In an article that recently hit the Web, one Wall Street observer has offered a piece of free advise to Samsung, Motorola, RIM and other iPad-competing tablet-makers. The advice, in short, involves reducing prices - because according to the observer (Numura Securities analyst Richard Windsor), iPad-competing tablets "have to be cheap."

A new video has hit the Web, outlining a "drop test comparison" between an iPad 2, Motorola Xoom and Samsung Galaxy Tab.

The number of dedicated iPad apps available in the App Store has risen to 80,00. But, this phenomenal milestone is only part of the story.

How does the iPad 2 stack up against the competition? Skattertech recently released two infographics (here and here) that compare Apple’s newest device with the BlackBerry PlayBook, Dell Streak 7, and Motorola Xoom, among others. The graphics are so detailed (and timely, given the iPad 2 arrives today) we thought we’d publish the information here too for our readers.

Thanks to the astonishing success of the iPad, Apple was the number one PC manufacturer in Q4, 2010, according to a recent DisplaySearch report. Apple is now ahead of HP, Acer, Dell, and Toshiba, and has accounted for 17.2 percent of all PC shipments made in Q4, 2010.

Apple's iPad premiered last year, and it took the market by storm. But, since then, a variety of other tablets have appeared - from RIM's PlayBook, to the upcoming Motorola Xoom. Fortunately, the guys over at Engadget have put together a comparative chart, which displays the tech specs of each tablet.