It was only last year that Apple and Samsung had a heated row over one of Samsung’s latest tablets. The two companies argued over a patent infringement and Apple lost the case. Ever more companies are producing tablets, the two most hotly anticipated being from Blackberry and Microsoft. They are both powered by Google’s Android Operating System 3.0, which represents a complete reconfiguration of the 2.2 version, originally designed for mobile phones.

What is interesting about this new version is its long list of new features, including hand gesture command functionality, support for multi-core processors, enhanced 2D and 3D graphics and greater control and flexibility.

We will probably have to wait to see whether 3.0 works as smoothly as the iPad, but by Spring we should see some consumer feedback comparing the two systems. However, if Android has managed to pull it off, it is likely that people may make that switch to Microsoft, Motorola, Samsung and Blackberry. Apple branding may be strong, but as rival products deliver ever greater features at a reasonable cost, it could find itself slipping.

For programmers and software engineers, there could be a shift in focus from producing iTunes apps to those that are more suited to Android. Don’t forget that if you’d like an app developing for any platform you can brief the Exchange now!

Is it the end of the iPad’s reign, or will the power of Apple branding see it beat the latest batch of rival tablets?