Steve Jobs Predicts Tablets will Replace PCs
Steve Jobs Predicts Tablets will Replace PCs
Posted 06/03/2010 at 12:01pm
| by Paul Lilly
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In this week's edition of "Steve Jobs Said What!?," the CEO Maximum PC readers love to loathe told The Wall Street Journal PCs aren't long for this world, while devices like tablets are the wave of the future.
"The transformation of the PC to new form factors like the tablet is going to make some people uneasy because the PC has taken us a long ways," Jobs said in response to a question by The Wall Street Journal's Steve Mossberg. "The PC is brilliant ... and we like to talk about the post-PC era, but it's uncomfortable."
Jobs went on to say that "PCs are like trucks," making a reference to a time when trucks used by farmers were more common than cars. Does he have a point?
"He's certainly being provocative," said Avi Greengart of Current Analysis. "It's a bit too early to tell whether tablets will displace PCs for most users."
What do you think? Will tablets ever replace PCs?
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Ceadderman
January 19, 2011 at 4:00am
I was thinking about it(and supported by the latest issue which includes an Acer dual screen notebook ad) and I have to say that the tablet PC is already outdated.
The problem with a tablet PC is that it's flat and is cumbersome in how it is used. It's not heavy at all. But the problem lies in the fact that you have to support it to view it. Not too big a deal for the younger generations, but this leads to neck strain and finding uncomfortable positions to use one. Set it in your lap and your neck is cocked down. In your hand in front of you and you eventually(within minutes) have to adjust to be comfortable. Laying down, you still have to hold the pad to an optimal viewing angle to use. Ever try to write on an unsupported tablet of paper? Can't do it. At least not without some work involved.
But if I use a Notebook, I can do every task a tablet PC can do and more. On top of that I can set the bloomin thing on the coffee table, plug a USB keyboard(wireless or otherwise) and mouse in and still be productive because I'm not spending more time adjusting to remain comfortable and I can set it to alleviate the strain on my neck.
Tablets have their place but not in my house. lol
JE_Delta
June 12, 2010 at 5:50pm
Tablets will just replace the current portable PCs (Netbooks and Laptops)
The Desktop is here to stay for quite a while longer.
trekkiebill
June 08, 2010 at 9:28pm
Steve Jobs is so used to being number two, that he now thinks and speaks like a pile of number two.
Ceadderman
June 07, 2010 at 5:57pm
I think that each has its place. But tablets won't replace the PC. They'll supplement what a PC does, but they won't outright replace them. Not so long as there is money to be made in the enthusiast market(yes, I know, we're a small piece of the market) will tablets gain a foothold. If anything tablets will replace notebooks. Probably not netbooks because they're already in a small form factor, but would you rather lug a cumbersome notebook or a svelte tablet around in your cargo bag?
The only reason I can see a tablet having an edge over a PC, is that you can move around the room with a tablet as easily as a pad of paper. The thing is that I can put together a NICE system connect it to just about any size screen(wirelessly or otherwise) and with a wireless Keyboard and Mouse perform the same tasks(even gaming) as well as if I were sitting at the desk with my monitor 3 feet in front of me at max.
"If at first you don't succeed... Shoot the summabiotch. Problem solved."
pcmaximus
June 05, 2010 at 10:43pm
i know steve jobs is wrong because i am doing the opposite of what he is saying/predicting.
i am doing it now and continue to do so in the future. pc always for me.
eric0rr
June 05, 2010 at 3:48pm
the only thing that could change, isthat tablets might hit the netbook producers hard, with the driod getting dual processors in its next generation of phones, i can see tablets getting much better too, but it wouldn't hurt desktops, maybe laptops if the apple fanboys decide they would rather an ipad or the mac, but as far as netbook goes.... possibly, but once more companies get their hat into the ring, apple wont be the one replacing those netbooks, and the ipad will have to remain in its current standings, at best!
sybert
June 05, 2010 at 11:45am
Tablets won't replace desktop computer of anykind. I'd much rather use my mouse, keyboard, and multi-core desktop with it's dual monitors to edit video, audio, and images.
admobadmo
June 04, 2010 at 9:58pm
I looked up a Best-Selling Cars list, and number one came up as the Ford F-150. Not really a car, more of a real nice farm truck, right? Plus, full disclosure, I drive a Ford F-150, just like I think I'll stick with my PC.
kiaghi7
June 04, 2010 at 2:46pm
Bare in mind, he also predicted winning the Personal Computer war... Not only did Apple lose, they owe their existence to Microsoft bailing them out to the tune of 5 years of "here's some pitty programs and direct financial support", and on top of that, they STILL lost the war and hard.
Apple computers aren't even Apple computers anymore because they can't make hardware even close to what the different specialized manufacturers have been able to produce, so Apples are just PC's with MacOS on them.
