“One month before Apple shipped its first touch tablet, I predicted in this space that the iPad would become the ‘Children’s Toy of the Year,’” Mike Elgan writes for Computerworld.

“That column was somewhat controversial, because people were viewing the iPad as a high-end luxury item for technology fans, not a toy for children,” Elgan writes. “It turns out that the iPad was a combination of the two: It became the ‘toy’ of choice for the children of technology fans who buy high-end luxury items. iPads for children became a surprisingly huge phenomenon, which toy companies and others jumping on board with apps galore.”

Elgan writes, “In this piece, I’d like to predict, flat-out, that small touch tablets will finish what the iPad started, and become as much a part of kids culture as Barbie and Lego. The key attribute of smaller tablets is cheapness… The expected ‘iPad nano’ coming this year will probably start at a price at or below $250.”

“When Apple announced its series of educational and publishing initiatives in January, I moderated a live hangout with some incredible educators,” Elgan write. “I was struck by the unanimous belief that price was the main thing holding the iPad back from mass acceptance in schools — even for schools that can afford the price! …A $200 gadget, on the other hand, is something most schools would send kids home with.”

Read more in the full article here.