IDC: Tablets Outselling Desktops and Notebooks Put Together in the UK

[R0H1T]

It was clear that tablets were eating more and more of the market share of desktop and notebook PCs, but there are some countries where they have basically taken over.

Case in point, IDC looked at what happened in the United kingdom between January and March and discovered that 2.8 million tablets were shipped, which was more than the 2.3 million PC units.

And by PC units I mean not just desktops, but also notebooks and, to top it all off, Apple Macs too.

In other words, the 188% on-year rise in tablet sales placed slates on a stronger footing than desktops, laptops and Macs put together.

I can only imagine what will happen if similar conditions are found everywhere else. It might not happen immediately, but time passes on.

Source

 

[R0H1T]

Not sure if it belongs here but for anyone that is skeptical about the state of the traditional PC market then this piece of news should be a reminder that it's in a major tailspin(except for the high end/enterprise segment) & NO its not just because of win8 or metro !

 

[lagokc]

It makes sense that sales would be so good if you think of tablets as an extra $100-200 throwaway device that is portable and you won't cry if it gets stolen or destroyed. Those aren't replacing PCs, they're augmenting them.

It's the premium tablet market that confuses me but consumers are stupid.

 

[R0H1T]

It makes sense that sales would be so good if you think of tablets as an extra $100-200 throwaway device that is portable and you won't cry if it gets stolen or destroyed. Those aren't replacing PCs, they're augmenting them.

It's the premium tablet market that confuses me but consumers are stupid.

This isn't about replacing the whole PC but say if one were to upgrade their processor, in that 100~200$ range, but for some reason they went with a tablet then that loss of a couple of hundred bucks is on the PC industry's balance sheet & this stuff piles up pretty quickly, hence in a tailspin !

 

[Zap]

Those aren't replacing PCs, they're augmenting them.

That's my thought too. PCs and notebooks are a more mature market where people are purchasing only to replace one that is too old or broken. Tablets are the new cheap toy. Of COURSE they're gonna sell in huge numbers.

 

[lagokc]

This isn't about replacing the whole PC but say if one were to upgrade their processor, in that 100~200$ range, but for some reason they went with a tablet then that loss of a couple of hundred bucks is on the PC industry's balance sheet & this stuff piles up pretty quickly, hence in a tailspin !

Or people spend $100-200 less at nice restaurants. Very few people actually budget a fixed portion of their income to electronics, those on this board that do aren't really representative of the general population. :whiste:

Shrinking PC sales are not caused by tablets, it's because most people with a Core2Duo or better are happy with it and see no reason to upgrade.

 

[R0H1T]

Or people spend $100-200 less at nice restaurants. Very few people actually budget a fixed portion of their income to electronics, those on this board that do aren't really representative of the general population. :whiste:

Then how about those folks(including enthusiasts) postponing their planned upgrade because an AMD/Intel wasn't able to deliver on their level of expectations :|

Shrinking PC sales are not caused by tablets, it's because most people with a Core2Duo or better are happy with it and see no reason to upgrade.

I know that but even the replacement sales are going down at an accelerated pace !

 

[nyker96]

not surprising, most people I see nowadays got a tablet of some kind on the train, like iPad etc. that's where people spending money now. I don't blame them, for some apps it's really cool to get that nice touch screen interface. plus everyone already got a notebook at home so the pc market is pretty saturated.

 

[lagokc]

If you have an i7 Nehelem or Sandy Bridge how much are you really hurting from poor CPU performance? Do you really have anything you're CPU bound on that you care about enough that there aren't much better uses for the money? The problem isn't that next gen CPUs aren't good enough, it's that previous gen CPUs are more than good enough.

There just isn't software in common use that needs more CPU power than was available in 2008.

 

[R0H1T]

If you have an i7 Nehelem or Sandy Bridge how much are you really hurting from poor CPU performance? Do you really have anything you're CPU bound on that you care about enough that there aren't much better uses for the money? The problem isn't that next gen CPUs aren't good enough, it's that previous gen CPUs are more than good enough.

There just isn't software in common use that needs more CPU power than was available in 2008.

Alright then I'll take a poll on this matter.

 

[frozentundra123456]

That's my thought too. PCs and notebooks are a more mature market where people are purchasing only to replace one that is too old or broken. Tablets are the new cheap toy. Of COURSE they're gonna sell in huge numbers.

Exactly. Eventually the tablet craze will slow down. Maybe we should call it the tablet "bubble".

I am not saying they won't remain popular, but eventually the market will become saturated. Admittedly the market is large on the consumer end since tablets are so cheap that almost everyone in a relatively well off family can have one.

 

[frozentundra123456]

Alright then I'll take a poll on this matter.

Problem is your poll will not have a very representative base of the people that are buying cheap tablets in droves.

 

[frozentundra123456]

It is also somewhat deceptive to look at unit sales alone. The dollar sales could well have been higher for PC's than tablets.

 

[lagokc]

Exactly. Eventually the tablet craze will slow down. Maybe we should call it the tablet "bubble".

I am not saying they won't remain popular, but eventually the market will become saturated. Admittedly the market is large on the consumer end since tablets are so cheap that almost everyone in a relatively well off family can have one.

The tablet bubble will only pop when consumers are saturated with good enough tablets. We won't be there until A15 quads make it into sub $150 tablets.

 

[R0H1T]

Problem is your poll will not have a very representative base of the people that are buying cheap tablets in droves.

Option one should address it to an extent, with the computing option being added to tablet use.

 

[TY-1]

That's my thought too. PCs and notebooks are a more mature market where people are purchasing only to replace one that is too old or broken. Tablets are the new cheap toy. Of COURSE they're gonna sell in huge numbers.

