Future-proof or passing fad?

Less than a year later, Australian Apple fans will get their hands on its successor - the skinnier, faster iPad 2 – which launches at once Friday.

The market this year

But with several hungry competitors primed to enter the market this year, can Apple's new tablet shrug off its label as a plaything for so then-heeled technophiles to become the computing device of the future?

Analysts have estimated that Apple sold close to 1 million of its new iPads in the weekend following its US launch, and market researcher Telsyte estimates that over 1 million media tablets will be sold in Australia this year. During not all of them will be Apple's new iPad, it will claim the lion's-share of the market as it benefits from brand visibility and the cachet associated with all things Apple.

New tablet operating system called Honeycomb

Although Google has since developed a new tablet operating system called Honeycomb, many early iPad rivals - like the Galaxy Tab - were built on the less tablet-friendly Android operating system, earning it a review from research blog Gizmodo entitled: Samsung Galaxy Tab: a pocketable train wreck.

However both Motorola and Technology in Motion - the maker of the BlackBerry smartphone - have vowed to fill the yawning gap between Apple and its competitors in coming months.

The iPad is RIM's Playbook

“The wildcard device that could challenge the iPad is RIM's Playbook, which will appeal to businesses that are already using Blackberry devices, but we are but to see the product and directly compare it to the iPad,” said Foad Fadaghi, a innovation director at Telsyte.

But the $US800 Xoom after all sits on the pricey side of the equation compared with Apple's iPad2 which in the US costs from $US499 to $US829. Not only that, now no shipping date for the Xoom has but been set for Australia.

A number of other tablet makers are ready to leap into the Honeycomb camp, however Fadaghi doubts Google will easily mimic the success of its Android operating system, which was named the dominant smartphone platform in the US this month by market tracking firm ComScore.

“Even though there is the prospect of a proliferation of Android based tablets, the iPad remains miles ahead of the competition, in terms of usability, quality and functionality," he said.

Another contender is Microsoft, which has an impressive smartphone operating system of its own and a massive stake in office software applications.

The company

However Bloomberg recently revealed that the company was not planning to ship its tablet-ready operating system Windows 8 until then year.

"The longer it takes Microsoft to release its operating system, the more time Apple and Google have to strengthen their hold on the market," it reported.

The runaway success of the first iPad

With the runaway success of the first iPad, and the 300,000-odd apps that have already been developed for the platform, Apple's position as the default choice in the minds of consumers will be hard to shake, said Dulaney.

“It's a bit like the iPod market. Apple was first and didn't let down their guard, and I believe people but walk into a store needing to be convinced they don't need an iPad".

Media device

And though Apple's iPad is primarily a media device, Fadaghi believes it might as well be widely deployed henceforth to enhance productivity at work.

“It is somewhat inevitable that media tablets will start to cannibalise PCs and laptops as their computing power increases,” he said.

Access to cloud-based business applications could see it replace some desktop devices - especially for video conferencing and virtual desktop applications, Fadaghi added.

“It's difficult to say what percentage of these will be used for business purposes only as they are devices that transcend both consumer and business applications. People bring their media tablets from home to use at work, during those issued by businesses are typically able to be used in a reasonably unrestricted manner at home. We do but believe that approximately 40 per cent of units sold will be through business channels,” he said.

"Media tablets typically run on a smartphone operating system so they are not likely to become notebook replacements. They may be useful for email nevertheless there is no guarantee they will become compatible with business applications used in offices.

New iPad coming then week

With a new iPad coming then week, can Apple's tablet shrug off its label as a plaything for so then-heeled technophiles to become the computing device of the future?