Update: Has The Tablet Finally Killed The PC?

The tablet has become our little mobile friend, which explains why PC sales have declined.

Update: We heard it all before, tablets are killing PC sales, but does anyone truly believe it? According to CNN money, Lenovo is the only profitable PC manufacturer. What does the future hold for the PC market?

Lenovo PC

PC shipments have fallen 14% since this time last year. Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker says this decline has been the worst they’ve recorded since they started tracking the PC market 19 years ago. Netbooks sales continue to decline due to the perceived failure of Windows 8 – a double whammy for Microsoft who still has high hopes for its latest operating system. Furthermore, tablet based operating systems, such as those offered on Surface Pro have proved to be too complex and expensive to appeal to mobile users. So where does that leave the PC segment? Worldwide Quarterly suggests PCs will remain in the workplace, where people still have a need for personal computing.

Smartphone – The Giant Killer

The office is perhaps the only place where one cannot be caught goofing off on a smartphone; the wisdom of the workplace PC will hold true in the coming years. Even still, more and more of us prefer to read emails, news, listen to music and view all our favorite media on our smart-phones. Especially when you consider the cost of a monthly data plan, and the wonderful speed offered by the 4G LTE network, why would any of us choose to digress? If anything, Android and Apple will continue to take hold of a technology segment that was traditionally occupied by PC manufacturers. HTC’s latest Android phone is something to watch out for. If Apple doesn’t respond with a better iPhone this year, they might just lose their grip. Stay tuned.

Original Posting from 1/15/2013

PC sales have flatlined and will continue to decline. But will the tablet totally kill off the PC?

According to Gartner reports, the PC market has only experienced declining sales 3 times since the mid-1980’s. The first decline occurred in 1985 – a few years after PCs hit the market.

The second came in 2001 following the dot-com crash and the most recent in 2012. So does that mean the writing is on the wall for PC manufacturers? Possibly, though the numbers suggest that the PC will stay around for quite a while. What really has happened is that Wi-Fi enabled tablets have changed the way we consume media on the go. Laptops weren’t half as capable 10-15 years ago, not like today when your favorite mobile computing device has become your best friend.

Our Mobile Best Friend

Consumers have become smitten with the thin structure and small screen size of tablets, which explains why PC sales have declined. Now suddenly, tablets are our PC. But I really wouldn’t want to work all day on a tablet like I do on laptop. I digress. In 2012, leading manufacturers sold $350 million worth of tablets. 6 Years ago, PC manufactures moved about 270 million PCs. Compare that to the 240 million tablets manufacturers expect to sell this year and one thing is clear: Tablets have broken up the market – they haven’t replaced but they have definitely put a dent in PC sales.

Tablets Are Getting Smaller Not Larger

For some, tablet screens are simply too small to work on every day, and quite frankly, no one really wants a bigger tablet. That would defeat the purpose as portability is a big part of the tablet charm. Tablets with keyboards place themselves neatly before a 13 inch laptop, but large screened tablet sales are declining, which backs up the point further: tablets aren’t replacing PCs as the end-all be-all computing device. They simply cater to different needs . The hype is just hype – unless you’re completely head-over-heels over your new tablet. Have you gotten rid of your PC yet? More importantly, do you think the PC will go away within the next ten-fifteen years?

Will the #PC survive the #tablet craze? @gartner_inc reports say no. bit.ly/W5wDrJ

– Colocation America (@ColocationUSA) January 15, 2013

For more information James Mulvey