Transparent and shape-able screens from Samsung will define the next technological advance

In 2013 Samsung will upset the tablet market with a transparent and potentially bendable hand held device.  A transparent tablet is right out of Minority Report and Tron Legacy and will have a much higher cool factor than the iPad 3, 4 or 5.

Only a few months ago, pundits were predicting no one could unseat Apple’s near total dominance with the iPad. Those days are over for Apple.

Legal attempts to block the Samsung Galaxy Tab have failed in the short term and Samsung is poised with technological breakthroughs to change the market.

Samsung is the world’s largest supplier of tablet screens, and Apple’s supplier for the iPhone and iPad. In a pique of legal petulance, Apple is shifting the iPad 3 to 5th string manufacturer Sharp who are not known for innovation.

Bad move on Apple’s part since Samsung will be releasing their own next generation screens at the same time as the iPad 3.

Samsung is poised to introduce “must have” products. If someone whips out a flexible smart phone or transparent tablet at a party, work or bar it will turn heads. iPad will become super passé.

Smartphones are about style and cool. No one really needs to spend $80 a month on a smartphone and another $30 on a tablet access fees. People want to have them because they are the hot toys to own.

Apple is being forced to introduce two new iPads this year iPad 3 and iPad 4, neither of which is predicted to be revolutionary in design. They are catch up devices – a little faster, slightly better screens and maybe 4G LTE.

Apple may have lost the tablet war already. Amazon.com’s Kindle outsold the Apple iPad in the Christmas season. The $199 Kindle Fire was an overwhelming favorite with consumers. Price and ease of use beat the first-to-market lead Apple squandered.

The Kindle Fire is an Android device, although not marketed as such. This repeats the same victory for Android that happened in the smart phone market with Android devices outselling iPhones better than 2 to 1.

I love my iPad and iPhone but can’t wait for the new products that move us to a new level. Only next time they won’t come from Apple.