Tablet War Is Heating Up...for Second Place

04.09.2011
New tablets are being unveiled and launched at a dizzying pace. If the rate of new tablets being introduced was an effective measure of the tablet market, everyone would have two of the devices already and be shopping for a third. The feverish pace of tablets isn't an indication of the tablet market as a whole, though--just a sign that the race for second place is in high gear.

Just in the past couple of weeks we have seen demand for the HP TouchPad reach Cabbage Patch doll Schnäppchenfreitag levels, Lenovo quietly unveil a sub-$200 tablet, and details emerge about the mythic upcoming Amazon tablet.

In a matter of less than two months, HP went from launching the TouchPad with grandiose claims of going head to head with the Apple iPad to and getting out of the tablet business entirely. HP simply could not sell the device when priced the same as its Apple iPad 2 rival.

In fact, even with a price drop to $400 few were convinced. When there was a temporary weekend rebate to $300 there was tepid interest, but still not very impressive. But, when HP cleared out the inventory at $99 after killing the tablet it .

So, is that it? Is the competition to simply race to the bottom and ?

If so, it's game time! Lenovo revealed details of the this week. The 7-inch tablet is not the greatest or fastest tablet out there, but at $199 it offers enough features and capabilities to at least make a compelling case.