For me the interesting thing is that the Kindle Fire is the first real tablet success that isn't an iPad - in the true sense of the word. There have been loads of devices which also weren't iPads - but really wanted to be (i.e. clones/rip-offs) that spectacularly failed. The Kindle Fire presents a quite different idea of what a successful tablet device can be and how it can work from a business point of view. In short: it is cheap (Amazon sells the devices at a loss) and the money comes from later digital media sales (books, films, games etc).

Apple meanwhile has a different vision: the device is extremely attractive in terms of design making it a consumer object of desire, which in turn justifies a pretty huge asking price. It's not quite as simple as Apple taking the high-end of the market while Amazon takes the low end since the two devices have some quite different functionality features.

However, the bottom line from the point of view of tablet computing is pretty clear to me - in order to establish a foothold in the tablet market you need to have your own idea of what tablet computing should look like, not only as a device and user experience but also as a business. Looking back on it now, it's frankly ridiculous how many companies tried to get a piece of the action (and lost a ton of money) by simply imitating the market leader Apple and their iPad device.

It's been almost four years since that definitive device was launched but we can finally now say that there is genuine competition in the tablet market - which is also interesting for the fact that the dynamic is rather similar to what happened in the smartphone market after Apple launched the iPhone: everyone scrambled around like mad trying to respond for a few years while Apple raked it in, before one or two others eventually figured out something to offer consumers and also managed to get a reasonably respectable market share.

Although I somehow doubt we'll have to wait another four years for the next viable tablet device to come along, I also doubt that it will come anytime soon judging by what's currently slated by the wannabe iPad and Fire competitors. In any case, for my money at least, the tablet market is finally becoming an interesting arena of competition with rival companies offering different ideas and visions for where things might develop in the future.

Well, worry not ladies and gentlemen! To satiate your desires, at least for a few minutes, I now present a general round-up of what's going on in relation to this headline-hogging mega high-profile device, which somehow continues to entertain (even before anyone has one) simply by its endless ability to generate news items (some of which are rather bizarre).

Take for example the recent advert for Blendtec (which can be found on Youtube) in which an Apple iPad is rather cleverly employed for the task of boosting sales of the Blendtec's domestic use blender products (I don't want to spoil the surprise - check it out for yourself). All in all, quite a clever hijacking of the iPad media fuss and I don't doubt Blendtec will soon be able to look back on this as a very successful example of a viral video ad campaign.

Now let's turn our attention to more serious matters - namely, that the iPad has been banned (!) in Israel because it actually contravenes the legislation on the permitted potency of Wi-Fi emitters and is therefore a potential disruptor of existing networks in the country. Furthermore, the iPad contravenes similar laws in Europe on the same issue - but has not yet been (and is unlikely to be) banned here. Nonetheless, it is remarkable that either a) Apple didn't design the device to comply with existing laws in some of their most major markets and instead simply hoped they would 'let it slide' or b) that Apple is unaware of the relevant legislation - surely even more unlikely a scenario?

I don't expect that there's any chance this issue could escalate further for Apple - especially with European release dates pending very soon - but there's no doubt that it will damage profits somewhat (at least for the small-ish territory of Israel). Teething problems are of course inevitable with the release of such a high-profile product on a global scale, especially with Apple's decision to get the device out as soon as possible rather than spend years re-re-developing, but this one could surely have been avoided...

However, good news for Israeli gadget fans comes in the recently circulating rumours that Google is working on an android-based rival to the iPad (which hopefully won't also be banned in the territory). I imagine this will come as welcome news also to those who take issue with Apple's slightly 'unique' pricing policies (i.e. their stuff costs absolutely loads). Anyway, there's not much concrete information available on this yet but the current rumours seem highly plausible as far as I'm concerned.

Finally, back to the matter at hand with some practical information for UK iPad-curious readers: detailed pricing plans should be released on May 10th, with O2, Orange, and Vodafone all confirmed as carriers of the device (T-mobile is still in discussions with Apple, but should follow suite soon enough). Until then I hope the ever inflating volume of speculation and rumour in the blogosphere keeps you going...

Dejan Levi

Well I suppose it's only inevitable that the actual thing can't live up to such overblown fantastical expectations, and while many in the 'blogosphere' contemplate a 'failure' for Apple, I must say that I'm more inclined to side with Stephen Fry on this one when he highlights that a similar response has met most of Apple's recent launches (including the iPhone) - simply due to the extent of media coverage and hype beforehand.

And just like the iPhone, Fry reckons this really only represents an early version of the iPad - more of a testing ground before 2.0 and 3.0 come into play. It seems sheer folly to deny that Apple's track record suggests that once these later releases are reached, the market will not once more be dominated by a sleek shiny device with a small apple on it...

Currently for me the iPad seems to be based on a couple of very sound principles and assumptions, which place it on good stead to do well. Firstly, it seems hard to doubt that gesture based software interfaces are the future of computing. With touchscreen technology improving all the time, I doubt that we'll have much use for the old mouse and keyboard in another decades time.

Secondly, there remain many potential markets and functions which the iPhone looks unable to ever deliver - simply because of its size. Conquering the e-book market, which remains there for the taking after the Kindle's relative lack of success, is one such potential goal - and the iPad once again looks like it has the potential to do the trick.

Only time will tell, but even at this early stage past experience teaches us that Apple sometimes know a good bit more than they modestly let on - and that in all likelihood the iPad will be at least a decent success by this time next year, if not a roaring one already by then.

Dejan Levi

Whatever happens in the next few hours it will no doubt merit at least some time and attention from anyone even remotely interested in matters of web, technology and electronics, and with that in mind here's a link to a live web feed of the event itself, courtesy of the good people at Endgadget. (Start time is around 6pm GMT so get onto it fairly soon...)

Enjoy!

Dejan Levi

p.s. Like pretty much every single other blog out there, we will be discussing the details in depth - but only once we have them (one feels that there is already enough speculation and 'artist's impressions' of the the tablet out these already...)