While the Mini 1103 is simply an evolution of HP’s long line of netbooks, the low starting price shows how competitive the netbook makers have become due to sales lost to the iPad. Netbook OEMs have no choice but to lower prices to keep sales up; HP has foregone the metal casing of the more expensive Mini 5103, in favor of a plastic case much cheaper to produce.

The Mini 1103 is a solid netbook for those with a driving need for maximum portability in a notebook. It has good hardware specifications and will be solid performer at a very reasonable cost.

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Dell Inspiron Mini 10

Sprint continues to promote its growing 4G network through the offer of two Dell notebooks that have integrated 3G and 4G connectivity. The notebooks include the 10-inch Inspiron Mini 10 Netbook and the 11.6-inch Inspiron 11z Notebook. The Mini 10 is available free ($100 mail-in rebate) to customers signing a new 2-year mobile broadband contract, while the 11z is $149.99 (same rebate) with contract.

There are two data plans available for the notebooks, including a 3G/4G plan that offers unlimited 4G and 3G with a 5 GB data cap for $59.99 monthly. This plan is similar to the existing plan for Sprint’s Overdrive wireless modem. Those not wanting 4G data speeds, or those not in an area that has coverage, can opt for a 3G-only plan with a 500 MB data cap for $39.99 per month.

Dell Inspiron 11z

Notebooks with integrated 4G are nothing new, but the dual 3G/4G connectivity bundled in these two notebooks ensures customers can make the fastest connection available in any location. The data connection will automatically tap into the faster Sprint 4G (WiMAX) network where coverage is available, or connect to the 3G (EVDO) network if 4G isn’t detected. The Sprint 3G network has much wider coverage than the 4G network, as the latter has only been rolled out in 55 cities in the U. S.

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The tablet segment was kick-started by the successful launch of the iPad , and will continue to grow as companies bring models based on the Android platform to market. While notebooks will remain the computers purchased by most, the tablet will begin to rival the netbook/smartbook according to these numbers. The rapid rise of the tablet will be a hot topic at our Mobilize conference later this month.

These numbers don’t address the rise of the smartphone as mobile computers, and recent figures from IDC have a whopping 270 million phones shipping this year. It’s not unreasonable to believe that today’s high-powered smartphones can impact the sales of mobile computers, particularly the netbook/smartbook segment. The mobile computer, no matter its form, has won the war with the lowly desktop.

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This video shows the Mini 5103 is more than a netbook thanks to the dual-core processor. The performance is good, and the video playback enabled by the Broadcom Crystal HD Video Accelerator is smooth and higher quality than is possible with the previous generation Atom processor alone.

The battery life of the Mini 5103 is over seven hours with the extended battery demonstrated in the video, and the high resolution (1366×768) touch display make this one of the most powerful 10-inch netbooks. The total package is less than 3 pounds, making this a portable workhorse that can tacke any job for the mobile professional.

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Lower PC sales may also partly be a result of the iPad and the coming glut of Android tablets, as netbook inventor ASUS has already warned investors. High sales of the iPad have resulted in lower PC sales, and as Android tablets are poised to appear on the market in great numbers, the impact should be even greater. These tablets use less DRAM than conventional PCs, instead using Flash RAM for the primary memory.

Samsung is one of the largest suppliers of DRAM globally. Kwon Oh-hyun, head of Samsung’s chip business, gave the warning at a conference in Taipei. He did not indicate a long-term slowdown was expected, but did state the glut is a result of the expectation of lackluster end-of-year holiday PC sales.

Sales of servers had a strong second quarter according to Intel, and Samsung is no doubt hoping that segment continues to perform well through the end of the year to minimize the affect on the DRAM market.

Image credit: Samsung

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The Mini 5103 wasn’t changed significantly from the 5102, which we reviewed earlier this year, and which has been a successful product for HP. The primary upgrade in the 5103 will appeal to those feeling the Atom processor lacks performance, as HP is including the Atom N455 dual-core processor as standard equipment. There’s a definite improvement in performance of the new processor, but it’s still an Atom-based netbook and won’t set any speed records.

The outstanding keyboard is still the stellar attraction on the 5103. HP smartly has the keyboard taking up the entire width of the small netbook, which yields a keyboard size that’s 95 percent of a full-sized model. The typing experience is outstanding, as the chiclet keys have good tactile feedback and allow fast input.

