PC shipments fall as customers opt for tablets

[Kris777]

Tablet computers such as the iPad are now more popular in Western Europe than desktops, laptops and netbooks



Worldwide shipments of tablet computers are set to top 150m in 2015, according to forecasts by the New York-based ABI Research.

The research firm said on Tuesday that tablet shipments would become "mass market" this year, reaching 50m sales worldwide. According to ABI Research, Apple's iPad accounted for 75% of all tablets shipped around the world in the second quarter of 2011, with 20% sold by manufacturers running Google's Android software.

Full article

What is the most popular Android tablet now, Samsung?

[covfam]

i think the reson why tablets are taking off is that the average american doesnt need a computer or two. unless your doing heavy photo/movie/music editing or programminng or using autocad like software you dont need a pc.

When you look at the average person most of thier time on computers were on social sites, reading on the internet , listening to music watching videos getting thier news and light time waster games.
With Tablets wether its an android tablet or ipad.. and on top of that you can do all the other porductivity stuff the average american uses on the tablet... it used to be you NEEDED a computer to do all that, now you dont.

The personal computer is quickly turning into a School & Work tool like it was in the 60's 70's and 80's and only hobbiests will use them for entertainment again. Heck id do everything I do on a tablet if they would play my higher quality games ... thats the one thing so far tablets cant match pc & console gaming but in a few more years it will catch up.. im already seeing halfway decent MMO's and strategy games becomeing available to the tablets they will get better and then gamers will nolonger need a pc or console.

[RainingLemur]

Originally Posted by covfam

...gamers will nolonger need a pc or console.

I will. I can't see myself doing dedicated gaming on a touch-screen only device. Strategy games are one thing, because there isn't really a need for intricate controls, and they're often times turn-based.

For me, a twitch-shooter NEEDS a mouse and keyboard control set-up and my hack-n-slash types need to put a controller in my hands. I also can't really, in good faith, attempt to play some games (like Mario and Wii sports) with my 4-year-old with a tablet. I know that you're talking some years in the future, but I really don't think that PC and console gaming are going to be going anywhere aside from straight digital distribution and ticking off a lot of gamers who enjoy some type of physical medium.

[ebusinesstutor]

I don't think I could move totally to a tablet. I do a lot of writing so I use two screens - one to write on and one for my research.

Also my favorite online game VGA Planets NU doesn't work on Android yet...

I do take my tablet when I travel now that the US can seize your electronic devices without cause and hold them for months while looking for incriminating data.

Nothing illegal on my computer, but couldn't be without my business laptop for that long and I don't want my customer data in others hands. So the tablet is my business computer for those trips.

Having said that, I am using the tablet in ways I didn't think I would. While watching the Tudors on Netfilx, I might look up the real historical information on King Henry VIII and his times and compare it to the series. Something I didn't bother moving the laptop to do.

[xg4bx]

not with me. i still completely fail to see the point of tablets.

[xg4bx]

Originally Posted by RainingLemur

I will. I can't see myself doing dedicated gaming on a touch-screen only device. Strategy games are one thing, because there isn't really a need for intricate controls, and they're often times turn-based.

For me, a twitch-shooter NEEDS a mouse and keyboard control set-up and my hack-n-slash types need to put a controller in my hands. I also can't really, in good faith, attempt to play some games (like Mario and Wii sports) with my 4-year-old with a tablet. I know that you're talking some years in the future, but I really don't think that PC and console gaming are going to be going anywhere aside from straight digital distribution and ticking off a lot of gamers who enjoy some type of physical medium.

amen. i will always need the tactile feedback that a controller provides. i can't fathom trying to play something like mortal kombat on a tablet. it might be great for angry birds but halo? forget about it.

[petermillard]

Another reason for the decline in PC sales/shipments could be that people are just hanging onto them longer - you need to be a pretty hard-core gamer to justify upgrading your PC annually these days, and for most people's relatively modest usage most PCs are far and away more than 'good enough'. So by that logic, if you already have a 'good enough' PC or laptop, why upgrade it just because it's a couple of years old? Why not try a tablet instead and see what the fuss is about?

I think this scenario is one that's being repeated in many households, across many countries - doesn't mean that PC sales are going away, but they're definitely being spread out over longer periods.

Cheers, Pete.

[Graham]

Also, the numbers in the article seem a bit shaky. For a start it doesn't give a comparative figure for tablet shipments last quarter to the 12.7 million PCs shipped in the quarter in Western Europe.

From the Strategy Analytics report that we've been discussing in another thread we know that global tablet shipments for Q2 were 15.1 million units.

I find it very hard to believe that more than 12.7 million of those were in Western Europe, with less than 2.4 million sold in the rest of the world...

Graham

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by covfam

i think the reson why tablets are taking off is that the average american doesnt need a computer or two. unless your doing heavy photo/movie/music editing or programminng or using autocad like software you dont need a pc.

Why do you say "the average american"? Do you think that the needs of Americans are different from those of any other nationality?

[covfam]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Why do you say "the average american"? Do you think that the needs of Americans are different from those of any other nationality?

