Kindle Fire? It looks interesting.
And if you plug a keyboard, go for a netbook.
Well, not really. If you want something like that
HOLD THE PHONE - Check out the Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime. It hasn't been released yet, but its the first Quad Core CPU Tablet. We're talking about PC level gaming graphics on a tablet. Stylistically, Asus is going for a slimmer, more competitive Tablet in line with the iPad2. (It's actually lighter and has a slightly larger screen.) With the keyboard attachment, this thing is a beast. Price wise, it's akin to an iPad, but with Asus's history in the Netbook game and the feedback they received from the release of their first tablet I think this one will do well. Someone in my office will buy it and we'll test the crap out of it for sure.
The tablet should only run into problems with the Third Party crowd since Apple essentially has a monster lead compared to everyone else.
The library is one of the chief reasons why direct iPad-level competition doesn't fair so well. The 3rd Party library is simply stocked to the gills and essentially "safer" than comparable Linux, Android, or Windows-based OS apps. From a developer's standpoint, the hurdles of Mac's App process has now become one of its chief strengths in weeding out unsafe or poorly designed apps. Having an education license eases the process a little, but the non-profit bit makes it essentially worthless outside of teaching circles.
The small window between 2008-2009, when Apple had the most problems with the App process closed too soon. Unless Apple drops the ball in quality or makes some monster mistake with their handling of the App Store, tablet producers will need to entice 3rd Party Developers to "grow" their stable of purchasable options. It's essentially a chicken or the egg argument - developers vs. preexisting sales. Otherwise, you'll see consistently good sales from niche tablets like the Kindle or Nook, but essentially lukewarm sales (among consumers) everywhere else. While some businesses love it when companies like Toshiba and Asus build a fantastic tablet, the lucrative consumer market rests a great deal on those unreliable Angry Birds-type developers and where they sell their product.
That said, if tablet producers started building tablets like the new Asus, with a focus on hardware, aesthetic appeal and a good price it might help chip away at the Apple powerhouse. Now that Apple has officially cancelled their work on mobile Flash (was announced this morning), there is a little wiggle room, but not much. Flash isn't a big deal these days. It was when YouTube still ran flash and it was the defacto means of watching online movies, or animating a website, but javascript has essentially killed it except when lengthy circumstances necessitate its use.
Don't even get me started on how crap Flash or Silverlight is....
