The anticipation surrounding the iPad in the months leading up to its official announcement was intense. Once the product was officially announced, many competitors started saying that the iPad might be Apple's worst product ever.

Despite what competitors and analysts thought, the iPad has sold very well for Apple – over a million of the devices have been sold so far. The iPad is selling so well that analyst Katy Huberty reports the iPad is cannibalizing the notebook and netbook market.

Huberty said, "U.S. consumer PC, and especially notebook growth decelerated in January when Apple introduced the iPad and again in April when the iPad launched. Given the corresponding increase in [average selling prices] in the market, we believe much of the demand shortfall came from netbooks and low-cost notebooks."

The products according to Huberty that are most at risk for cannibalization by the iPad for those who already owned Apple products were the iPod touch and notebooks. Consumers not wanting Apple products were most likely to see the iPad cannibalize the eReaders and notebooks.

The netbook market may be shrinking according to analysts thanks to the iPad, but there is still a market for netbooks in 2010. eWeek reports that Acer, HP, and ASUS will lead netbook growth in 2010. Netbooks are on target to post double-digit growth this year (down from previous years of triple-digit growth) while notebook shipments overall are expected to grow 25.5 percent according to numbers from research firm iSuppli. The rebound in the global economy will help growth in all areas of the computer market as consumers and businesses start to upgrade machines.

The standard notebook market is expected to post growth of 21 percent this year with 160.5 million notebooks shipped. One of the biggest growth categories this year is expected to be CULV notebooks with 93 percent growth. ISuppli also expects Acer to hold onto the top netbook maker spot for 2010 with ASUS in second, HP in third, Samsung in fourth, and Dell in fifth.