By the time you read this, Apple would have taken the wraps off its latest tablet, widely believed to be the most significant overhaul since the first iPad was launched in 2010.
If the pre-launch buzz is to be believed then the new iPad will sport a high-definition display, run on a faster processor and work with 4G wireless networks.
This launch is significant for Apple because it is the first major product after the death of its iconic CEO Steve Jobs. Therefore, analysts and investors have one key question in their minds – will the new tablet live up to the reputation of its earlier, Jobs-mentored avatars?
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With the iPad, Jobs created a new category of consumer-electronics devices beyond smartphones and laptops.
According to Apple, some 55 million iPads have been sold to date. The innovations around iPad and iPad2 have enabled the California-based company to control 73 per cent of the global tablet market, according to Forrester Research Inc.
The strength of iPad sales along with those of iPhones has helped power Apple to a market valuation of $500 billion, a feat few other companies have accomplished.
But most of this achievement is attributed to the brilliance of Jobs, who not only created good products but also was a genius when it came to marketing them. Now, Jobs is gone and competitors have picked up a trick or two in the tablet segment. Google's Android mobile operating system used on tablets from Toshiba and Samsung are getting traction from consumers.
Then there are tablets from the likes of BlackBerry, Dell, Amazon's Kindle Fire and HP, not to mention the plethora of cheaper variants from Chinese and Indian brands. How Apple chooses to respond to the latest competitors could become an indicator of whether it sticks to the vision of the late Steve Jobs, or whether the existing managers are willing to break new ground.
Either way, the new Chief Executive Officer, Mr Tim Cook, has a job on his hands to prove that Apple can still rule without Jobs.