And the company to be the first to jump into the ring with the iPad is BlackBerry!?
In viewing the above video I have to say that I was a bit surprised and impressed with the snippets of the UX. Yes, it is very Apple - but there are worse criticisms out there for a 1.0 product release.
It will be interesting to see if they get any real momentum on this product. My feeling is no. But not because it doesn’t look like a great product. I think BlackBerry’s biggest challenge is their brand. In the public’s eye they are largely perceived as an enterprise (or business) brand. They’ve spent millions of dollars trying to change that perception with their Apple-esque “Love what you do” platform. Was I the only one that felt the disconnect there?
And then there’s the advantage that Apple has on everyone with a robust app ecosystem.
The exciting thing for me is to see another player putting a solid product out there. Hopefully heating up the competition will accelerate innovation in the tablet space.