There are already some excellent apps, like The New York Times, Springpad and TweetDeck. The bigger story is that we are entering an era dominated by apps. It isn’t just our mobile devices: web browsers, computers (think the forthcoming Mac App Store) and televisions have an app storefront.

Monitoring essential and pitiful apps is the next great challenge for those (like me) who monitor consumer technology. How will this impact the once Wild West of the Internet? If people use apps more and scour the Internet less, how do do-it-yourself web site builders get discovered?

It is an exciting future, but not without questions.

This chart has become one of the most discussed on the topic of iPads vs. netbooks.

Many pundits and commentators are debating whether or not the iPad is eating into netbook sales. Some studies indicate the iPad is the stake into the heart of the netbook (see here and here.) Others say this is typical Apple-inspired hyperbole (here and here).

Getting to the truth is tricky because tech commentary lately sounds too much like our political system: polarized into overly dogmatic camps who talk at, instead of to, each other. On the one hand are the Apple fanboys, who find Apple devices as items of worship and take pronouncements from Steve Jobs as if the Pope were speaking ex cathedra. Yet there are also the Apple haters, who compare every Apple product to a Fischer Price toy and think all Apple innovations were stolen from someone else.

Instead of listening to these warring factions we should interpret the data. It is fair to infer the massive growth experienced by netbooks is probably declining because most who wanted one have bought it. Most new products that achieve popularity have a spike in sales and then eventually decline.

So where does this leave the iPad? It would be naive to suggest the iPad is having zero effect on netbook sales. Many surveys and other anecdotes are suggesting that people are using it as a laptop replacement. The Apple haters refuse to acknowledge this is possible, but anecdotal evidence suggests also suggests it is so. Many conversations I have with those who see and use one are impressed with the form factor and ease of use. It especially makes sense for many consumers who use their notebooks for mostly consuming content instead of creating it. With the right applications, and an external keyboard, productivity is possible from the iPad.

My own experience is the iPad does some productivity well, though it’s far from where I would like it to be. For example, this entire blog post was written from the WordPress app on my iPad. The virtual keyboard isn’t bad with some practice, but I did use the backspace button more than I would on a physical keyboard. Also, I needed to hop on my Windows 7 desktop to add the necessary tweaks from the web version of WordPress before publishing. It’s a good example of how the iPad fares as a notebook replacement: close, but not quite there yet.

It was a marriage of convenience. But like most such marriages, there comes a time when it just doesn’t work anymore.

So has been the case with Google and Apple. Despite the recent Steve Jobs-Eric Schmidt coffee date, the companies are going in two diametrically opposed directions – punctuated by Apple’s lawsuit against HTC.

Google’s primary aim is to get everyone on the web through its services to increase use of its search engine, thereby benefiting its online ad business. Hence the push for Google’s Chrome browser, Chrome OS, and Android. Apple’s cash cow comes through its proprietary hardware and software via iPad, iPhone, and iPod. If you use those devices, all official software comes exclusively through the Apple-controlled App Store.

To illustrate the point further, consider how both companies are working in the mobile space. If Google has its way by the end of the year many netbooks will be running its Chrome OS, which is essentially based on the Chrome browser. All data will live on the web, which means that developers are free to make anything they want for it as long as it’s accessible by a browser. Of course, most of your data will probably end up on Google’s servers in the form of Gmail, Docs, Calendar, etc. (I have already discussed how Google owns my soul.)

Apple, on the other hand, has created what will likely be another very popular device in the iPad. By all accounts it will have excellent apps and create a great user experience. The catch: everything goes through Cupertino. Developers from The Wall Street Journal to The White House must submit all their apps for approval.

No one vision is necessarily right, although Apple’s penchant for control raises some concerns for both users and developers. Getting data from iTunes to the iPhone is not exactly the most streamlined experience. Juggling data between an iPhone, iPad, and my PC is not a pleasant thought. Steve Jobs’s stubborn refusal to allow any Flash on the iPad has sent developers scrambling so their content is available. So instead of visiting Hulu in your browser, there will be an Apple-sanctioned app.

The web has created an expectation of liberty and openness. Let’s hope Apple’s modus operandi doesn’t change that. Not that any of  such concerns will stop the iHordes from lining up outside Apple Stores nationwide tomorrow. Of course, there is always a decent chance I will be one of them.

However, lately I’m finding the one hangup to all of this is Google Docs. For example, while Chrome is on a lightning-fast development pace (in just over a year they are already testing a version 5.0) Docs seems to be crawling along. This runs counter to many news reports that Docs would get significant improvements this year – making it a competitor to Microsoft’s Office suite. Most posts I see on the Google Docs blog are about some new template to help organize your NCAA bracket or plan a wedding – not a new feature release.

Docs is a great opportunity to get more users into the Google world. It makes being productive with the same series of documents between my desktop, laptop, and iPhone very easy. And now with the latest version of Documents To Go, I can edit and sync my docs (editing in the mobile browser is only available for Gooogle Spreadsheets).

But when sitting at my computer Docs feels like a weak, stripped-down word processor. Yes, the collaboration features are excellent. But more than a paucity of font choices would be nice. Entering images, graphics, or tweaking the margins are far more streamlined in a desktop word processor like Word or OpenOffice.

If Google wants to keep users in its ecosystem longer, then it is time to strengthen Docs. It is the only weak link in an otherwise excellent suite of services.

I too am a bit skeptical, though I understand what Google is trying to do. Its bread and butter is indexing the Internet and getting everyone online through using Google services. The social networking explosion has, for better or worse, left a bunch of the web out of Google’s clutches.

Personally Google’s index-the-universe aspirations make me a bit queasy, but I am a heavy user of their services and generally happy with the experience. And Google does tend to listen to user feedback pretty closely – Buzz was already tweaked recently to account for some privacy concerns. But by making Buzz a permanent part of Gmail, Google is showing it has pretty heavy aspirations for this service and hooking in new users.

I’ll follow the Buzz for now, but I am hopeful there is a way to turn it off in the future if the buzzing gets too loud.

Given the amount of tasks President Obama is trying to take on, it would be a great addition for his BlackBerry, Sectera Edge, or whatever mystery device he is actually carrying.