The trackpad on the 5103 could use improvement; there are three things I don’t like about the implementation. It’s very small, which isn’t surprising given the small size of the netbook. It lacks multitouch, which has become the norm for notebooks, and the lack of two-finger scrolling is inconvenient. There’s a scroll area on the right of the trackpad, but it’s no substitute for multitouch. The surface of the trackpad is a glossy material that actually provides mild resistance to finger sliding on the surface, making it harder to use as a result.

The optional high-resolution 10.1-inch display (1366×768) is pushing the limit for what can comfortably be viewed on such a small screen. It’s better than the standard resolution option (1024×600), so manually increasing the size of displayed objects is a small price to pay for the added functionality. The two-finger multitouch option works as expected, but I don’t find it adds much value to a netbook. I occasionally use it to close a window or hit the login icon, but that’s about all; it’s not very comfortable to reach out to a laptop screen to touch things.

HP claims a battery life of 10 hours with the 6-cell battery, but my real-world testing yields closer to 7.5 hours. That’s a decent battery life given the small size of the 6-cell, which adds very little bulk to the small package. There’s a standard 4-cell battery that HP also supplied for the evaluation, and while it adds no bulk at all, the reduced battery life would push me to the larger 6-cell. The batteries have an LED indicator that indicates the charge level at the touch of a button.

The performance of the Mini 5103 has been good for an Atom-based netbook, no doubt due to the dual-core processor. While not as fast as other notebooks with a “real” processor, I have no complaints with the performance of this model. The combination of a highly portable form, long battery life and decent performance make this a winning solution for the mobile professional.

The Mini 5103 handles video playback better than any Atom-based netbook I’ve tried. Full-screen and HD video played fine on both YouTube and Hulu. The full-screen video looked outstanding on the 10-inch screen, and this would come in handy on business trips for watching movies.

The 5103 has all of the standard ports for using peripherals, including 3 USB 2.0 (one is eSATA compatible), VGA out, audio in, audio out, RJ-45 and a Kensington lock slot. There’s a wireless switch for turning Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g/n) and Bluetooth (2.1) on and off easily, and two buttons between the keyboard and screen that will fire up HP’s QuickWeb and QuickLook utilities: Linux-based programs to start the 5103 into a web-only or an Outlook-only environment without booting full Windows.

It takes too long to boot up Windows, so HP has produced a new DayStarter utility that allows users to check calendar events and device battery status while the boot is in progress. If you can’t speed up the process, at least make the time spent more useful.

The HP Mini 5103 isn’t the cheapest netbook, with a starting price of $399, but it’s one of the best I’ve tried. It will give most mobile professionals good bang for the buck, and the dual-core Atom processor breathes new life into the tired netbook genre.

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Our buddy Sascha Pallenberg of Netbook News was at Computex and got some good hands-on time with this Intel netbook. He captured it on video that shows how thin and mobile this netbook is. Sascha was so impressed with it that he named it his “best of Computex” winner, and that was after five days at the show. I sure hope we see this come to market.

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Intel has seen this coming since the netbook took hold of consumer’s wallets. The company downplayed the importance of netbooks, but the cheap devices just wouldn’t go away. So Intel started concentrating on making processors that could run these mobile computers better than the original Atom, which it’s just announced at Computex.

Intel unveiled new dual-core Atom processors based on the Pine Trail chipsets to take the netbook into the next generation. These processors will up the performance on the lowly netbook, while maintaining good battery life. A new processor family for tablets was also announced — the Oak Trail chipset, which is designed for devices such as slates with a more mobile usage. Oak Trail will see a 50 percent reduction in power consumption, according to Intel, while allowing the handling of high-resolution video. Intel is not ignoring the super-thin notebook form, the smartbook, as it also unveiled the Canoe Lake family.

These new processors aimed at netbooks and tablets have one advantage over the Qualcomm alternatives: the ability to run Windows 7. Intel is quick to point that advantage out to everyone who will listen, but also makes it clear that Oak Trail will also run MeeGo and operating systems from Google. Android is going to factor greatly in the burgeoning tablet market, and Intel wants to play in that arena.

Intel’s creation of the Moblin OS now begins to make sense for the company’s future plans. Moblin is a Linux-based operating system designed from the ground up to run on netbooks. It was unable to knock Windows off the netbook, so Intel joined forces with Nokia and Maemo to launch the MeeGo platform. MeeGo is built to work on netbooks, tablets and smartphones, and is designed from the to handle touch operation. This makes it competitive with Google’s Android platform, and Intel is sure to optimize Oak Trail to handle MeeGo.

