In January 2010, Apple announced the iPad and we asked whether it could repeat its magic, its ability to disrupt a market; instead, it seemed to define one, and more than 10 million tablets later, it has a sizable lead over competitors who are, for the most part, still just talking about the tablets they will ship in 2011. The question is no longer whether Apple can Threepeat (the question we originally asked when the iPad launched), but whether anyone -- or all of them collectively -- can unseat Apple from its throne.

Live Blog: Apple Announces iPad2
Fritz Nelson

For almost one year, Apple has owned the tablet market. In fact, it's had the market almost entirely to itself. That began changing at the end of last year, with a constant stream of announcements and product launches from Cisco, Research In Motion, Samsung, and more, leading to an absolute avalanche of new products announced and demonstrated at CES this January. And those products have been, at least on a feature basis, easily superior to the original iPad. Just as some of those products have started to ship, Apple comes along with its long-expected iPad version 2. Observers expect Apple to merely match features, and leverage the enormous volume advantage of its app store; but would Apple merely strive for parity?

Apple iPad2 Slideshow

Critical Thinking Critical Thinking

How Samsung Screwed Up Its Super Bowl Ad
Eric Zeman
Call it the stylus snafu: Samsung's over-the-top Super Bowl commercial failed to resonate with viewers and earned widespread mocking on Twitter. Here's why.


Ultrabooks: The Next Big Thing In Notebooks
Craig Mathias
Aren't notebooks and PCs in general on the way out as we adopt tablet and touch interfaces and everything else moves to the cloud? Not so fast.


RIM's New CEO: 5 Must-Do Items
Eric Zeman
Research In Motion finally has a new CEO. Here's what Thorsten Heins needs to do to get the BlackBerry-maker back on track.


Microsoft, Intel Face Their Kodak Moment
Paul McDougall
Unless they embrace radical change, the once dominant Wintel partners will follow the photography giant's unenviable path into decline.


Mobile App Inventory Crosses 1 Million Mark
Ed Hansberry
Apple's App Store is the biggest, but it's the only one of seven app stores that didn't post double-digit growth in 2011.

Android Lost Ground In November
Ed Hansberry
After two years on the rise, Google declined in mobile ad impressions in November. Will the Kindle Fire reverse the recent trend?

PlayBook: An Anchor Dragging RIM Down
Ed Hansberry
Even BlackBerry owners don't want Research In Motion's tablet. When will RIM cut its losses and move on?

BlackBerry, Android Users Still Want iPads
Ed Hansberry
Platform loyalty only goes so far: Android and BlackBerry phone owners prefer Apple's tablet product.