By this time next year, maybe, maybe we’ll have a war. But even that is anything but a sure bet. Without the carrier subsidy pricing model holding it back, there’s little chance that the iPad will have anywhere near the challenge the iPhone has had trying to expand market share in the US. And with no one capable of beating Apple on price, I honestly don’t see how anyone is going to make a go of a tablet product anytime soon.
But people insist on thinking everything is a direct comparison to something else in the past. “Apple will cede all of its share to Google, just like it did to Microsoft in the PC market.” “Android Tablets will automatically succeed, because Android phones did.” Never mind that there are fundamental differences between these markets and the surrounding circumstances.
If you want a more apt comparison to the iPad situation, look at the iPod Touch. Close to four years now, and the iPod Touch has absolutely no competition. No one can beat it on price, and it absolutely dominates its market.