Computer giant Acer is joining Intel’s battle with Qualcomm as it announced its line of netbooks and upcoming tablets will all run MeeGo. It’s embracing Intel’s new processors and the mobile OS to bring to market, and as soon as this year. This is a big win for Intel in its quest to retain dominance in the mobile computing segment.

No question the big loser in this unfolding mobile computing segment is Microsoft. Windows 7 is not designed to handle tablets with touch control, and there is nothing on the horizon from Redmond to remedy that. Microsoft has failed to take the Tablet PC mainstream in the past due to its shortcomings in this area, and that’s not going to change anytime soon. The expected rapid rise of Android in the tablet space, coupled with Intel’s forging of its own mobile platform, leaves Microsoft hanging out to dry.

Image credit: Engadget

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Brad’s only physical problem with MeeGo was getting it downloaded, the installation was without event and he seems pleased with the results. There is an app store cleverly dubbed the MeeGo Garage, but it is a garage that is currently pretty bare with little content available. MeeGo is using the Chrome browser and in the video response is good and browsing is nice. I like the MeeGo “zones” that make working with running programs very easy to do. The whole running experience is optimized for small screens with good mouse controls. If you try MeeGo, let us know in the comments how it is working for you.

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I have used a lot of netbooks, and have always liked the devices. You can’t get more mobility in a fully configured notebook form than on a netbook. They are light, have great battery life and will do just about anything you want to do on a notebook. All of this capability is cheap, with some netbooks going for as little as $200. There are more capable models like my favorite HP Mini 5102, but those generally cost quite a bit more. Like all electronic devices, the more you pack in one the more it costs.

Netbooks have the Atom processor in common for the most part, a good processor for the genre. They also tend to have low resolution displays (1024×600) which keeps things cheap. This combination is fine for getting work done, but it’s getting long in the tooth for me. I find myself getting frustrated at the lag that is common on netbooks, and I want to see more on the screen at once than those displays show me.

Sure there are many netbooks with higher resolution options, but that generally drives the cost up. I also find the Atom processor lags get worse when the netbook is driving more pixels on the screen. I’m not the only one who gets frustrated at waiting for something to happen on a netbook, I have observed others complaining at the wait for an action to execute.

My disappointment at the performance of the netbook is driven by using low cost notebooks that are becoming more commonly available. These notebooks are only slightly bigger than the 10-inch netbooks, yet pack a “real” processor and higher resolution display into the case. The difference in battery life provided by these “tweener” notebooks and netbooks is getting smaller in my experience, too. Throw in the fact that you can often find these notebooks at reasonable prices ($500 or less), and the purchase decision gets even tougher.

I do think the netbook is here to stay, they are always going to be cheap enough that consumers will pick them up, lag or no. I am hoping that the technology is going to advance to address my concerns, and we’ll see some cool netbooks coming along that makes things better. I’m hoping that Kevin Tofel will come back from the Netbook Summit with some great information about new netbook technology that is coming to speed these babies up.

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I first broached this concept a year ago, and I think it is a valid opportunity for companies wishing to push the envelope. My method carries the ASUS concept further by using a high-end Android phone for the modular connectivity. The notebook would be a smartbook more than a netbook, with the processor and storage all provided by the Android phone. This would make the smartbook side of the duo cheap to produce, as the phone would have all of the computing power onboard. The owner would have a full Android smartbook when needed, yet be able to pull the phone out and go when it is not. This means the phone is state of the art, and the smartbook is adequately powered as a result.

I hope ASUS brings such a netbook to market; it would be a welcome innovation. I don’t believe that the target buyer would settle for a phone that was not a full-blown smartphone, however, so hopefully this would be addressed. Simple connectivity is not going to be enough to make this product successful. It will need to be a no-compromise duo to have a chance for success.

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I bought the Fossil field bag a year ago, and while it is as small as can be (and manly) it can handle a 10-inch netbook with ease. The three pockets are perfect for any size accessories, and help keep things organized. The leather straps with the magnetic buckles are easy to secure and open, and contribute to how manly the Fossil bag appears.

This is the bag I grab for quick day outings, and it has served me well. The only downside to using the Fossil Nevada field bag is the constant interruptions I get in the wild from people stopping me to tell me how manly it looks. Yes they do.

