When Apple announced the iPad early last year many of us had our doubts on whether the tablet form factor would finally reach the masses. Not only were they trying to squeeze a new category between smartphones and full-fledged laptops, but also challenging the incredibly popular netbook with a locked down device that promised to be the best way to experience the web and didn't even support Flash. Yet tablets took over the spotlight and iPads are flying off shelves.
Building on the success of the iPhone, Apple did a great job marrying iOS with the larger form factor, while offering a competitive price. Today several big-name manufacturers are coming on strong with competing Android tablets, and we expect some movement from the BlackBerry and webOS camp as well. Now that we've had some time to see how the market evolves and get an idea were it's going we want to ask you: will you buy a tablet this year?
I'm definitely interested in getting one mostly for leisure computing, traveling light and maybe dabble with the SDK. But I'm still undecided on the device and platform, so I'm holding off until Apple announces the expected follow up to the iPad to pick something from what's available. Needless to say, whatever I choose, I don't expect it to replace my laptop as my primary machine. What about you, have you set your sights on a specific device or will you skip tablets altogether?