iPads, iPods, Droids, Blackberrys -- it must seem like chaos for developers and travel companies writing travel apps these days.
Which platform and how to prioritize development efforts are key questions constantly on the agenda.
A few days ago during an earnings call, Apple's Steve Jobs -- never one to be shy about expressing opinions, just ask Adobe -- declared 7-inch tablets "dead on arrival."
the iPad, of course, has a studly 9.7 inch screen, while Samsung's Galaxy Tab, which runs on Android, and the Blackberry PlayBook will soon arrive with sleeker -- did someone say punier? -- 7-inch screens.
“7-inch tablets are tweeners -- too big to compete with a smartphone and too small to compete with the iPad,” Jobs boasted.
That remains to be seen.
Which size is better suited as the user interface for travelers as they break out their favorite tablets on the plane, in hotels or on the car ride to the airport?
When they are sitting by the hotel pool and want to search for a good restaurant or local band to check out that evening, which tablet size is optimal?
Or is it less about the size of the screen and more about what the device can do?
While these issues sort themselves out in the marketplace over the coming months and years, travel companies readying tablet apps will have to pick and choose where to focus development efforts.
For some developers, chaos is good. It just means more business opportunity.
The iPad is the tablet of choice for now, but perhaps some of the small guys with less-endowed screens will have something to say about all that.