Tablet PC vs. PC

With tablet PC sales soaring worldwide and the iPad 3 on its way, I will be looking at whether  tablet pc’s will take over PC’s.

Tablet PC Growth

When Apple announced plans to launch the iPad a couple of years ago, there were those who were unsure of how successful the device would be. Some critics thought that it was neither a PC nor Smartphone and that it had no real use within the market. However, sales for the iPad soared, proving to be a success with the release of the iPad 2 last year and the iPad 3 to be released soon. On the back of the success of the iPad, many companies including Samsung and Toshiba have released their own Tablet PC’s to enter the lucrative market.

 Why is the Tablet PC so successful?

There are a number of reasons for why the iPad is so successful; its main appeal is its approachable touchscreen interface that people universally find easy to use. A study by the NPD Group last year showed that the top three things that consumers have been doing with iPads are surfing the web, writing and checking e-mails and playing games. NPD also found that iPad owners regularly use their devices for social networking, watching videos and reading e-books with their light weight portability making it a real crowd pleaser. This shows that the iPad is a very versatile platform and an ideal means of ‘consuming’ information.

NPD wrote, “While lots of choices and compromises go into the development of any product, especially something as different as the iPad, these results indicate that most consumers are satisfied with their purchase and are increasingly finding ways to interact with their iPad.”

 

Projected Tablet Growth to 2015

 

Gartner researched that Tablet PC’s will be selling 60% as many units as PC’s by 2015. Furthermore, they predict that Apple’s iPad will still have almost half the market by then. Below is a table of Gartner’s sales forecasts from 2010 to 2015:

 

PC Decline

 

Whilst the PC is suffering a decline in sales, tablet PC’s, smartphones and e-readers continue to increase in popularity. It’s a tough marketplace for the PC at this moment of time and they no longer have a monopoly over the marketplace like they used to.  The UK PC market suffered its worst decline is sales for five years in the last quarter of 2011 according to Gartner, a 19.6% decline upon last year. The last quarter of 2011 also saw a decrease in sales by 13. 5% in the professional sector.

 

Other than the increase in the popularity of alternative PC devices, the current economic climate has had just as big an impact on PC sale figures along with the lack of innovation.  Ranjit Atwal, Research Director at Gartner, said:

"The PC has not changed as consumers and users have changed their habits,"

"One thing the PC makers have not done over the last few years is make products that are innovative in terms of compelling features and novel form factors."

 

"There's the need for a fundamental re-think of how we make these gadgets compelling,"

 For more of Ranjit Atwal’s views on PC growth visit, click here.

 PC manufacturers have already tried slashing prices to no avail. The PC market requires innovation more than anything in order to attract consumer interest and to push growth. The only PC platform to have increased its sales figures compared to last year is the Apple Mac, perhaps the most innovative out of all the manufacturers in the table above.

New Hope

There is hope ahead for the PC market with even Gartner predicting that things can only get better, and it’s hoped that major new games with heavily enriched graphics will help to drive upgrades. Ultrabooks released from the end of the last year is also expected to help reignite PC sales figures. The term Ultrabook was provided by Intel for a new generation of portable PC’s featuring their technology, however, it is now being used as a catch-all term for light, thin and ultraportable laptops.

Intel has reported that Ultrabooks have “ultra-capabilities” including greater battery power, instant-on, quick standby and enhanced security features. They also believe that the Ultrabook will be a lighter alternative to tablet devices for those who prefer to work with a full QWERTY keyboard.  To find out about Ultrabooks to be released in 2012 you can click here.

Summary

It’s expected that sales will continue to increase for tablet PC’s in the near future but not at the expense of the PC.  Tablet PC’s are still relatively new and fresh, appealing to the masses.  It’s true to say that the PC has had a tough time of it over the last few years competing with new innovative devices, however there is no doubt that the PC will bounce back in the near future and once again find a place in consumers hearts.It’s expected that sales will continue to increase for tablet PC’s in the near future but not at the expense of the PC.  Tablet PC’s are still relatively new and fresh, appealing to the masses.  It’s true to say that the PC has had a tough time of it over the last few years competing with new innovative devices, however there is no doubt that the PC will bounce back in the near future and once again find a place in consumers hearts.

Is the iPhone 4S a letdown?

Apple yesterday announced the launch of their latest smartphone device, the iPhone 4S. After the months of rumours and anticipation for the iPhone 5, it’s fair to say that everyone was rather disappointed.

The iPhone 4S looks just like the iPhone 4 on the outside but with improvements on the inside. It has to be remembered that Apple has a track record of releasing products in a similar fashion in the past. After the iPhone 3G, the 3GS was released, which similarly evolved around changes to the inside of the phone. Similar behaviours can be seen in Apple’s updates to their laptops and tablet computers. Earlier on this year, the launch of iPad 2 met a similar air of disenchantment, nevertheless it ‘s how Apple operates strategically by releasing tidy regular updates before a major overhaul of the product to burst it back into life. While many feel letdown that it was an iPhone 4S released and not an iPhone 5, it does not mean that we should necessarily write the product off. Not at all, the 4S in fact has a swifter processor, an improved camera, more built-in storage and faster cellular data networking that works in a greater number of places with now both CDMA and GSM hardware built-in.

