To take on Apple, new tablets go where iPad won't

To take on Apple, new tablets go where iPad won't - CNN.com: "Electronics manufacturers have all the pieces they need to create a great competitor to the iPad.

The challenge may be figuring out which technology gives them the greatest strategic advantage.

Whether it's using the fastest 4G cellular chips, myriad screen size options, 3-D viewing, 3-D image capture or those retro stylus pens, tablet makers are hoping to mine a niche that Apple is ignoring.

When it comes to tablets, Apple doesn't have the vast technological lead it had in touchscreen smartphones when it introduced the iPhone in 2007.

When rival phone makers finally caught up years later, they were able to outflank Apple somewhat by offering similar products on cellular networks, such as Verizon, where Apple was not.

But the iPad 2, which went on sale two weeks ago, is available on the two largest carriers. Apple also has a significant lead in software, with more than 60,000 applications tailored to the iPad. Google's tablet operating system, called Android Honeycomb, has only a few because it's so new.

So competitors aim to flood the tablet industry -- and smother Apple -- with new choices.

- Sent using Google Toolbar"