Four million tablets will ship this year

ACCORDING TO industry cheerleader ABI Research, a recent high profile launch at Apple that must have passed us by could kickstart the sort of tablet revolution not seen since the 1960s.

Today ABI Research said that the launch of the Ipad 'highlighted' the real start of a new market for tablets which would see retailers and companies like Apple shift some four million units to eager consumers.

This sudden tablet craze looks like it might spiral out of control and ABI thinks adoption will be so dramatic that to us it sounds like what happened when psychedelic drugs quickly became quite popular in America. In fact, within five years the analysts expect to see some 57 million people a year buying one, taking it home and then spending a large proportion of their time on their sofas, yabbering on to their friends about how great it is.

Remembering that Steve Jobs did not invent the tablet, Jeff Orr, a senior analyst at the firm, added, "Apple's Ipad is not the first media tablet. But it does help define this new device category. The main focus of media tablets is entertainment. A tablet will not replace a laptop, netbook or mobile phone, but will remain an additional premium or luxury product for wealthy industrialised markets for at least several years." Gits, then.

Again, seemingly confused about what marks a new entry into a marketplace and what doesn't, Orr continues, adding, "New entrants to this market are at a disadvantage since they lack the retail relationships and network operator agreements already built by the more mature vendors. Surprisingly, Apple may have done them a favor by raising the public profile of the whole media tablet category."

ABI Research defines media tablets as having a touchscreen interface and being 5 to 11 inches in size with WiFi Internet connectivity and video and gaming capabilities. Anyone could have told them that.

Perhaps it's time they upped their meds? µ