I think the tablet wars will come to an abrupt end without a distinct winner as the consumers refrain from buying tablets in numbers when they realise they have no use for such a device.
Indeed. If Apple have proven anything it's that their fad devices open the floodgates for competitors to release better, less expensive alternatives. With that said, the Compaq iPaq, the Palm, and innumerable other palmtop computing devices are nothing but curious relics of the past now. I imagine as full featured notebook prices continue to plummet to subterranean depths, the already shallow and narrow niche that tablets fill will almost completely* disappear.
*=the iPad will continue to sell to the latte drinker/soccer mom "class", of course.
