came alive. The industry only grew even more in 2011, with the arrival of some worthy entries from Apple’s competitors.
Here’s a look at the top five noteworthy developments that occurred in the tablet sector in 2011.
Release of the Kindle Fire: TheiPad may still be the industry leader, but the release of the Amazon Kindle Fire tablet gave Apple the first competitor that can match it in consumer mind share — at least in the United States. Amazon’s re-skinned Android tablet is not even the most well-designed or feature-laden iPad competitor in the market. But its curated store combined with the Amazon name was enough to move more than a million units of the Kindle Fire per week during the leadup to Christmas.
Apple introduces a thinner iPad: Admittedly, the second iPad did not have quite the same buzz that the original had. After all, the first one had the advantage of being the first iPad ever. Nevertheless, the iPad 2 went on to surpass sales figures for its older brother. New features for the the iPad “deux” include a slimmer profile, a front facing camera and the addition of a white model. Yes, it still doesn’t support Flash, has no memory card slots and uses a proprietary connector. Then again, that’s something a gajillion iPad users seem to have no problem with at this point.
Motorola debuts the Xoom: As the first Android Honeycomb tablet, the Xoom was the first tablet to feature a variant of the popular Google operating system that was designed specifically for tablets. It would ultimately prove to be a harbinger of other Android tablets to follow, including Samsung’s excellent — and slimmer — Galaxy Tab 10.1. Add newer offerings such as the ASUS Eee Pad Transformer Prime and the Android tablet market is no longer limited to half-baked offerings that shoehorned the Android smartphone OS into a tablet. And it all basically started with the Motorola Xoom.
HP releases, then pulls plug on TouchPad: The tragedy that was the HP TouchPad is likely the most depressing tablet happening for platform agnostic tech geeks who root for choice in the industry. The TouchPad used Palm’s webOS as its operating system — considered by many as a worthy rival to iOS and Android. Things got off to a good start as well, with HP launching an all-out advertising blitz that included amusing spots by celebs like Manny Pacquiao. Then HP couldn’t decide whether it wanted in or out of the personal computing business and the tablet was unceremoniously dumped. The price cut triggered a buying frenzy for the TouchPad, which quickly sold out. Now the tablet is left to be a sad example of what could have been.
The BlackBerry PlayBook: This 7-inch tweener was marketed as Research In Motion’s grand entry into the tablet space. And it was, for a while. Delays in implementing key BlackBerry features like native e-mail, however, quickly scuttled the good vibes the PlayBook built up leading to its launch. A pity since the device is solidly built and some have even gone far to say that the Kindle Fire copied its design. Promises of native e-mail and compatibility with Android apps could make the PlayBook experience much better in 2012. But with BlackBerry experiencing problems like a steady loss in market share for its core smartphone business, RIM has even bigger problems than its PlayBook for the new year.
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