Tablet Year of 2011

Each year hundreds of prognosticators make forecasts concerning every little thing. In technology world there appear the best and the worst gadgets, trends, projects, software, the top fives, tens, dozens and hundreds of this and that.

The transition from 2010 to 2011 is less dramatic than the one coming next year said to be apocalyptic, so high-tech bets and predictions are more topical than ever.

One of the very few things forecasters agree on is the anticipation of the roughest tablet competition in the year of 2011.
The Android-powered devices are highly competitive these days, and most likely their popularity will mount greatly. Apple Inc., however, will retain its leadership according to the world’s best analysts.

It has been evident that, although implemented into a variety of business processes, tablets have still been used mostly for individual needs and entertainment. Therefore, it is now a matter of entertaining content for end users, as it is obvious that technically the devices are capable of doing pretty much every necessary thing nowadays. Application development race will definitely replace the hardware competition.

Gaming is the industry to be in. Pluggable into big screen plasma TVs, tablets are not attempting to replace play stations, but do require longer, more sophisticated games. So far Android developers have impressed users with games like Heavy Gunner, Dungeon Hunter, Crusade of Destiny and Need for Speed Shift. iPads are boasting a wave of HD games, like The Syndicate! HD and Guerrilla Bob HD, and both games are embodying the thorough awareness of the users’ need for original soundtracks, multiplayer support and cross-device playing.
The content originality, so vital for any device, is lifting the standards of the new tablets and is opening immense opportunities for development companies.

One can hardly eliminate the hardware aspect though. While smartphones are converging to size minimums, tablets are growing continuously. And we’re not talking about the iPad from London’s St. Pancras International Train Station that has 56 small devices placed side by side to transmit a kaleidoscopic picture. We’re talking about tablets with 12-inch screens, like Fujitsu DL Pad and larger ones.

And tablets are longing to be treated individually. It is no longer enough to modify slightly the phone operation systems.
The new year of 2011 will certainly surprise us with utmost features, and hopefully the radicalism will not go absurd.