Tablets to hit PC sales : Gartner

Tablets will hit PC sales across the world as per Gartner. 387.8 million shipments were expected in 2011. This prediction is 15.9% lower than Gartner’s earlier prediction but a 10% increase from 2010. The trend will spill in to 2012 as well with an expected 440.6 million shipments or 13.6% increase over 2011. The main reason behind this downward projection is ‘loss of consumer enthusiasm in pc’s.

Where did the enthusiasm go?

The growth of PC’s which were primarily used to connect to the Internet is coming down. Smarphones, even the cheaper ones, carry a Wi-Fi and 3G capability in-built. This has reduced the pressure on the PC market. For someone who isn’t cool with the smaller screen can opt for a tablet which is always connected. Smartphones and most importantly tablets are hitting PC sales. No wonder everybody wants to be in the smartphone and tablet business.

The trend will spill in to professional markets too as companies dump aging machines to replace with slick desktops and laptops. Media tablets are being considered as viable PC alternatives. For the most part you don’t need a full computer. Tablets can be used for quick email reading, presentations, reading and research. The shipments for professional markets will not be as badly hit as home pc markets.

PC has limitations

Our good old PC and laptop is suddenly being shown the door and being exposed. Gartner predicts the reason for the downslide of PC’s is its limitations. I haven’t heard of any limitations to a computer until now. The two main limitations – lack of enough battery power to last a day and weight. Tablets solve the weight problem by ditching the keyboard and a lot of other components. Some tablets have the capacity to go for 10 hours. Something which many laptops fail to do. Does this mean, if PC’s improve on both the parameters, the shipments will kick start again?

Tablets as PC’s

Yet another report by Canalys has placed Apple as the third largest PC maker in the world. It’s not an error in calculations but consideration of iPad as a PC, which caused Apple to figure in the top 3. When that report was released it was brave. May be Gartner should include Tablets as PC’s too. That way there would be no us vs them discussion and companies who aren’t in the tablet game will jump in.

Source : Gartner