Does rise of tablets mean end of PCs
Business Technology | February 28, 2013
Is Web site Business Insider engaging in hyperbole when it declared the end of the era of the PC? Maybe. But there’s no doubt the boom days of the personal computer have ended. Just look at the growing demand for mobile computing. Consumers today are switching to their tablets and smartphones in increasing numbers to access the Internet. That is the primary reason why Business Insider’s editors aren’t too far off in forecasting the end of the PC’s computing dominance.
Consumers lukewarm toward PCs
It’s not that people will no longer buy PCs. They will. They just will not be buying them in as great of numbers. When they want to check their e-mail messages, update their Facebook pages and search for the phone number of that new Thai restaurant, they’ll be much more apt to punch up the Web on their smartphones or tablets. Business Insider uses data from IDC and Gartner to show that PC sales have been flat since 2009 while the quantity of smartphones sold has overtaken the number of PCs sold.
The era of the tablet?
It’s becoming increasingly clear that today’s consumers prefer to do their computing on tablets as an alternative to PCs. Business Insider points to data from IDC, Strategy Analytics and Gartner that show that tablet sales have become greater than PC sales. In fact, the story shows that consumers are buying more than one iPad per household. According to research data, more than 32 percent of consumers reported that their households contained two iPads as of July of 2012. And that’s only the start of our iPad mania. The same research found that 4.9 percent of households boasted more than four of the devices.
A dreary future for PCs?
PC makers shouldn’t count on a brighter future. As outlined by Business Insider, citing numbers from Nielsen, about 40 percent of consumers who are older than 13 would like to purchase a tablet in the next six months. That’s far more than the 19 percent that want to buy a computer. And if you think that’s bad, consider that young consumers, especially, seem to be weary of the PC. As outlined by Business Insider, more than 75 percent of young consumers want to buy a tablet in the next six months. Just 30 percent of young people are keen on buying a computer.
Is Web site Business Insider engaging in hyperbole when it declared the end of the era of the PC? Maybe. But there’s no doubt the boom days of the personal computer have ended. Just look at the growing demand for mobile computing. Consumers today are switching to their tablets and smartphones in increasing numbers to access the Internet. That is the primary reason why Business Insider’s editors aren’t too far off in forecasting the end of the PC’s computing dominance.
Consumers lukewarm toward PCs
It’s not that people will no longer buy PCs. They will. They just will not be buying them in as great of numbers. When they want to check their e-mail messages, update their Facebook pages and search for the phone number of that new Thai restaurant, they’ll be much more apt to punch up the Web on their smartphones or tablets. Business Insider uses data from IDC and Gartner to show that PC sales have been flat since 2009 while the quantity of smartphones sold has overtaken the number of PCs sold.
The era of the tablet?
It’s becoming increasingly clear that today’s consumers prefer to do their computing on tablets as an alternative to PCs. Business Insider points to data from IDC, Strategy Analytics and Gartner that show that tablet sales have become greater than PC sales. In fact, the story shows that consumers are buying more than one iPad per household. According to research data, more than 32 percent of consumers reported that their households contained two iPads as of July of 2012. And that’s only the start of our iPad mania. The same research found that 4.9 percent of households boasted more than four of the devices.
A dreary future for PCs?
PC makers shouldn’t count on a brighter future. As outlined by Business Insider, citing numbers from Nielsen, about 40 percent of consumers who are older than 13 would like to purchase a tablet in the next six months. That’s far more than the 19 percent that want to buy a computer. And if you think that’s bad, consider that young consumers, especially, seem to be weary of the PC. As outlined by Business Insider, more than 75 percent of young consumers want to buy a tablet in the next six months. Just 30 percent of young people are keen on buying a computer.