Speculation on the Apple Tablet

There’s a ton of speculation on what the Apple tablet will be.  A Kindle Killer?  A new hope to the magazine industry?  The end of netbooks?  The end of laptops?

Apple does have a tendency to not only redefine things, but also create brand new categories.  Who knew we needed an app store with over 100,000 apps that run on a tiny phone screen?  Not me, but try to take it away now and there’s gonna be trouble.  5,000 songs in my pocket?  Couldn’t leave the house without them.

But with the speculation of total industry annihilation, I don’t think it has to be a zero sum game.  Maybe the Kindle will co-exist with this mystery device just fine.  Maybe the mystery tablet will be a perfect extension to your laptop.  The win/lose scenario is too easy to devise.  The low hanging fruit.  Hopefully in the end, the remarkable products rise to the top, and the average sink to the bottom.

Well, maybe it is over for netbooks.  We’ll see on the 27th.