I don't think manufacturers were quite prepared for just how high of a bar Apple was going to set with the iPad. I personally refuse to buy Apple iOS products

I don't think manufacturers were quite prepared for just how high of a bar Apple was going to set with the iPad. I personally refuse to buy Apple iOS products on my own principles, but the hardware always looks amazing without sacrificing quality. Combined with the fact that nobody was even certain that the iPad would even exist when it was announced, I think manufacturers weren't really taking the tablet market seriously until they realized just how much of a hit the iPad was. I'll bet most companies weren't even investing more than a gee-whiz in tablet technology until then, either, just due to the complexities of development.