Sometimes Steve Jobs is right, sometimes the amount of "wrong" in what he says defies the ability to quantify, either way file it under "S" in the circular filing cabinet until reality already is what he claims.
DJSPIN80
June 08, 2010 at 11:25am
"Apple computers aren't even Apple computers anymore because they can't make hardware even close to what the different specialized manufacturers have been able to produce, so Apples are just PC's with MacOS on them."
They manufacture their own system boards and the like. They have their own hardware team for the iPhone and iPad. They would have stayed with the Power series, but Motorolla didn't have the capacity nor the capability to manufacture nor upgrade the Power5 (i.e., G5). This is why the Macbook Pro stopped at G4. Technically speaking, the G5 was far more powerful then the Netburst architecture that the P4 boasted years ago. The only architecture to rival it was AMD's Athlon.
It's also "not just a PC with MacOS on them." OS X is, in itself, optimized to run on the hardware it sits on top of. Even Windows isn't THAT highly optimized, remember that OS X runs on a single CPU platform: intel where as Windows has to run on both AMD and intel. Both of which are remarkably the same CPU architecture but SIMD/SSE extensions could be different. To you, it's outdated hardware, but really it's not. Xeon's are still around and they're using Nehalem's on the Mac Pro's. They use i7's on the iMac and now i7's on the Macbook Pro's as well. One thing about Apple is that their hardware refreshes are longer, Windows and the PC world tend to have faster refreshes but that's because Windows requires much more power to run. OS X doesn't require the kind of power Windows needs to run. With an optimized OS, they can effectively have a longer hardware refresh time and still deliver performance. This is why Apple is still #1 in the professional editing market (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Final_Cut_Pro).
So go ahead and hate on Apple, feel free. However, your assumptions are all incorrect.
TerribleToaster
June 04, 2010 at 10:48am
Remember back when Bill Gates was the devil? There was that time when he said no personal computer will ever need more than 637 kb of memory, remember? This is deja vu, eh?
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vig1lant3
June 04, 2010 at 10:00am
Heh! Thats like saying that cars will become obsolete because there's a new species of horses. Steve Jobs is a great C.E.O., and so was Bill Gates. They both have/had a knack for cracking the consumer market with either necessary, or innovative and addictive, products. However, neither has the greatest track record as a fortune tech-ller.
Once upon a time Bill Gates said 640k is all I would ever need...
Steve Jobs says that the PC's days are numbered in a year when sales are up 25%...
"Better to remain silent and be thought a fool
than to speak out and remove all doubt." - Abraham Lincoln
LatiosXT
June 04, 2010 at 8:04am
The one thing that you need to remove completely from our lives for this to be true - physical input devices. But I love keyboards and mice because you know, I get physical feedback of some sort at least.
That and we must accept going back in time in terms of performance. I kind of like performance needed to do my number crunching at a good speed.
Tekzel
June 07, 2010 at 5:34am
Besides, it would be hard as hell to jerk off to porn with a tablet, one hand to hold the device and no hands left to control it.
---
You know users... Buncha bitchy little girls.
ajax344
June 04, 2010 at 7:21am
Wow, just wow, though i guess if we abandon all major research, photoshop, gaming, programming new OS's and programs for those tablets, uhhhhh well I guess if we abandon everything that isn't word processing and web browsing then yes steve jobs, tablets will replace netbooks (not really because netbooks have many more utilities then tablets, but dont be mean to the idiot :) he is mentally challanged and its not cool to make fun of people just because their different or perhaps pants on head retarted.
ajax344
June 04, 2010 at 7:20am
Wow, just wow, though i guess if we abandon all major research, photoshop, gaming, programming new OS's and programs for those tablets, uhhhhh well I guess if we abandon everything that isn't word processing and web browsing then yes steve jobs, tablets will replace netbooks (not really because netbooks have many more utilities then tablets, but dont be mean to the idiot :) he is mentally challanged and its not cool to make fun of people just because their different or perhaps pants on head retarted.
logicmaster2003
June 03, 2010 at 11:26pm
He said "The PC is ... but
it's uncomfortable."Thats because he's 100 years old and/or can't type !
Amvious
June 03, 2010 at 9:24pm
I've never heard something as stupid as this in my life! He never said Macs but specifically refers to PC's! This guy is too greedy.. I suggest that he resign from Apple. Who agress?
monkeykid753
June 07, 2010 at 8:15pm
He's the Apple God!!! If he resigned, there would be a mass suicide... All those Mactards... leaving the earth... *drooling* What? Oh, yeah... So he can't resign...
*Mumbling to self* All those Mactards... all of them... no longer here... complaining about PCs...
Hey, you go away now! Don't listen to my fantasies.
