Sleek, ultra-mobile computers are transforming the tech landscape these days. Apple has launched iPad 2?across 10,000 Apple stores in the US?the next generation of its magical device for browsing the web, reading and sending email, listening to music, playing games, reading e-books and much more. The gadget, 33% thinner and up to 15% lighter than the original iPad, will be available in 26 countries including Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Switzerland and the UK on March 25, and in many more countries in the coming months.

Analysts expect the worldwide tablet PC sales to reach 40-50 million units in 2011, with the iPad dominating the market. Apple sold 15 million iPads from April to December last year, and every major computer and smartphone maker has since then set plans in motion to launch a competing device of its own.

Closer home, following Apple?s much-delayed launch of the category-defining original iPad, the domestic market is brimming with action as numerous similar products are trying to play catch-up with Apple?but at a lower cost. There is a tablet war brewing in the Indian tech market, with PC and mobile phone makers vying to capture a larger market share. A quick sampler: The Samsung Galaxy Tab, considered by industry analysts to be the first real challenger to Apple?s tablet with its sleek form factor and smooth interface, was launched in India before the iPad at a price of Rs 38,000. However, the price has been dropping and ?keeping in mind the need and preferences of various consumers, the Galaxy Tab is now competitively priced at Rs 29,299,? says Ranjit Yadav, country head, mobile and IT, Samsung Electronics (India).

Apple?s iPad, the gadget that set the ball rolling, too is available at a competitive price. The 16 GB, 32 GB and 64 GB Wi-Fi models are tagged at Rs 24,500, Rs 29,500 and Rs 34,500, respectively. The 16 GB, 32 GB and 64 GB WiFi + 3G units cost Rs 31,900, Rs 36,900 and Rs 41,900, respectively. Among others, Dell has brought its Streak tablet, ViewSonic has introduced ViewPad, while Olive Telecom is hard-selling its OlivePad. Interestingly, all these PC and mobile phone makers had taken a cue from Apple?s global success and launched their tablet offerings in India well before Apple officially launched its iPad here.

That?s not all. New versions of the Dell Streak and Galaxy Tab, Lenovo?s LePad, Motorola?s Xoom, HTC?s Flyer and BlackBerry?s Playbook are all set to be launched later this year, says Sumanta Mukherjee, lead PC analyst with IT research firm CMR. ?Home-grown handset vendors such as Micromax, Lava, Zen and G-Five too are racing to develop their own tablet versions, expected to be priced between Rs 15,000 and Rs 20,000,? he says. ?Therefore, two distinct trends are emerging: there will be an aggressive pricing strategy adopted by these players and, as a result, tablet prices are expected to drop from the present Rs 30,000 level to Rs 15,000 to Rs 20,000 by the end of this year. Secondly, tablets are sure to eat into the market share of netbooks.?

There has been a lot of debate over whether the iPad and the slew of tablets are hampering the PC and notebook demand.

Sanjeev Mahajan, CEO of multi-brand chain Spice Hotspot, says that the netbook category could decline by as much as 50% over the next six months, with customers buying tablets as their choice of an ?online on the move? device. ?The tablet market in India will take off relatively slower, compared with the west. The critical mass will be build up only when vendors start driving prices downwards,? he feels.

A typical tablet consumer is essentially someone who needs a full communication network anywhere, anytime. This consumer base prefers a perfect and seamless web content experience, wants to communicate via email, voice and video call, SMS/MMS or social network with an optimised user interface, enjoys a diverse range of multimedia content, likes to surf the internet and manage business while on the go, watch movies and videos even by downloading through 3G, listen to music and experience gaming.

Looking at the India market and how it has evolved, tablets have emerged as converged devices that hinge on creating a unique user experience that would change the lifestyle of the Indian consumer, feels Yadav of Samsung. ?They are aimed at a new and emerging consumer demand that is poised to grow phenomenally as consumers have already started to explore and experience the limitless potential of this device,? he says. With the tablets market set to strengthen, Samsung, which has already sold 1 million Galaxy Tabs globally since its launch, is targeting a 40% market share of the Indian tablet market by 2011-end.

According to research firm Gartner, the tablet trend will get magnified as 55 million tablets will be sold by the end of 2011. So the market is set to grow and the platform will be embraced by larger audience. ?Tablets and wireless market is definitely due for a boom due to an increase in consumer demand for compactness, yet sophisticated, rich features in a PC. This trend is the key driver for the growing sales of tablet in India,? says Yadav. Research firm IDC predicts that tablet shipments could grow by an average 57.4% per year between 2010 and 2014, reflecting the sector?s huge growth potential.

Dell India general manager (consumer and SMB) Mahesh Bhalla says, ?Devices are changing according to the needs of the consumers and tablets are the latest trend in the technology wave. In India, the demand for high-end technology that meets the needs of customers is growing, with factors like greater exposure to the latest technology and a higher purchasing power among the young mobile professionals and GenY segments.? He adds: ?As with the rest of the world, there is a growing pool of tech-savvy consumers who are looking at the convenience of using devices that allow for easy convergence of their digital lives with better portability, connectivity and entertainment features. Being compact and lightweight, tablets provide a one-stop solution for people who want to expand their ability to access their digital lives on the go, being able to consolidate all their entertainment and communication needs in a single device which is extremely portable and versatile.?

In a nutshell, tablets will serve as an innovative communication-enabled converged device creating its own consumer segment.