Forrester pegs Amazon as the dark knight that could take on Apple's iPad in 2011

Tablets aiming to compete with Apple Inc.’s iPad are “too expensive” and “poised to fail” in 2011, according to a new report from Forrester Research Inc.
Interestingly, the firm points to Amazon.com Inc. as one standout company that could create a “compelling” tablet paired with direct access to its storefront, one-click purchasing, recommendation engine and other services. That assessment won’t be taken well at other tablet manufacturers, especially because Amazon isn’t even in the tablet game yet. Forrester notes that Amazon isn’t the only company that could disrupt the tablet market and gives credence to other companies such as Sony Corp., Microsoft Corp. and Vizio Inc. as potential competitors.
Tablets that have already been announced or launched from Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc., BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion Ltd., Hewlett-Packard Co., Toshiba Corp., LG Electronics Co. Ltd. and others are “solid products with fatally flawed product strategies,” analyst Sarah Rotman Epps wrote in her report.
Apple will command at least 80% of the U.S. consumer tablet market in 2011, according to Forrester. App developers should take note as well, Epps cautioned.
“Product strategists delivering content on tablets need to rethink their priorities — most companies we speak to are prioritizing Android apps after iPad, but it’s not a foregone conclusion that Android tablets are worth the investment this year. Product strategists on the device side have some reformulating to do — some may find it makes sense to wait until the market settles before launching a tablet that won’t sell in volume this year,” she wrote.”
“In short, competing tablets are too expensive, and can’t match the Apple Store as a channel,” Epps continued. “Consumers are not only comparing feeds and speeds; there’s also a human factor. The humans working in the Apple Store will have a huge impact teaching consumers about the iPad and how to use it. Compare the experience of walking into an Apple Store, where the iPad is front and center, to walking into a Verizon Wireless store where the Samsung Galaxy Tab is collecting dust at the back of the store and the sales reps don’t quite know what to make of it.”