There is also the very real difference of marketing between PC/Laptop/Notebook and Tablets. There is much more marketing for Tablets/Smartphones then there is for PC/Laptops/Notebooks. This marketing also focuses around the need for consumers to upgrade their Tablet/Smartphone every time a newer model comes out, just look at the iPad/iPhone. I think part of this has to be due to how marketers have convinced consumers that the make and model of Tablet/Smartphone is a status symbol, since these are mobile devices that Everyone will see you using and if you don't have the latest/greatest make and model then you just don't get it. We are not seeing similar marketing strategies for the PC/Laptop/Notebook market, or at least it is much more muted in the few cases where we do.

 

[lagokc]

poor software implementation

It isn't poor software implementation that's slowing PC sales. Poor software implementation was when software was coded so badly and with so much bloat that you needed to upgrade every year just to run basic applications.

It's GOOD software implementation that the minimum requirements for Windows 8 aren't 10x higher than for Windows 7. It's not the software developer's job to write code so inefficiently that it drives hardware sales.

 

[R0H1T]

It isn't poor software implementation that's slowing PC sales. Poor software implementation was when software was coded so badly and with so much bloat that you needed to upgrade every year just to run basic applications.

It's GOOD software implementation that the minimum requirements for Windows 8 aren't 10x higher than for Windows 7. It's not the software developer's job to write code so inefficiently that it drives hardware sales.

So you're saying that ~99% or more of the software(not just OS) that can't handle quad cores well enough enough is called as good coding ? FYI win8 doesn't have aero & the only other significant change to it has been in terms of security(early antimalware launch IIRC) & the scheduler for AMD processors nothing else, hence better performance & lower memory footprint!

 

[lagokc]

If your software only needs 10% of one core why even bother coding it to run across multiple threads? It isn't a problem of software not being optimized for fast processors, it's that software with a few notable exceptions simply does not need more CPU power.

We've reached feature saturation. There are no longer a lot of features that software developers can add to software that makes it require new hardware.

It sounds like you're disappointed that Microsoft Office 2013 doesn't need 8 cores to run at full speed.

 

[Idontcare]

The format is popular for a reason, it isn't like the motivation for buying a tablet is suddenly going to go away and people are going to say to themselves "gee I wish I had bought a desktop instead."

This forum and its PC-centric old-skool mindset reminds me of the guys in the 80's who swore no mobile-phone was ever going to replace the quality and desirability of a land-line telephone.

Keep the blinders on fellas, the world is going to pass you by regardless whether or not you want to acknowledge it, let alone join in. The internet is just a fad too. Snail mail FTW.

 

[R0H1T]

If your software only needs 10% of one core why even bother coding it to run across multiple threads? It isn't a problem of software not being optimized for fast processors, it's that software with a few notable exceptions simply does not need more CPU power.

We've reached feature saturation. There are no longer a lot of features that software developers can add to software that makes it require new hardware.

It sounds like you're disappointed that Microsoft Office 2013 doesn't need 8 cores to run at full speed.

What you're posting is a contrarian view because a lot of posters here have pretty much always said that better multicore scaling is definitely missing across a spectrum of programs(including but not just limited to games) but do they actually need such performance levels ~ that part is debatable.

Perhaps some of the others can chip in here

 

[frozentundra123456]

So you're saying that ~99% or more of the software(not just OS) that can't handle quad cores well enough enough is called as good coding ? FYI win8 doesn't have aero & the only other significant change to it has been in terms of security(early antimalware launch IIRC) & the scheduler for AMD processors nothing else, hence better performance & lower memory footprint!

The software gets the job done, usually with hardware that is several years old. That is why PC growth has slowed down. I don't care whether it efficiently coded or not. My job makes heavy use of office and data base software, and it all runs perfectly well on 2 or 3 generation old dual core Intel processors.

We are always trying to save money, but I an sure we could find the funds to upgrade our computers if it would enhance productivity. There is simply no need to.

So I don't think the problem is poor coding, since older machines run common software adequately.
If you said we need a new "killer app" for the PC to drive sales and upgrading, I would agree with that.

 

[blackened23]

Those aren't replacing PCs, they're augmenting them.

Keep kidding yourself with that statement when 95% of users are content with only media consumption, browsing, email, and light activity. I'll also add: some productivity applications which are thought to require a desktop PC, don't anymore - there are some very creative uses for tablets and productivity. I've seen it in various workplaces.

Anyway - If you look at the usage pattern of up and coming teens these days they absolutely don't need a full fledged PC for what they want a computing device for. Don't delude yourself into thinking otherwise - some people MIGHT, but saying everyone is augmenting a desktop with a tablet is just ridiculous. Maybe 10 years ago when desktop PCs were mandatory for even basic browsing, but that obviously isn't the case now. Like IDC said, don't let your old school pre-conceived notions fool you - The computing world is very very different now than when you were an up and coming teenager.

 

[lagokc]

What you're posting is a contrarian view because a lot of posters here have pretty much always said that better multicore scaling is definitely missing across a spectrum of programs(including but not just limited to games) but do they actually need such performance levels ~ that part is debatable.

Perhaps some of the others can chip in here

What you have to understand is that is a very tiny subset of programs that exist and those programs are important only to a tiny subset of computer users. Sure, I could always use a bit more CPU power for video encoding or a few other tasks but these are things that 99% of people will never do.

The vast majority of consumers couldn't tell you the difference between a Conroe and a Haswell and as long as it runs the applications they care about (none of which stress the CPU), they don't care.

 

[Magic Carpet]

Personally, I don't need a desktop/laptop anymore, iPhone 5 does everything I need, minus content creation and FPS gaming. And when I need to type something, there is Microsoft Surface with a USB hub.

No fans, no big spendings on electricity. Life is good