Laptop Thoughts: Tablet Competition: Have the iPad Competitors Missed Their Chance?

"Over the next four weeks, at least three new tablets are expected from Samsung, Motorola, and Research In Motion. The good news? They're Wi-Fi only, which will keep their cost down and appeal to consumers looking to avoid high-priced tablets or lengthy carrier commitments for mobile broadband data plans. Now, the bad news: Their timing isn't great, which will likely dampen sales. Plus, WiFi-only pretty much eliminates them as contenders for desirable devices with integrated 3G."

The next few weeks should see a slew of WiFi (only) tablets released, but have the manufacturers missed their window of opportunity? Too little, too late? Research has found that the "sweet spot" for a tablet seems to be $351, while $524 was the "too expensive" spot. So the WiFi tablet prices seem spot-on. But, then there is the whole "ecosystem" ("what it can do") question again: Android 2.2 has apps, which may or may not be optimized for a tablet form factor, Android 3.0 is still short on apps, and QNX (PlayBook) is an unknown at this point. And, with estimates of iPad 2 sales being between 700K and 1000K for the first weekend, Apple is not standing still waiting for the competition to catch up. With a poll showing that 75% of potential buyers would prefer WiFi only, there seems to be a market, but the "other" manufacturers need to get in the game, and deliver quality full-function products.