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That’s a pretty harsh statement, but I believe an accurate one. Mobile technology is by nature a very personal thing. When something is personal by design, it becomes different things to different people. That’s the very nature of something personal. What is revolutionary to one person may be simply evolutionary, or even a step backwards, to another. What works for some won’t necessarily work for others.

I have covered handheld devices for a long time, and this coverage often produces strong reactions to those exposed to it. It is common to see knee-jerk reactions to articles about a given gadget along the lines of “why would you use that for task X?”. These reactions are typical given the personal nature of the technology. A particular gadget may be the best solution for some, but fall short for others. There are so many factors in determining how useful a gadget might be for an individual, and it’s the total package that makes or breaks the utility a single device can bring to each of us.

The appearance of the iPad has evoked emotional reactions from many along these lines. Almost every article you see written about using the iPad for a particular task is met with strong reactions from readers. Those reactions are often along the line of “why not use gadget Y for that task, as it’s better than the iPad.” This is a good response, as the iPad is not the best tool for many tasks compared to other types of devices.

I have seen the same reaction to almost every mobile gadget I’ve written about, and the fact is there are many factors to consider. If the goal is simply to use the best device for every single task that might be undertaken, then we should all use the most powerful notebook computer we can find. That would certainly be the best tool for any job. But these are often expensive, and not very easy to carry around.

There are many factors in play with mobile devices that determine the utility each provides to the individual. Portability is a big factor; while a 19-inch powerful notebook would be the best tool for any given task, it’s certainly not easy to carry around in a mobile scenario. Price is a big consideration too — that’s why netbooks have been well received. We don’t all have thousands to drop on a single tool, and often affordability is a determinant of adoption.

For others battery life plays a significant role in whether a particular gadget is a good fit or not. The individual’s work needs are the drivers that tell if a given device (or device form factor) is a proper fit. That giant notebook would certainly fail in this area.

What, then, is the best tool for a given job? The tool that is with you when you need to do the task. That’s the simple truth when it comes to mobile technology. It doesn’t matter if that big, powerful laptop will tackle any job at hand if it’s too big to carry everywhere. The same applies to many mobile gadgets. If they are too difficult to bring along, they can’t provide much benefit.

By the same token, it’s not a good plan to force compromise in our work by solely adopting a mobile device that is too restricted. The argument that gadget X is a better fit for a given task is often a good one. If a certain type of device better serves the tasks most commonly undertaken, then that’s the type to use. But that doesn’t mean that other types of devices aren’t useful for others. Mobile technology requires we keep an open mind, as everyone’s needs are different. It’s that personal thing again.

It is important to understand when a certain type of device, iPad or other, can do a certain task in a pinch. While other gadgets will be better at performing the task, if the “compromised” device is at hand, then that’s the better tool. When I write about using gadgets, the goal is to point out what can and cannot be done with them. It’s not to state that everyone should adopt this particular gadget — it’s to point out how the device can be used if needed. I think that is useful information.

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What I mean by usage driven is the NBT is going to come from creating a new way to do things that people want to do. That may come from online activities, or handling daily tasks or a combination of those. There are already mobile devices that can do everything that people want, whether in a laptop form or with a phone. The trick is going to lie in showing a new way to do these things that blows everything else out of the water. That’s not going to be easy for companies to produce.

Smartphones of today are full computers that can do many of the things formerly relegated to bigger devices. The processors are fast and platforms have evolved to take advantage of that in the phone space. While phones are often able to do the things people want, the restrictions of the screen size and input mechanisms are not going away. While I agree with Stacey at GigaOM that multiple core processors in phones will make them incredibly powerful, the input/output limitations will prevent them from being able to use that power to its fullest potential. We will see the smartphone continue to evolve, but the NBT will not be a phone due to these limitations.

Notebooks are evolving at a slower pace than phones, and we’re not seeing new usage scenarios for them. They will continue to dominate the computing space, but improvements will be incremental at best. Netbooks are still selling in good numbers, but we’ve seen just about everything that can be packed into the small budget-friendly form already done. The notebook/netbook will continue to be the primary computers for most folks, but hardly the NBT.

Slates have gotten new life in the minds of many, but they are not new technology. The iPad has pushed slates to the forefront of the mobile space, and while the form makes it possible to do many things in a more appropriate way, it doesn’t bring anything new to the user. It doesn’t create new uses for consumers like the NBT should do. The iPad is fun and useful, but at its core it is only providing uses that are already provided by other devices. Apple will sell a boatload of iPads, but it’s not the NBT.