In addition the iPhone 4S-specific Siri voice recognition has added much needed spice to the launch of the iPhone 4S. It is the feature that will set tongues wagging with the ability to accurately interpret instructions and turn them into actions. Apple for now has surpassed Google with its Siri voice recognition software, taking it to the next level. The iPhone 4S seems an ideal replacement for those with 3GS models looking for an update, but not so much for those who have an iPhone 4.

Apple has been losing considerable smartphone market share over the past year. The problem is that the rest of its smartphone competitors appear to be moving at a faster rate, reaping the benefits of offering frequent new models that are running on operating systems made by other companies. Whereas Apple has to wait for an OS update before it can make any major changes to their products.

Apple’s goal is to essentially gain a greater share in not only the smartphone market but the handset market as a whole. Apple CEO Tim Cook pointed towards this at the iPhone 4S unveiling yesterday:

"Despite all of this success and all of this momentum, the iPhone has a 5 percent share of the worldwide market of handsets. I could have shown you a much larger number if I just showed you smartphones, but that's not how we look at it," Cook said. "We look at the entire market of handsets because we believe that over time, all handsets become smartphones. This market is 1.5 billion units annually. It's an enormous opportunity for Apple."

Apple’s plan of attack appears to be in full swing. In addition to the 4S, Apple will continue selling the iPhone 4 and 3GS. The firm has always been renowned for continuing to offer their previous year’s handset, but the 3GS will also be available free of charge. This is the first time that the company will be offering a device with no charge up front on a carrier contract. Apple has been suffering a decline in iPod sales over the past few years, selling 20% fewer in its third quarter than in the same period last year. Although Apple effectively dominates the MP3 market, the prominent rise of the smartphone market has led to the iPod nearing the end of its life cycle. The move to make the 3GS free of charge could potentially eat up iPod sales, but in context it appears that CEO Tim Cook has picked the right time in order to reach a wider audience.

Many took to the web to express their feelings on the iPhone 4S. Overall there appeared a mixed reaction, but there was an underlying sense of disapproval that it was not an iPhone 5, which begs the question is the iPhone 4S a letdown?...No, not in the slightest, the reason why is that people will still be queuing up around the block for it and without doubt it will go onto outsell last year’s model!

Steve Jobs steps down as CEO of Apple

Apple co-founder Steve Jobs has resigned from his position as Chief Executive for the company and his right-hand man Tim Cook will be taking over.

Mr Jobs has suffered from poor health for some time, having recently undergone a liver transplant for pancreatic cancer in 2009. He said that he was no longer able to fulfil his CEO commitments and will now become chairman of the firm.

In a short letter to the Apple board, Mr Jobs wrote:

"I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple's chief executive, I would be the first to let you know.

"Unfortunately, that day has come. I hereby resign as chief executive of Apple.

"I believe Apple's brightest and most innovative days are ahead of it. And I look forward to watching and contributing to its success in a new role.

"I have made some of the best friends of my life at Apple, and I thank you all for the many years of being able to work alongside you."

Tributes have been flooding in for Steve Jobs from social networking sites and around the globe. Trip Hawkins, who spent his early years working on multimedia at Apple and is now CEO of Digital Chocolate said:

“Steve is the most remarkable person I have ever known. I consider him the greatest CEO in history because he rescued Apple and Pixar at the same time, and both were major turnarounds. Most CEOs never achieve a successful turnaround or even a pivot, and they are very hard to do in large corporations. Steve defined our generation and if the history books only mention one person from this period it will be him.”

Mr Jobs is viewed by many to be the person that masterminded Apple’s journey to become one the world’s biggest companies. Mr Jobs co-founded Apple in the 1970’s with Steve Wozniak. Apple’s first Macintosh was released in 1984 and their follow up models became hugely popular throughout the 1980’s. In 1987, Mr Jobs left the company after a fall out with the colleagues and later joined Pixar Animations, playing a pivotal role in turning around their fortunes.

In 1997, Mr Jobs returned to begin Apple’s transformation into an eventual market leader by launching the colourful iMac Computer. Then in 2002, the iPod was released and revolutionised the personal music-player market. It was this product that laid down the foundations for the company’s success over the past decade.

Apple went onto release the iPhone, which similarly inspired change in the Smartphone market. Although the iPad came under initial criticism upon its release, it too went on to become hugely popular. Apple’s design and innovation engineered their success to become one of the world’s most sought after brands.

The company recently became the most valuable firm in the US after its market capitalisation overtook that of oil company Exxon Mobil. Nevertheless, Steve Jobs's resignation as Apple CEO has wiped billions of dollars off its stock market value in a short time period, as traders worry over the company's long-term future without its visionary leader.