Osprey Flyer: Top 5 Tablets to Beat Apple iPad 2 (Video) *Over 100 tablet PCs to launch in 2011*

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Apple iPad 2: The Tablet PC to Beat

Brian Cooley of CNET reviewed the Top 5 Tablets, i.e. contenders, to Beat iPad in 2011. Actually, these top contenders are listed by their ecosystem or platform, their group or family of tablets which could gain significant market share. Apple iPad 2 has a strong lead, approximately 82% of consumers considering purchasing a Tablet PC are thinking about an iPad 2. The Tablet PC market sold 20 million units in 2010, almost all were the Apple iPad. For 2011, total Tablet PC sales could be as high as 45-58 million units, with Apple iPad 2 continuing as the leader. The Top 5 contenders are:

#5 Barnes & Noble Nook Color An ebook reader than can be bumped up to Android 2.2, Froyo, to become "a very credible WiFi tablet". Low cost of $250. No access to 3G data, might be a little unstable, and "rooting" voids the warranty.

#4 RIM Blackberry Playbook Compact and pairs with Blackberry phone. "Like a Blackberry phone that does media well."

#3 Microsoft Windows 7 Tablets Dark horse tablets including Asus, Samsung, and Lenovo utilizing the Windows 7 OS.

#2 HP Touchpad WebOS tablet with plenty of features.

#1 Google Android Notable tablets are Dell Streak 7 and Motorola Xoom. Android 3.0, Honeycomb, is a proven OS. Most of the 2011 tablet launches are Android-based. Android is compatible with Adobe Flash.

CNET Best 5 Tablets
"Excellent"
Apple iPad 2
Barnes & Noble Nook Color
"Very Good"
Motorola Xoom
Samsung Galaxy Tab
Dell Streak 7

CNET Top 5 Tablets to Beat the iPad Something like 100 new tablets will hit the market this year. Certainly at least one of those will draw your glazed eyes away from the iPad, at least for a minute. Brian Cooley runs down a list of the Top 5 tablets that could be better than an iPad as of early 2011.

About Apple Inc.

Apple's Mission Statement and as described in press releases, "Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork, and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and has recently introduced its magical iPad which is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices."

About Barnes & Noble

Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS), a Fortune 500 company, is the world’s largest bookseller and the nation’s highest-rated bookselling brand. The company is a leading content, commerce and technology company that provides customers easy and convenient access to books, magazines, newspapers and other content across its multi-channel distribution platform. As of January 29, 2011, the company operates 705 retail bookstores in regional shopping malls, major strip centers and freestanding locations in 50 states, and 636 college bookstores serving nearly 4 million students and faculty members at colleges and universities across the United States.

About Research In Motion

Research In Motion (RIM), a global leader in wireless innovation, revolutionized the mobile industry with the introduction of the BlackBerry® solution in 1999. The BlackBerry product line includes the BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet, the award-winning BlackBerry smartphone, software for businesses and accessories. BlackBerry products and services are used by millions of customers around the world to stay connected to the people and content that matter most throughout their day.

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT") is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential. At Microsoft, we're motivated and inspired every day by how our customers use our software to find creative solutions to business problems, develop breakthrough ideas, and stay connected to what's most important to them. We are committed long term to the mission of helping our customers realize their full potential. Just as we constantly update and improve our products, we want to continually evolve our company to be in the best position to accelerate new technologies as they emerge and to better serve our customers.

About HP

HP creates new possibilities for technology to have a meaningful impact on people, businesses, governments and society. The world's largest technology company, HP brings together a portfolio that spans printing, personal computing, software, services and IT infrastructure to solve customer problems. More information about HP is available at http://www.hp.com/

About Google Android

Android is a software stack for mobile devices that includes an operating system, middleware, and key applications. The Android SDK provides the tools and libraries necessary to begin developing applications that run on Android-powered devices. Android was originated by a group of companies known as the Open Handset Alliance, led by Google. Today, many companies -- both original members of the OHA and others -- have invested heavily in Android, typically in the form of allocating significant engineering resources to improve Android and bring Android devices to Market. We created Android in response to our own experiences launching mobile apps. We wanted to make sure that there would always be an open platform available for carriers, OEMs, and developers to use to make their innovative ideas a reality. We wanted to make sure that there was no central point of failure, where one industry player could restrict or control the innovations of any other. The solution we chose was an open and open-source platform. The goal of the Android Open Source Project is to create a successful real-world product that improves the mobile experience for end users.

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