When Apple enters a market, it does not just go after one device or one company. As the company has demonstrated in the past with iPhone and iPod, it’s more interested in hitting multiple targets with one shot. That’s what Apple iPad is all about as well. It’s a tablet, gaming device, e-book reader, and portable computer all fit into one device. The first time the iPad rumors started going around, many were skeptical about the device. After all, according to most rumors, Apple was expected to charge close to $800 for an iPad. But the company decided to choose an ultra aggressive pricing strategy, pricing its iPad line as close to netbooks and e-readers as possible. That has not only put extra pressure on manufacturers, it’s given consumers a lot of thinking to do.

The growth rate for iPad has been so high that some analysts are now claiming that iPad sales could overtake netbooks in the very near future. If Apple truly manages to sell 10-16 million iPad units in the device’s first 12 months, that is going to put a huge amount of pressure on netbook owners. While iPad owners may still pick up netbooks, the chances are less than when people don’t own a mobile computing device.

Is it possible that netbooks have reached their maximum sales potential? It’s quite possible. But the main trouble is netbook makers have not innovated as well as they should have in the past few months. Going with dubious solutions such as Windows starter has not helped either. Netbooks will stick around for the foreseeable future. But netbook makers need to innovate and offer people a reason to look for netbooks.