2010: Year Of The Tablet (Really?)

There’s plenty of buzz about tablet computing in 2010, and we’re only 4 days in. Admittedly, the buzz about tablets has been going on for quite some time, but with the 2010 Consumer Electronic Show just around the corner, there’s reason to get excited. And there’s reason to believe that 2010 is going to be the year of the tablet. Seriously. Here’s why:

Let’s start with the basics: Product announcements that don’t necessarily involve Apple and Steve Jobs. BusinessWeek has an article on Notion Ink, a company that will be introducing a 10 inch tablet device (mock-up pictured) at CES this year. It’s designed to do what everyone loves: mobile internet, videos, music, all without the drudgery of a laptop. Notion Ink CEO Rohan Shravan tells BusinessWeek, “We are pushing to launch before Apple.” It’s a bold move, for a company so unknown (and a website so sparse).

Here Comes Apple

Some might say the move is brazen, even, especially since Apple tablet rumors are coming in fast and furious. Just Google the term “iSlate” and lose yourself in the rabbit hole of rumors. And while the name (iSlate) and other rumors seem plausible, some hold more credit than others. Mobileroar.com has the scoop and screen shot of former Google China President posting some revealing information on the Apple Tablet:

The Apple Tablet looks like a bigger iPhone that sports an awesome UI packed in a beautiful 10.1-inch screen. The tablet combines the functions of both netbook and kindle, an ebook reader. It has virtual keyboard for text entry and a webcam for video conferencing.

And if that wasn’t confirmation enough, AllThingsD is reporting says Apple is announcing a new product January 27th ,2010 at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco. It comes at no surprise, since it’s a place that Apple has traditionally favored in the past.

Of course, Apple isn’t the only big player in the Tablet market. Pundits continue to talk about the Microsoft Courier, a dual screen tablet with Windows 7 technology.

With CES starting January 7, it’s only a matter of time to see if the CES “wow” can compete with the Apple buzz.