Srinivas Padma: Personal Musings on Life, Growth, and Connections

2010 was the year of the iPad. 2011 is the year the competition gets serious. Between a slew of new Android 3.0 slates, the BlackBerry PlayBook, and the HP TouchPad, shoppers will have plenty of compelling Apple alternatives to choose from. While tablet PCs have been around for yonks, only now are they becoming the desirable, usable and functional devices that we've always wanted them to be – and it's about time too. The iPad is currently the most obvious example of how tablets are going mainstream, but that's not to say that all tablets released from now on are guaranteed to be super awesome. HTC Flyer The HTC Flyer is out to prove the pen is not dead. The HTC Flyer is a 7-inch Android slate based on a 1.5GHz Qualcomm single-core processor running Android 2.4 Gingerbread, with a new, refreshed version of HTC Sense. Oh, and just to really stir things up, it has a stylus. URL:  HTC Flyer Samsung Galaxy Tab The Galaxy Tab 10.1 has similar specs to many other Android 3....

Apple Inc Chief Executive Steve Jobs took the wraps off the '' iPad '' tablet on Wednesday, looking to define a new category of wireless device that will play video, games and all sorts of other media. Called the ''iPad,'' the device is Apple's biggest product launch since the iPhone three years ago, and arguably rivals the smartphone as the most anticipated in Apple's history. The iPad has a near life-sized touch keyboard and supports Web browsing. It comes with a built-in calendar and address book, Jobs said. Technology enthusiasts had expected to see a sleek, full-color, 10-inch gadget with a touchscreen interface and wireless connectivity, designed for snacking on all sorts of media from videos to games to electronic books and newspapers.