Funny thing is that Apple is one of the only companies to survive in the computer industry rivalling the main player; Microsoft/IBM. In general, only one format succeeds while the rest go to the wall. In the far-off days of 8-bit computers, Atari and Commodore fought it out, driving the other players into oblivion, and there were a huge amount of them. In the UK, a similar battle was fought out between Commodore and Sinclair. Ultimately, Commodore won out, until the introduction of the Amiga, which attempted to rival the Apple Mac and the PCjr. It failed, and was, I think, part of the reason for the downfall of CBM.
Now that Apple has a range of products that are clearly the market leaders, there seems to be a drive amongst the commentators to find the David that is going to topple Goliath. With the benefit of hindsight, I'd say it's simply not going to happen. I was just in Staples and took a look at most of the rivals, and they don't come close. E-ink is novel, and I can see it would be easier on the eyes, but I'm just as happy reading on the iPad. Only the Samsung looks like a worthwhile consideration. Not sure whether I would dare invest my hard-earned cash into a device that may not survive, however.
One of the major problems in computing is the ever-changing hardware requirements of Windows, making perfectly good hardware obsolete overnight. Reading this forum and others, I'm stunned to see the amount of clamour for the iPhone 5, the iPad 3, etc. What WILL satisfy people? iOS 5 appears to upgrade the capabilities of the hardware, without turning our present equipment into doorstops. Surely that is an Apple innovation that should be applauded, rather than decried as laziness on Apple's part? The lack of a worthwhile competitor does not seem to be stopping Apple. Did they NEED to introduce the iPad 2, when sales of the original were strong? Do they NEED to constantly upgrade the OS? Do they NEED to offer a vast array of free media in the Apple store? Do they NEED to give away free an iPhone copy of nearly every app you buy for your iPad? It seems to me that they are very, very far away from resting on their laurels.
Anyway, just my 2 cents worth!
Sent from my iPad using iPF