CrunchPads, Apple tablets, and the future of eReaders

Over the last couple of weeks there has been quite a bit of news about tablets–not Tablet PCs per se, but tablets.

Yesterday, for instance, there was breaking news about the death of the TechCrunch CrunchPad courtesy of Michael Arrington. And side by side this sad CrunchPad news, there was talk of the excellent sales performance of the Amazon Kindle during November. But that’s not been all. Earlier in the month Apple rumors started reswirling that the Apple tablet just needed an OLED display and all would be fine–though it would be a bit more expensive and a bit slower to market than before.

No doubt lots going on.

Here’s my take on all of this: tablets are still hot, but the evolutionary path they are taking is a bit, well, convoluted. That’s not a bad thing, but it sure is entertaining.

I still hold out a prediction: That the Apple tablet will help redefine the tablet space. It’s just going to take a little while longer than I’d figured before. Again, that’s not a bad thing, because the rest of the market seems to be suspended in animation. ASUS seems to be one of the only companies that might actually break out of its market web. We’ll have to see though if this is really the case.

ASUS has done quite well with the netbook market and I wonder if they can find the right mix of touch and display to provide a smooth tablet experience, that’s less about classic notebooks than great mobile experiences. Of all the companies right now, my eyes are watching ASUS and Apple. I’m most eagerly watching Apple, but ASUS still has my attention.

Of course, Intel is key to all of this. It’s not such a big deal for Intel to provide super low cost PCs to Apple–since Apple has proven they can go on their own with their own processors–but ASUS, hmmm. In other words, it’s going to be a race against the clock. Who gets to the tablet nirvana first?