Much like Kleenex<\/strong> is to “facial tissues,” the Apple<\/strong> iPad has become nearly synonymous with “tablet.” Competitors have fought bravely–companies like Toshiba and HP offer devices that, by most accounts, function just fine, and they do so at prices so low they generally garner a loss on the hardware. Still, the iPad forges ahead with multitudes of loyal Apple devotees.<\/p>\n But it seems a true challenger might yet appear. Amazon<\/strong> is set to release its new tablet device just in time for the holidays this year, and Forrester Research<\/strong> expects a cool 3 to 5 million of them to sell in this year’s 4Q alone. So why are many preemptively hailing Amazon’s tablet as a true heavyweight contender? It’s very simple: Amazon can offer a massive number of e-books and other content-based applications to compensate for small profit margins–or even losses–on the hardware alone.<\/p>\n Read more at techland.time.com<\/a>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n More and more is being made of the inevitable marriage between mobile devices and holiday shopping (and we’re no stranger to the topic<\/a>). The latest projection regarding smartphone and tablet use and the upcoming season is a doozy: According to Google<\/strong>, based on historical growth rates, 44 percent of total searches for last minute gifts and store locator terms will be from mobile devices this holiday season. Greg Sterling of Search Engine Land<\/strong> explores this and other numbers in his newest article. Once again, the takeaway is that online retailers would do well to streamline their mobile incarnations.<\/p>\nThere’s no Place like Phone for the Holidays<\/h2>\n