iPad 2 rubs it in: Apple still the real boss in the tablet computer space

Here's a good-news-and-bad-news routine for Apple's rivals in the tablet-computer market.

The good news first: The iPad is no longer the number 1, best-selling tablet computer.

The bad news: It is now the iPad 2.

The iPad 2 shows who's boss.

Its detractors can rant to high heavens and as much as their hearts desire, but the fact remains: The iPad 2's coming is a most blunt reminder for everybody about who is the real king in the tablet computer market — and who are mere pretenders to the throne.

Not even the 2011 CES' most prominent product, the Motorola Xoom, can hold a candle to the next iteration of Steve Jobs' tablet computer. I guess right now, most executives at other IT vendors planning to launch their own tablet computers, as well as those who already have unleashed their respective stabs at the slates market, are losing whatever sleep they have left over the iPad 2's seemingly pre-determined domination of the market.

Faced with such a huge demand for the iPad 2, Apple had no choice but to prolong consumers' wait time before their online orders start shipping. Previously estimated to ship in 2-3 days, new orders are now set to ship within 3 to 4 weeks. And new orders continue coming in.

The only suggestion of a downpour during the Apple tablet's parade of a first-day sale: The college student who was first in line at the New York City Apple store sold her spot for $900. She said she plans to use part of the money to buy a ticket to a Lady Gaga concert.

Original iPad Outsold

Industry analysts expect more than 500,000 units of the iPad 2 to sell in the new tablet's first weekend in the market. Some of their colleagues, apparently having taken a higher dosage of Apple-derived drug, are more bullish, expecting the tablet from Cupertino to sell more than a million copies.

So, finally, another tablet has vanquished the iPad. Unfortunately for Apple bashers, it is another iPad that did the job.

But it does not mean that the original iPad is destined for the landfill. In this aspect, Apple critics are correct. The iPad 2 is not a paradigm-shifting upgrade. Owners of the first-generation iPad do not have to feel bad. Their tablet is still a great electronic device, and it bows only to the iPad 2.

Your "aged" iPad still outperforms the latest-generation tablet computers offered by Apple's rivals. Although its younger sibling comes in a skinnier and lighter body, and is faster, the original iPad is still one marvelous and highly desirable electronic toy.

The original iPad, in fact, has just become one of the most sought after (and at a cheaper price, too) gadgets, while supplies last.

While Apple is known more for pricey and high-end products, the iPad surprisingly comes cheaper than those offered by Apple's rivals.

Apparently, the company's tight control over its supply chain has enabled it to keep iPad prices down. This goes against the usual practice of pricing new products as high as consumers' pockets would allow, then letting prices slide down as competition brings in cheaper but similarly featured products.

Anyway, most rivals seem unable to match the iPad's $499 entry-level model.

Until the iPad 3 arrives, the original iPad and the iPad 2 are the best in their class.