Apple iPad to start tablet frenzy?

Tablet computers aren’t a new invention. It’s not as though Apple has conceived of and developed the idea from scratch. However, it is entirely possible that the Apple iPad will herald a time when tablet computers come of age and finally enter the mainstream. The iPad may be disappointing but it’s going to have a big impact regardless.

The Apple iPad will have such a big impact that ABI Research is now predicting a huge boom in sales of tablet computers. It thinks 4 million will be sold in 2010, but by 2015 a whopping 57 million a year will be sold. That’s a 15-fold increase in a very short space of time.

ABI analyst Jeff Orr said:

Apple’s iPad is not the first media tablet. A tablet will not replace a laptop, netbook or mobile phone, but will remain an additional premium or luxury product for wealthy industrialized markets for at least several years.

I completely agree with that sentiment. The iPad and the plethora of other tablets are not going to become a must-have item for a few years yet, at least until standards are set and the remaining issues are resolved. Until then, tablets will be a gadget for those with spare cash and a willingness to be the beta testers for the next generation of media devices.

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