Before I start this post, a disclaimer: I own both a Kindle and an iPad. So this may seem a bit weird but I don’t  view them as advisories. They both are market leaders in their respective ecosystems but they are not to be compared.

Apple has been dominating the tablet space since the iPad launched and in all honestly I had my doubts. However, the last 18 months Apple has absolutely owned the tablet space.

HP TouchPad is in firesale mode as HP is ending the WebOS acquisition..

Finally, HP decided to clear out the inventory of parts used in the TouchPad, and announced it would make one more production run of as many as 200,000 TouchPads. The firesale of TouchPads touched off a frenzy of activity as hundreds of thousands snatched up a TouchPad at the reduced price. This caused a firestorm of coverage on tech sites like this one, and set off a buying spree for TouchPad apps that had a few developers smiling. I spoke to several developers who saw a 10x increase in sales the past month, and one who has seen sales in the five figures during this time. This activity is not that surprising given how short a time the TouchPad was on the market and how many have purchased one. The novelty period of a new gadget has been in full swing.

The PlayBook was suppose to be RIM’s great new hope. The reality is far from it as RIM has also started discounting it.

Research In Motion’s PlayBook has had something of a rough ride since its launch in April this year. Reviews have been mixed, while just a month after appearing on shelves, almost 1,000 of the tablets had to be recalled due to unspecified faulty hardware issues.

The Canadian company has also been having a hard time persuading networks to carry the device. Just last month Sprint announced that it was scrapping plans to bring the 4G PlayBook to its network. It is currently with no major US carriers.

The major challengers to the iPad have all realized that it is not simply having a good device that conquers users tablet desire. It is about having a device that is speedy in responding to users gestures when using an iPad. It is about having apps that provides content for all tastes and needs.

The tablet game is going to change in a big way soon as Amazon is to unveil their Kindle tablet to the market. Amazon is the real competitor that could change the tablet ecosystem in a way big.

Gawker sums it up well as to why the tablet market is in for a massive shake up:

• First, Amazon will be the first company to have the complete ecosystem. Like Apple’s closed garden, but plugging into all of Amazon’s products and services.
• Then, they count with the customer base. They can attack their customers from their store and offer them this device as a simple, quite inexpensive tablet that acts as an extension to their content and services.
• The third factor, and perhaps the most important, is that the Amazon Kindle will offer a super simple user interface that is centered around the content itself. If what you want is give consumers access to stuff to consume, that seems like the best option. Anyone would be able to use it. Their approach is a lot better than replicating Apple’s app-oriented iOS interface, like every other iPad-clone maker does.
• And finally, their tablet will plug directly into a very strong cloud solution. Unlike Apple—who is now only about to deploy the unproven iCloud after multiple previous failures—Amazon has a lot of experience in cloud services for serving content. If they manage to offer the same experience as in the desktop—and there’s no reason to think otherwise—Apple will have a formidable enemy. Not an iPad killer, but certainly a real enemy that could damage them.

There are two ways to extend a business. Take inventory of what you’re good at and extend out from your skills. Or determine what your customers need and work backward, even if it requires learning new skills. Kindle is an example of working backward.  Jeff Bezos