Apple made its iPad available for preorder March 12, effectively kicking off the long-brewing battle between various manufacturers over the newborn segment for mass-consumer tablet PCs. HP has already been firing broadsides at the iPad for its lack of Adobe Flash support, and competitors in the space have all indicated a willingness to speed for the bottom in terms of pricing. Meanwhile, e-readers have been adding PC-like features such as mobile applications, adding another competitive wrinkle to the situation.
– Apple made the iPad available for preorder March 12, three weeks before the
tablet PC is due to be released. With that announcement, the tablet PC
mass-consumer segment kicks into higher gear, as the much-hyped devices are readying
to hit the market after months of anticipation.
Apple faces comp…