The same is going to hold true for the many slates we are bound to see coming down the pike. They will do many things, and some of them very well, but nothing really new. They will attempt to duplicate the popularity of the iPad, and some may come close, but there won’t be anything truly innovative in this process. The slate will simply be another way to do the things that folks already do.

It may sound like I am cynical, and perhaps that is true. But I also find it a great time to be a mobile enthusiast, as the advancements in the past few years have been extraordinary. I am itching to see something new come along that will blow me away in sheer usefulness. That’s the primary requirement for the NBT for me — give me a new use that will rock my world.

The Microsoft Courier concept that has leaked out in videos is the primary candidate for the NBT. This device doesn’t fit into current categories, it is creating something totally new. It is an attempt to bring the day planner of old into the digital age, and that can be huge. It was only a few years ago when seemingly everyone carried one of those paper day planners. I attended countless meetings where the conference table was covered with planners. I used one myself, it was a way to organize my life, keep track of the things important to me and to make sure I didn’t overlook anything significant.

Smartphones began to take over some of the roles of the day planner, and they started to disappear. But the smartphone, due to the screen limitations mentioned, can’t really replace all of the benefits the day planner provided. This is where the Courier has amazing potential. The videos of the Courier show a day planner that totally integrates the web, the professional life and the social life of the user. It is the glue that binds all of that together, and has the potential to leverage that in a way that can vary as needed for the individual. It is a way to make mobile tech highly personal, and this can be big.

Where the digital planner (Courier) can make the biggest contribution for the user is through search. The day planner of old suffered from the inability to easily find things as needed, especially those things not in the immediate past. The Courier will not suffer from that disadvantage; it will enable the user to find anything, or more appropriately everything as needed. It will turn the web into a vast fountain of information that when coupled with each user’s personal information, will be the most important tool to come along in a great while.

So my requirement that the NBT present a new use for the individual is met by the Courier as demonstrated. Keeping all of the stuff that is important to the individual at hand, in an easily accessible way. It is personal by nature, and that can change the way we work. This could be the Next Big Thing.

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Microsoft just kicked off a special pricing deal to make the upgrade more attractive, but they’re falling short in one key aspect. First, the deal: for a limited time, Microsoft is reducing the upgrade pricing using the Windows Anytime Upgrade feature. A move from Starter Edition to Home Premium is $49.99, which is a $30 savings. Windows 7 Home Premium can be kicked up to Windows 7 Professional for $79.99, which is only a meager $10 savings over the standard pricing. So for $50, you can add touch support, not to mention the Aero desktop features, handwriting recognition for inking and Windows Media Center functionality to a netbook currently running Windows 7 Starter.

While this sounds great, there’s a bit of a catch — as I read it, the deal is optionally offered by computer retailers on new netbook or notebook purchases. Unless I’m missing something, there’s no way to get the reduced pricing on a currently owned device, and that’s simply tragic. Yes, if you purchased a computer prior to this, you knew what operating system you were getting with it. But offering lower upgrade prices to new purchases and not existing customers makes the deal appear to be a ploy to sell more computers — not to show any appreciation to existing customers.

Is this a good deal for new purchases? Yes, I believe it is, although you have to make the decision based on your budget and computing needs. Could it be a better deal? Yes, it could, by Microsoft extending it to current users of Windows 7. A good “meet me halfway point” would be to offer the reduced upgrade pricing to any consumers that registered a new Windows 7 machine since the beginning of the year.

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The move from desktop computers to notebooks has led one side of the mobile charge. Consumers appreciate all-in-one computers like the notebook, for the ease of use if nothing else. While notebooks are mobile computers, they really took off in popularity when consumers realized there’s nothing easier than hitting a single button and having the entire system up and running. As notebook pricing dropped, the more inevitable it became that they would surpass desktop systems in sales.

Notebook makers led by Dell , Gateway and HP saw the interest in notebooks begin to rise, and embarked on a new course to sell them. The volume sales mentality coalesced for the first time for notebooks — previously high-priced computers — and prices were reduced to move more notebooks than ever before. The companies soon found that selling a complete system in one box was easier than selling sets of components, and price wars began. When notebook pricing dropped low enough, consumers started buying more of them than the desktop computer.

Netbooks entered the scene quite recently, although it seems they’ve been around for a long time. While pricing certainly played a role in the popularity of the netbook, the portability also attracted buyers new to mobile technology. Many netbooks are purchased for home use, yet end up carried along for outside use due to the convenient size. Home users became new mobile users.

