Apple Set to Rock 2010 with Tablet, iPhone 4

2009 was a very busy year for gadget manufacturers. We got to see a few decent gadgets, and a few exciting niche markets emerged or re-emerged onto the scenes. With everything that Apple did in 2009, you could still call it a quiet year for the company, considering what it has for store for all of us. We now know that Apple is planning to release its tablet (iSlate) sometime this year. The tablet has been rumored for months, but Apple has danced around the topic for too long now. The cat is out of the bag now. iPhone 4G has also been in the works for quite some time, and we may get a glimpse of Apple’s future plans as its contract with AT&T winds down.

The impact of iSlate can’t be underestimated in a tablet market that has been somewhat stagnant lately. Tablets were expected to rock the world a few years back, but just like the e-book market, tablets somehow became stagnant. iSlate is expected to change all that, considering that it will be a complete portable digital media solution for on the go. Many analysts are claiming that iTablet could indeed have iPod like effect on the tablet market. Apple certainly knows how to change the game with its gadgets. Apple seems to be pretty optimistic about its tablets fortune. How else can you explain the company ordering 10 million tablets already? Of course, you can’t expect Google to sit around and watch Apple change the game with a tablet. Google is planning to match Apple’s efforts by introducing its own tablet with the help of HTC. So not only Google is sticking it to Apple with Android OS, it is now planning to thwart any momentum Apple is hoping to get from iSlate with an Chrome-based tablet of its own. I don’t think too much of Google’s tablet at this point, but considering that Google is close to introducing Nexus One, the competition between Apple and Google can get more dramatic soon.

2010 is going to be an important year for Apple. The company has a lot of momentum going in to this new year, and Apple tablet is going to give it even more ammunition to conquer more markets. iPhone 4G is also expected to be released this year (with 802.11n support and all). If Apple can’t make this year a great year, it will certainly be a big blow for the tech giant. Considering that Google is hot on its tails, Apple will somehow deliver. It better.