4. Beyond the iPad If touch computing is the futu

4. Beyond the iPad

If touch computing is the future, then the iPad is surely king. And yet the iPad came up against serious competition in the latter part of 2011: As I wrote previously, I expect the new Amazon Kindle Fire to outsell the iPad in 2012 . Why? Simply put, the iPad costs $499 while the Fire costs $199.

Amazon's advantages don't stop at the price point, however: The company owns an entire content store of movies, e-books, TV shows and other media. With tablet devices, the hardware is somewhat important but the content available for the device is absolutely critical: With plenty of media available for the Fire right away, it's an appealing proposition.

Why does one device constitute an entire trend? Well, as a true competitor to the iPad emerges, content producers, distributors and even app developers may have an entirely new platform on which to push their wares. (And yes, the Kindle Fire does indeed run Google's Android operating system, but Amazon's version is so unlike other Android tablets that neither users nor app developers will perceive it as "yet another Android device" -- it's a whole new platform.)