Viacom was one of the content owners that pulled its channels from Time Warner Cable's iPad app recently. This combined with its changing stance regarding Hulu points to the growing friction between content owners and those companies involved in distribution through new streaming platforms like Netflix, Hulu and now tablets. As the landscape changes for delivering content, we expect to see Viacom along with competitors like News Corp, Time Warner CBS and Disney position for a greater share of the revenues and benefit from providing content to through these new channels.

After watching Apple, Inc. (AAPL) jet past them in market capitalization last month, Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) has to be wondering what will come next -- more quarterly revenue? While that didn't happen with the latest set of financials, Redmond is probably asking "not if, but when." Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, although dismissive of the Apple iPad originally, has seen his rival now sell more then three million of them.

Just when the competition between Amazon's (AMZN) Kindle device and Apple's (AAPL) iPad tablet were starting to heat up, a third and powerful entrant may throw itself into the ring next month. Google (GOOG) is tapped to start selling digital books come June.

What devices will be able to read these digital books may be a mystery (for now), but you can bet that Google's Android operating system may be behind a new device sold in consumer electronics stores, and perhaps Google's website itself.

Barnes & Noble, Inc. (BKS) followed Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) in introducing an e-reader device. The devices, meant to replace books and periodicals and lower the cost of physical distribution (or eliminate it) with a higher-quality experience, have sold well so far. Amazon.com sold out of the first Kindle device launched at the end of 2007, and the first Nook device featured a better navigation than the Kindle. Still Barnes & Noble's share price since early 2009 hasn't exactly outperformed itself, as it sits under $23 right now.

When Apple, Inc. (AAPL) introduced the iPad tablet computing device earlier this month, many saw it as immediately being the e-reader device to beat. After all, there were 60,000 e-books in Apple's iBooks store, right? Lest we forget that e-tailer extraordinaire Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) released its Kindle e-reader device in 2007 and has over 400,000 books available in the Kindle store for purchase and download. But, with the Apple brand behind it, everyone seems to have forgotten about the Kindle.

Last year, Twitter said it had two goals for 2010: generate revenue and make acquisitions. At the time, the company was still sitting on a significant portion of its last round of capital, and given the $20 million annual burn rate revealed late last year -- plus the revenue it's generating -- it's unlikely that Twitter has had to deplete its coffers. So, Twitter has cash to put to work, and now we're seeing what that means.

On its blog, Twitter announced Friday that it has entered into an agreement with Atebits (aka Loren Brichter) to acquire Tweetie, which is one of the top Twitter clients for the Apple (AAPL) iPhone. In addition to acquiring the application, Twitter is also picking up talent. Brichter's efforts were good for a 2009 Apple Design Award, and he'll be part of future efforts to get Twitter for the iPad off the ground.

Apple (AAPL) has been on a tear this March. Not only has the iPad fervor grown with the April 3rd release date, but rumors of the iPhone coming to Verizon Wireless have also helped propel the consumer electronics company to new market capitalization heights.

Get this: Apple has been in the top-five market cap list of U.S. companies several times, and has edged out blue chip Walmart (WMT) and is actually not too far away from longtime nemesis Microsoft (MSFT), which is in the second spot behind Exxon Mobil (XOM).

Dell's (DELL) is about to start thinking that it's newer Mini 5 hybrid device will be an Apple (AAPL) iPad competitor. Each device has not even been released yet, and there are competitive stirrings already afoot. The Dell unit, which looks like a large smartphone but not quite as large as a tablet computer, will bring a ton of Amazon (AMZN) services to bear in order to try and compete with the Apple content ecosystem that will surely blow all others away once the iPad starts shipping next month. Can an Amazon Kindle e-reader application pre-loaded on Dell's device really give an iPad a run for its money?

Taiwan's Acer has been on a tear recently. It markets the eMachines, Acer and Gateway computer brands and overtook Dell Inc. (DELL) recently to become the second-largest computer seller in the world. It may not be the most innovative, but it is selling a large amount of PCs every quarter. Its presence is large in the U.S. retail sector, where Dell's efforts over the last 18 months are still not where they need to be.

Now that Acer Chairman J.T. Wang wants to see Apple's (AAPL) new iPad tablet computer, one has to wonder why Acer cares at all. Although Amazon, Inc. (AMZN) already has the Kindle e-reader device (and ready to unveil a third-generation product to compete with Apple), Acer's Chairman may not realize that Apple is not wanting to compete as a tablet PC manufacturer.