The zero-sum game is defined by Wikipedia as:

A mathematical representation of a situation in which a participant’s gain or loss is exactly balanced by the losses or gains of the other participant(s).

While many people see every facet of the world in this way – the if I am to win, then someone else must lose approach – in many cases it’s a complete fallacy. Just as in the economy at large we can all benefit from strong economic decisions and the effective pursuit of individual success, in technology it is vital that we understand the benefits of diverse and successful competition.

I say all of this in an effort to explain why the launch of the HP TouchPad on July 1 was a good thing. Judging from some of the early reviews, it looks as though the TouchPad could become a successful competitor for the iPad – with some reviewers (such as Joshua Topolsky) even preferring elements of the user interface and design.

Will the release of more successful tablets help to drive Apple towards even better iterations of the iPad, will they even take the competition into consideration? In what ways could increased competition in the field of tablets be beneficial to consumers?

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