2011: Year of the Tablet?

"The sheer multitude of tablets seems to multiply like gremlins, and many of the products are equipped with operating systems that have a few gremlins of their own. CES 2011, nonetheless, will be remembered as the opening bell for the year of the tablet. Thus far, only two true contenders, Apple's iPad and Samsung's Android-based Galaxy Tab, have emerged as viable, enviable tablets. In about a week, that will all change…maybe."

The success of the Apple iPad has turned everyone's attention to slates and we are not just talking about the big boys either.  It seems that everyone and their cousin is coming out with some cheap tablet, and much of the time, it is just a rebranded cheap stock model running an older version of Android and offers questionable quality.  Slowly, we are seeing some credible competitors and Honeycomb cannot come fast enough.  Of course, there will probably also be a few companies insisting on cramming a traditional OS into a tablet.  The scattergun approach may prove beneficial in the long run though.  While the iPad is an incredible device, the experimentation (along with immitation) may see other interesting concepts see the light of day, and maybe bloom.