incrediBILL - 6:10 pm on Apr 9, 2010 (gmt 0)

I am not talking about the smart phone market. I am talking about the hand held device application market, specifically on the iPhone, iTouch and iPad, 2 of which aren't even phones, so the fact that there are Androids and other phones out there really doesn't matter when you discuss apps on an iTouch or iPad.

Whether the device has a phone in it or not doesn't really differentiate it, it's the same core device, just varying features and screen sizes.

There are Android netbooks and tablets, the Kindle, and B&N Nook (Android powered), which are all non-smart phone devices.

At CES 2010 MS showed off 7-10 new Windows based tablets, plus more Android tablets were announced.

Apple is far from ruling this space and forcing people to buy Apples to build for Apple will ultimately limit their future.

I have no plans to ever buy an Apple product, although the iPad is tempting, so I'll never write any Apple apps unless they allow cross-compiled products.

Android and Windows will be enough for me to play with.

FYI, I had a Windows tablet back around '91 when I was at Lotus. They've been around for ages but the battery life and bulky size limited their market. My local clinic uses them in a paperless office, that's what they were originally designed to do, replace the paper on a clipboard sized device you could either write on with a pen or type on the on-screen keyboard.

The only new thing Apple is doing is marketing, making them look sleek and sexy so everyone wants one and price them for the consumer.