Tech Blog

[#1]

Last year's CES was all about the 3D TV.  They were everywhere. This year?  The tvs may still get a bit of hype, but the direction has moved.

4 years ago Apple changed the conversation with the release of the iPhone.  Everyone instantly switched their smart phone strategy to apps and a touch screen.  This year, it's all about the tab.  Not only is "everyone" releasing one, but everyone is comparing it to the iPad.

Motorola even went so far as to say the iPad was just a big iPhone when teasing their new Evolution tablet. .  I dont know if they were trying to diss the Apple tablet with the comparison, but the iPhone was hailed as s that really a negative?  After all, the iPhone has widely been hailed as one of the greatest inventions in history (even more important than the toilet).

Other pitchmen will walk the convention floor saying "It's like an iPad, but has a camera." or  "It's like an iPad, but has memory slots." "It's like an iPad, but bigger."  "It's like an iPad, but smaller." etc etc etc

That's how the pitches will go on the Consumer Electronics Show trade floor in Las Vegas next week. 

But will it matter?

Maybe not.  New entrants to the marketplace will face users who already have iPods with their music on iTunes.  They may even have an iPod Touch with some apps in place.

They've made an investment into the app store and introducing a different branded tablet to the roster decreases the ability of all devices to share information and apps.

People new to the tablets will choose whatever they're familiar with.  Blackberry users will wait for the Playbook, Android users will slide into that camp with the wildcard being the millions who don't yet have a smart phone.  They may be more willing to try new products and be swayed by flashy features or dramatic price points.

We could be poised for another turf war the likes of VHS v Beta, but I dont think Apple or Google are going away anytime soon. The Apple advantage has been the app store, but everyone else is getting a reasonable roster, adding sexy features and getting ready to compete on price.

It will be interesting to see what sort of devices Moses will bring to us at CES.

Future Shop is sending a full team to Las Vegas to cover CES 2011 (myself included). Look for live web streams of press announcements and interviews with the news makers starting January 5.

catch the buzz .. pass it on.

[#2]

Hi

Please check out and report on Notion Inks Adam tablet

If you get this tab in your store i guarantee a sale from me

Thanks

[#3]

Hey futureshop!

I definitely agree with Leperlord, I think the Notion Ink Adam is one of the most impressive and innovative tablets at CES and Engadget themselves said this was one of the more impressive tablets...if future shop gets their hands on the Adam, ill buy it tomorrow! Its pre orders were also very succesful and by the time i wanted to order it, it was sold out on all varients of its Adam

Thanks

[#4]

Hey Futureshop,

Great, "The Tablets Are Coming", and it looks like CES featured a whole bunch of impressive ones... so why no roundup? I understand that Buzz Bishop is truly committed to Apple... so why not assign this article to someone who cares about playing with and raving about all the new toys we'll be getting soon? Buzz, dude, I'm sorry that Apple wasn't there, and you couldn't spend your time playing exclusively with their tablet, but really... Give us something to drool over!

In an age where there are so many journalist who can't find meaningful work, many of whom know about technology and would be psyched to play with the tablets that were actually represented at CES, why not send one or more of them to write a roundup story?

Three articles lamenting Apple's absence? Really? Not OK. 

[#5]

Tablets remind me of the old palmpads and stuff like that. With the current technology out there, they can be far more fun as toys... but I just don't see them lasting. In terms of work-related purposes, I find tablets to be horribly inconvenient.