Apple may just have done it again. Subtle but significant advances to an already ground breaking device. Give it another year or two, and I will be out of a job. 90% of the population will have junked their PCs in favour of a computer that actually works, in almost all conceivable situations in consumer and business markets. Only software developers or true power users will need anything else (and by that I mean rocket scientists).
If you think anyone else as a chance of making a tablet, I suggest you keep looking for a long time.
Will I buy one? Not right now, but only because an iPhone 4 will better suit my immediate needs (integrated phone, camera, navigator, information portal, portability), and of course I already have an iPad. And I may yet wait for the iPhone 5. Need to see what funds are like after the holiday.
Meanwhile, I recommend you buy one.
Another year or two? I think the death of the PC is some way off yet.
Admittedly the iPad just works and will suit a lot of users, but our mindset is still too engineered towards the laptop form factor.
There has been a definite move away from desktop machines to laptops, but I think the jump from laptops to tablets, no matter how good they are, is going to be a long old road….!
I agree that for people like you or I, we’ll be using laptops and desktops for a good while yet, but its the masses I’m talking about. I spend half my working life going around peoples homes wondering why on earth they are using a PC (or Mac) when there is a device such as the iPad 1 on the market, other than price or the advice they get from friends/family based on their past experiences. Apple got the iPad so unbelievably right, and just made it better. I’m amazed that so far they haven’t removed the need to sync with iTunes when setting up, but I think that will come with iOS 5 (which will launch later this year, if I’m allowed another prediction) – although if you purchase in store you can ask them to register it for you, and never need to connect it to a PC/Mac again.
iOS needs to be more standalone, to expand support for wireless printing (partly dependant on printer manufacturers) and to support cloud-based backup for all data, including music and videos. I’m sure the PC will still be around for some time, but a dwindling number of people will see it as relevant for much longer. Unless, someone can reinvent the PC. I wonder who that might be? Microsoft?