Can anyone compete with Apple's iPad?
If you want to buy a consumer-friendly tablet computer today and you don't want to purchase Apple's iPad, you're pretty much out of luck.
The iPad currently has no real competitors, and the touch-screen computer is so far ahead of the market that it has some gadget makers running back to the drawing boards, according to technology industry analysts. "In essence, what Apple has done is created a wake-up call to the rest of the industry -- that they need to look at what they're offering," said David Daoud, research director for the firm IDC. "They raised the bar significantly."
Tech analysts still expect as many as two dozen different tablet computers to go on sale before the end of the year. But they say it's questionable whether any of the devices will be able to replicate the iPad experience, which includes not only hardware but also a phone-like operating system, a touch-screen interface and a robust app store.
