Is it the end of PC?

QuintonB

QuintonB

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The end of the PC?

The first decline in personal computer sales in a decade has prompted analysts to ask whether tablets will kill the PC, writes Alistair Fairweather
 
PC = customisation

IMO the PC market might eventually be in real trouble of becoming obsolete, when tablets and "real" smartphones become cheaper, more powerfull and more commonplace than PC's.

PC's will however still have the greatest advantage of them all which is customisation of any PC system by the user, something a tablet or smartphone will never be able to equal.:)
 
They have been saying this for years, and I personally think that desktop PC's will be around for a while still, maybe not in it's current form (large tower box, etc.), but they will be around.

What I think will be the future is centralized computing, one centralized processing unit divided amongst all users, almost like thin clients, just a lot more powerful and practical (think 3d acceleration and greater processing power) with tablets also linking into this system. Multiple core CPUs, GPUs and real time virtualization is slowly heading in this direction.

My 2c anyway.
 
pc not going to die anytime soon

not to say long-term it won't happen
 
lol. I'll start taking this stuff seriously when they create CPU/GPUs that don't pump out heat. Confined spaces like tablet cases will always blow when it comes to temp management.

PC might become a niche market though if the angry birds crowd gains more ground.
 
The problem with the article is that it echo's the opinions of analysts who clearly do not understand what is happening behind the figures. Tablets and 'smartphones' are fun to play with utilizing applications in the 'cloud' (which douchebag came up with that name?). PC sale figures will improve when people realise that tablets and over powered smartphones are really just toys and go back to traditional systems.
 
I can see a future where 1 central pc box will the hoist for all entertainment, internet etc and Tablets will connect wifi to it. The day of each child having a traditional pc in there room is a thing of the past.

Imagine a digital lirbary of multimedia accessible to the entire family at a touch of a screen. I like the thought of that :p
 
I think the laptop and ultrabook market will take a hit after windows 8 and surface is out but nothing on the market today can replace the good ol desktop. I personally need a powerhouse pc for video and image editing and to play the odd BF3 and theres no tablet or notebook that has that power.
 
MyWorld said:
They have been saying this for years, and I personally think that desktop PC's will be around for a while still, maybe not in it's current form (large tower box, etc.), but they will be around.

What I think will be the future is centralized computing, one centralized processing unit divided amongst all users, almost like thin clients, just a lot more powerful and practical (think 3d acceleration and greater processing power) with tablets also linking into this system. Multiple core CPUs, GPUs and real time virtualization is slowly heading in this direction.

My 2c anyway.
Click to expand...

Desktop PC as a home device could be thing of the past pretty soon but the Desktop PC will live on forever in offices and businesses.
 
What was totally missed out in the article is the fact that PCs have finally got to the point where they are fast enough for most uses and no longer need upgrading. We only replace our PCs when they break down, not just because there is a newer faster model. Of course gamers are still an exception, but even their upgrade cycle has slowed. This means that instead of replacing every 3 years we are closer to a 5-10 year replacement cycle. That alone cuts the market for replacement PCs by 50%.
 
twhitehead said:
What was totally missed out in the article is the fact that PCs have finally got to the point where they are fast enough for most uses and no longer need upgrading. We only replace our PCs when they break down, not just because there is a newer faster model. Of course gamers are still an exception, but even their upgrade cycle has slowed. This means that instead of replacing every 3 years we are closer to a 5-10 year replacement cycle. That alone cuts the market for replacement PCs by 50%.
Click to expand...

Very very true!

So a 350 million units per year industry slowed down a bit and this article calls it the END of that industry?!

Of course it's not the end of the PC by a long shot, but we are entering a new computing era. We've gone from mainframe computing in the old days into pcs everywhere and now the next era is devices everywhere. But still a lot of serious computer users will have tablets and smartphones in addition to their traditional pc where all the real work gets done. PC numbers will probably decline for many different reasons, but it's not the end of it yet.
 
Until a tablet can provide sufficient memory (8GB Ram and upwards), at least a 3.0GHz processor, at least an internal HDD of at least 1TB, support for external storage as well, the capability of running all Windows-based programs (including the full Office package), the PC will not be going anywhere.

PC Sales will go up and down, so will that of laptops, netbooks and even the tablet itself, but many people actually need PCs for various reasons. Workplaces cannot replace PCs with Tablets mainly due to their restrictions.

The decline in PC sales are most likely directly influenced by the financial economy and not the impact Tablets have.

The tablet will only have a real impact on PC sales once they can provide everything a PC does.
 
No, Tablets and phones will not kill the normal PC...

They complement each other.

The power behind the tablet and the phone is not entirely the issue, its the screen real estate that is key with the PC itself.
 
In my home we will be buying two more tablets but these purchases are not replacing PCs or laptops as neither of these devices are suitable for where these tablets will be used.

Saying tablets will kill the PC is just resurrecting the laptops will kill the desktop debate
 
Just flashed my first tablet yesterday for the first time (a client's). Safe to say, without a pc I wouldn't be able to search for the info, download the firmware or do the task.
 
Pc is going nowhere. It's just that nowdays even entry level Pc's are already so powerfull that the need to upgrade regularly has diminished.
 
There are hundreds of things that a PC can do that a tablet cannot. Architectural drawings, Photoshop, accurate manipulation of images, desktop publishing. Sure you can overcome some of these by attaching a monitor, keyboard and mouse but this is not as portable as a tablet
 
PCs will never go away. They are here to stay. They may get a lot smaller, but people still like to customise their with their chosen parts which means they will remain interchangeable.
 
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