The rise of the smartphone was the other factor in the increased popularity of mobile technology. As the phone gained capabilities that previously existed only in computers, the benefits of computing on the go were exposed to many who hadn’t given it much thought. Almost overnight non-techies began computing while mobile, and on the smartphone. These folks began eying the notebook on the desk at home, and realizing how much use they could get by taking it with them when they left home. New mobile users were being created all the time as a result. Laptops in coffee shops could be seen more frequently, and in the hands of regular people as much as with working professionals. The mobile non-professional user began appearing everywhere.

Two smartphones can be credited with exposing mainstream consumers to the benefits of mobile computing. The BlackBerry invaded the enterprise in force, and as companies discovered the cost benefits achieved by deploying them to more of the staff, employees enjoying the technology realized it could be leveraged in their personal lives. The BlackBerry began appearing in consumer hands, and the mobile revolution had begun.

The Apple iPhone fanned the flames of the mobile revolution, as it was aimed squarely at the mainstream consumer. The appeal to the consumer for this new type of phone, combined with an effective marketing campaign by Apple, saw the iPhone appear in the hands of millions previously unexposed to mobile technology. It didn’t take long until these consumers realized the impact a mobile computer could have on their personal lives. This played a direct role in the rise in popularity of the notebook computer. Consumers are savvy people, and they simply need to be exposed to new technology to “get it”.

High speed connectivity has played a big role in the adoption of mobile technology. As more notebooks were carried around by consumers, Wi-Fi hotspots began to appear in a lot of businesses, and that got consumers familiar with tapping into the web outside the home. There is little doubt Starbucks played a major role in this process as word spread that if folks took their laptop to the coffee shop they could relax with a good beverage and get online. The stage was thus set for the appearance of mobile broadband that went with the user, and the next stage of the mobile revolution kicked off.

Notebooks began selling with integrated 3G connectivity, primarily to the enterprise at first. Consumers didn’t sit idly on the sidelines however, and soon began snapping up cheap laptops with this connectivity. The consumer, having been exposed to the “always connected” smartphone, started picking up cheap notebooks (and netbooks) in droves. The mentality began to change profoundly, from “wanting” constant connectivity to “expecting” it.

This change of mentality is currently underway, and will be the driver behind the acceptance of mobile tech going forward. While “3G” was previously a techie phrase, it is now commonly understood by the average consumer. Phones must have 3G, and mobile computers need to have it too. The consumer mindset has shifted dramatically, with the desire to have connectivity always at hand. This is a major shift in the acceptance of mobile technology, and there is no going back.

The next phase of mobile has already begun in the U.S., with an unlikely company behind it. Sprint has been able to resurrect a technology many (myself included) thought was dead. WiMAX was originally thought to be the wave of the future years ago when it first appeared. As it took a long time to roll out this technology in earnest, many felt it would never make an impact on the mobile scene.

Sprint has pushed the rollout of its WiMAX network in the U.S., and has smartly named it “4G” which appeals to the consumer now comfortable with 3G. The high speeds of 4G, coupled with aggressive pricing by Sprint, are beginning to expose consumers to connectivity like they have at home that always lives inside the mobile device.

As consumers get accustomed to having fast broadband always at hand, the mindset will surely shift from the wanting to the expecting stage. The 4G connectivity will soon not be a cool option with mobile gear, it is going to be expected. Providers are racing to get the next generation networks up and running, as they see this paradigm shift in consumer expectations.

The mobile revolution is now entering the next big phase with the appearance of the iPad. Connectivity (even through Wi-Fi) is in place to keep the iPad connected, and consumers are about to realize the benefits a simple web appliance can bring to their lives. They may use the iPad at home primarily, but we’re going to start seeing them all over the place.

The iPad is not a “real” computer, but that’s not going to matter to many. Consumers have long demonstrated that the gadget that is easy to use — and just as importantly fun to use — is well received. The fact that it is always connected in hotspots or via 3G is the final piece of the puzzle. The connectivity coupled with the appliance nature of the iPad will drive millions of sales.

The mobile revolution is in full swing, and there’s no stopping it. People are comfortable with carrying mobile gear around with them, whether that be phones or notebooks. The mindset has begun to shift from viewing this tech as just a way to get work done, to that of entertainment and leisure activities. The iPad is going to speed up this mindset swing, and make mobile tech a commonplace part of consumers’ lives. The perfect storm is about to hit.

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