While touch-screen applications get most of the attention among tablet users, could the browser be the real killer app

Claude Galipeau, Rogers Media’s Senior Vice President and General Manager of Digital Media, thinks so.

As part of our RedBoard series about how tablets are changing the way we live, work and play, we asked Galipeau about his tablet use and what’s next for this device category. For 2011, he sees fragmentation among operating systems and designs, similar to what has occurred in the smartphone space – and that will pose a challenge for those creating content for this technology.

1. How do you use your tablet?

I use it at home, at work, to browse the internet, play games, watch videos and email. I use it for a dual-screen experience when watching TV to check out the filmographies of actors on IMDB or to send a Facebook message to people about the shows that we’re watching. In terms of games, I often use it while traveling – especially on planes – to play games like NFS Shift or Chopper 2. And of course I watch video, especially on planes with noise canceling earphones.

2. What has surprised you most about the device?

The device isn’t bad as a work email device. I thought it would be more of an entertainment device.

3. What are your predictions for tablets in 2011?

There will be more competition for the iPad and fragmentation of the device ecosystem. We’re seeing many manufacturers with different operating systems supplying the market with devices and as a content producer, this is challenging because there are different optimizations required for each one. We have to play in both the app and browser ecosystem to be relevant and this makes it more difficult to quickly produce high quality products for our audiences and users.

In 2011, we’ll see the same kind of device fragmentation on tablets that occurred on mobile phones. Different operating systems and different form factors will be a challenge for designers.

4. If you were sent to a desert island and could take one device, would it be a tablet or another device? Which one and why?

Smartphone because of the texting and talking capabilities. I would use it to hear my wife and baby’s voices.

5. What’s your one must-have app?

The browser is my #1 app.  Our data shows that 60 per cent of users say the browser is their primary activity on the iPad. There may be hundreds of thousands of apps available on the iPad, but there are billions of web pages accessible off a browser.

Galipeau will be part of a panel entitled “Tablets and the Media” at Rogers TabLife TO tomorrow.

You can learn more about the event at tablife.ca. We’ll have full coverage of Rogers TabLife TO here on RedBoard and shortly after the event.

Miranda MacDonald is a regular contributor to RedBoard.

UPDATE (December 2, 1:10 PM): Alongside tomorrow’s event, we’ll be running a national contest where we’ll be giving away a Dell Streak and Samsung Galaxy Tab. To enter, all you have to do is tweet how a tablet could change your life for the better along with the hashtag #TabLife. Follow us @RogersBuzz on Twitter to learn more.