Nope not at all harry But ive never lived in europe so to be honest i dont get to see the average britain or german etc, and it would be wrong for me to make a statement about europeans with out any experience with them.

My experience living in almost every region of the united states both urban and rural has let me see/meet/live with the average american.

[Toxaris]

I very much doubt it. I think tablets are sold more than a year ago, but that is not causing the PC market to fall. I don't think the number of tablets is high enough for that and don't forget, for most things tablets just won't suffice.
It is my opinion, that users tend to longer use their PC because the big speed improvements in user experience which you had in the earlier years are becoming less and less. There is basically less reason to upgrade.
Most users still use windows and both releases 7 and Vista have the same system requirements. On Linux it is even easier to work with 'older' hardware.

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by xg4bx

not with me. i still completely fail to see the point of tablets.

They have their uses. One of them is that they're usually smaller, handier and turn on faster. And thus are handy when you're sitting on the couch and want to check something. (talking about private use only!)

Originally Posted by RainingLemur

I will. I can't see myself doing dedicated gaming on a touch-screen only device. Strategy games are one thing, because there isn't really a need for intricate controls, and they're often times turn-based.

For me, a twitch-shooter NEEDS a mouse and keyboard control set-up and my hack-n-slash types need to put a controller in my hands. I also can't really, in good faith, attempt to play some games (like Mario and Wii sports) with my 4-year-old with a tablet. I know that you're talking some years in the future, but I really don't think that PC and console gaming are going to be going anywhere aside from straight digital distribution and ticking off a lot of gamers who enjoy some type of physical medium.

I'd love Civ for Android!

Originally Posted by petermillard

Another reason for the decline in PC sales/shipments could be that people are just hanging onto them longer - you need to be a pretty hard-core gamer to justify upgrading your PC annually these days, and for most people's relatively modest usage most PCs are far and away more than 'good enough'. So by that logic, if you already have a 'good enough' PC or laptop, why upgrade it just because it's a couple of years old? Why not try a tablet instead and see what the fuss is about?

I think this scenario is one that's being repeated in many households, across many countries - doesn't mean that PC sales are going away, but they're definitely being spread out over longer periods.

Cheers, Pete.

Originally Posted by Toxaris

I very much doubt it. I think tablets are sold more than a year ago, but that is not causing the PC market to fall. I don't think the number of tablets is high enough for that and don't forget, for most things tablets just won't suffice.
It is my opinion, that users tend to longer use their PC because the big speed improvements in user experience which you had in the earlier years are becoming less and less. There is basically less reason to upgrade.
Most users still use windows and both releases 7 and Vista have the same system requirements. On Linux it is even easier to work with 'older' hardware.

I think both of these three statements have truths. I do think that gaming has something to do with the decline of laptop sales and increase of tablets. But not for the gamer. But rather for the casual gamer (example: my mother. She playes mostly bejeweled on her smartphone and some scrabble game with my brother). But the real gamer wouldn't even think about exchanging his/her game pc (or laptop) with a tablet.

But we're also in a recession (it waxes and wanes, but we've been in a recession for some time already). Do you really think people will buy new PC's while the older one is still good enough? Especially as the speed difference is not really noticeable for the average user. And as they don't have a tablet yet, and tablets are the hype of today, they'll buy a tablet instead.

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

Makes sense. Yes, I think most people don't need a full PC for their regular use; tablets are often faster, always lighter, sometimes cheaper and very convenient; and tablets will only become more versatile (for instance, when more peripheral devices like keyboards, game consoles, etc, can be added to them) and remove the need to have a PC for those things.

People often see articles like this as saying, essentially, "New Thing will soon eradicate Old Thing," and I don't think that will happen, at least no time soon. But in the same way that cellphones are replacing a lot of landline phones, tablets will replace a lot of PCs down the line.

[DiapDealer]

People often see articles like this as saying, essentially, "New Thing will soon eradicate Old Thing," and I don't think that will happen, at least no time soon. But in the same way that cellphones are replacing a lot of landline phones, tablets will replace a lot of PCs down the line.

True enough. But I think this study is simply a case "New Thing will Initially Out-sell Old Thing Until Luster Wears off New Thing." "What Have You Done for Me Lately?" will still rule the day.

Portable computing needs to overcome the technological barrier of (high-quality) displays being limited to the physical dimensions of the hardware itself before they have any real chance of replacing the PC. Most people are only settling for 10" screens, not preferring them (for all their computing needs).

[anamardoll]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

True enough. But I think this study is simply a case "New Thing will Initially Out-sell Old Thing Until Luster Wears off New Thing." "What Have You Done for Me Lately?" will still rule the day.

Portable computing needs to overcome the technological barrier of (high-quality) displays being limited to the physical dimensions of the hardware itself before they have any real chance of replacing the PC. Most people are only settling for 10" screens, not preferring them (for all their computing needs).

Maybe we'll soon get to the point where a tablet and a desktop ARE the same thing -- dock the tablet into the station and then you've got your bigger monitor and hard keyboard right there, but when you've got to get up and go, yank the tablet and take it with you. That'd work for most of my desktop needs.

Outside of the LOTRO addiction, of course.