Don't settle for the iPad, competition is coming soon

For anyone thinking the "single camera, no USB, can't print, can't run flash" iPad is the only game in town, the tablet market is about to get pretty interesting, hopefully before the end of the year. Don't get me wrong, with four million units sold, the iPad has certainly blazed the trail for tablets, and somehow achieved the self-proclaimed status of first-to-market. But like many consumer-facing technologies, first doesn't guarantee best. And from what we're hearing about upcoming tablets from companies like RIM, Samsung and HP, the best is truly yet to come.

While RIM will be releasing a Blackberry tablet targeting business folks, the one to watch is probably anything running Google's Android OS. This should include a Samsung Galaxy which I personally expect to rock the tablet market, or at least my cubicle's market.

Palm and Windows are rumored to also have a tablet OS, but honestly, who cares? (Sorry Microsoft, we do appreciate you inventing the technology, and Steve Jobs stealing it to get us to this point, though).

Finally, if you are still set on the iPad, be sure to follow their chatter about its next generation, also due out by the end of the year - probably to compete with the aforementioned heavy hitters running Android.

This article filed under: tech news, google tablet, Apple and What to get Ben for Christmas.