Is this really the end for the PC?
In 2012, smartphone and tablet shipments surpassed PC sales for the first time in history. With these new numbers, many experts believe that they are watching the death of the once powerful PC. Do you think this is really the end for the PC? Does it have any chance of regaining its prior glory?
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January 10, 2013 5:05 PM
UPDATED:
January 25, 2013 6:07 PM
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Nope. I can say no without actually thinking hard about it. lol. The reason is because PCs have so many more features than a tablet right now. Sure the tablet market is growing exceedingly fast but it cant replace PC at the moment. One reason is because tablets doesn't offer as much as a PC does in terms of its features and capabilities.For example im in the IT profession so obviously my PC is loaded with stuff. These include development software, gaming software, general purpose software, music, movies, videos, etc. etc.
I don't think a tablet can handle all the processing that i would normally do on a daily basis. Tablets are really for mobility. Its for users to access the more common technologies on the go, like checking emails, reading newspaper, reading books, browsing the net etc.
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I don’t think it will regain its prior glory, but I don’t think we are watching its death either.
In the past, many people had a PC just because they needed to surf the web and write e-mails, and there were no other means to do it than using a PC, but that is not the case any more. Now you can do that (and more) with your phone or a tablet, with the added benefit of mobility, so, why would they want to buy a PC?
However, there are many people that use PCs because they really need to do more complex and demanding tasks, and although more powerful tablets are starting to appear, I don’t think PCs are going to disappear, or at least not anytime soon.
It’s almost guaranteed never to regain its former glory. Most likely, PCs (as we think of them today) will become more and more a niche market.
They’ve always been much more than the vast majority of users need. I used them as business office devices because of the work I do. Most (non-IT) people I know use them for e-mail, chat and browser apps, with secondary uses now slowly migrating into browser apps. A few (non-IT) people will continue being ‘power’ users for games or a few business-like apps such as MS Office or Open Office. Those apps are even migrating into browsers, or being absorbed into tablets/laptops.
There is no longer a need for most buyers to purchase PCs. Because the need will certainly fall, demand will fall on the same curve. Buyers that continue will more and more be specialty buyers.
Tom
Good points everyone! For myself, I think the key will be when more apps/platforms become much more accessible and useable on tablets. It will certainly take a few years for this to go into full effect but the PC will definitely see a massive decline.