iPad at CES

No Apple at CES this year, as always!

No need for them really as they seem to be a constant presence, with most of the vendors looking to put forward their response to a product launched in the previous year. Seems like there are lots of competitors lining up to go head to head with the iPad at CES this year.

I think one report mentioned over 35 companies looking to release a tablet, all based on Android 3 - Honeycomb.

This is the first version of Android that has actually been designed for tablets.

I really wonder how they are going to differentiate themselves between one another. In the meantime, Apple have another earnings call on the 18th January, which by all accounts, should give the results of another stellar quarter for Apple, with the iPad basically having the market to itself over the Christmas period.

The problem with the other tablet devices are that they are locked into the Google development cycle and need to develop another layer on top of GingerBread plus design and develop the apps and utilities that need to run on the platform.

Apple has over 12 months lead on them, and has the huge advantage of controlling both the software and the hardware. At this point in time, the hardware for the iPad 2 has been designed, developed and manufacturers will be gearing up for production (if they are not already producing them for a Q1 launch). The iOS developers are hard at work finishing off the new version of iOS v5 as well as updating the SDK for third partys to update and create new apps based on the new (as yet undisclosed) feature set. Meanwhile, the Apple iOS app team are creating new versions of iWork and possibly iLife apps.

No wonder they haven’t got time to attend CES

My esteemed colleague from MacBreak Weekly - Andy Inhatko - has done a great post over at the Sun-Times on the current and proposed offerings at CES - I highly recommend you check it out - Lessons at CES - how your tablet can compete with iPad