Camerone
June 03, 2010 at 7:49pm
One inherent problem i see with tablet pc's is data storage. Even if you can buy enough peripherals to create a 'desktop experience' with your tablet pc at home, your data is still going to go wherever the tablet goes. If for some reason your tablet pc is stolen, for example, someone else potentially has access to all your data. It would require careful data manipulation between your tablet and an external hard drive to keep important, private files from being mobile. Not to mention you'd be in quite a bind if you don't back up your files regularly and can't get them back.
What I'm trying to say is, in my opinion, tablets are less secure simply because they leave the house (which i'm sure everyone knows already), and they won't be replacing desktops as a main computer for quite a while yet.
I'm a gamer/CAD designer as well, so those related issues apply to me as well.
zebeste
June 03, 2010 at 7:10pm
I actually wouldn't be surprised if pc's eventually become mostly outdated. Currently, tablet sized gadgets are fast enough for what most people do, and computer technology is only going to get faster and smaller. As this happens I can see where instead of having a pc, you have a monitor that you can hook up your tablet to, providing the screen size needed or desired for certain tasks and not having to deal with both a pc and a portable device. But until tablets can catch up with current 3d gaming, pc's aren't going away.
Zachary K.
June 03, 2010 at 6:10pm
what kind of drugs is he on? can he go for one day without doing something stupid?
NuparuGT
June 03, 2010 at 5:11pm
dumbest thing I have ever heard!
You know apple they wouldn't an OS even if it bit it on the uhhh... neck
Nickompoop
June 03, 2010 at 3:53pm
He's just saying that because he want's more people to buy his iFad. He knows that his so-called "tablet" won't survive for a long time. He's trying to make tablets sound much more important than they actually are so people will buy his crappy version.
And, tablets have no chance against PCs because people like to customize their computers. That's why Apple only has 5.11% market share worldwide: you can put Windows on most hardware configurations.
What spam filter?
IFLATLINEI
June 03, 2010 at 3:29pm
So... he never said tablets would be replaced at all did he? You just did as if he did. His comments on this were online yesterday and he never said that. What he did say was something along the lines of Tablets and netbooks being used more instead of a pc but never fully replacing the PC. If by chance he did say that you sure didnt quote it and that would make him a moron.
pentastar
June 03, 2010 at 3:15pm
Yeah right. Show me one of these little toys that can run three 24 inch screens and give me 60+ FPS in any game I play and I'll bite, till then, stop with these egotistical predictions. Hell even if they could do that, would it be affordable? NO! Could you work on it yourself if a component took a dump in it? NO! Sorry Jobs, I am not biting that apple...Gaming on a tablet? Not possible givin our current battery limitations, not to mention the limitation on chip sizes and so on. Maybe in about 20 years it'll be possible. But then the PC 20 years from now will still make the "tablet" nothing more than a clever little gadget.
Energata
June 03, 2010 at 3:05pm
Steve Jobs is getting more and more arrogant and loopy with his comments, predictions and opinions. The fact that they now surpass Microsoft in profits only propels his ego further (with TURBO NITROS mind you) into the stratosphere. In fact, saying that Steve Jobs has now a BIGGER ego than Tom Cruise is probably an understatement. Unreal.
But to be honest, I thought I laughed hard at the iPhone and other iWhatever gadgets they released...boy was I I wrong. This "iPad" or "Overpriced, FAT iPhone" is an insult to intelligence. They want me to pay whaaa for this thing??? No multitasking? No Flash? Oh YEAH....I see them replacing PC's ASAP...quick, grab one while you can!!!......POST HASTE!
Tablets are cool and useful, sure. But PC's are not going anywhere anytime soon...much to the dismay of Apple's Le Capitaine.
Energata
June 03, 2010 at 3:13pm
<drooling with a stunned look> I recant my previous comment in FULL....<drooling with a stunned look>....I now LOVE the iPad.....<continues drooling with a stunned look>....Apple recently iBeamed an iLaser into my mind with their iControl module and iBrainwashed me into loving those glistening and metallic smooth products.
<drooling with a stunned look>....ignore the iCompetition and only buy APPLE.....Apple.......apple...Unix..er, sorry I mean MacOS....iApple? No, no, sorry.....Apple.....a---pple...
.....(now iBrainDead).....
Keith E. Whisman
June 03, 2010 at 2:51pm
I predict a future free of Apple products.
The tablet should compliment a home computer or HTPC or both.
To be honest the new smart phones are nothing more than PDA's with a phone built into them. All the tablet are really just larger PDA's. They are really cool PDA's. I want a tablet with enough storage for whatever programs I install on it and my 15,000 + song music collection and perhaps some movies that I've downloaded.
The thing is that a tablet is everything a PDA should be. Internet, productivity and entertainment application support, and storage with an awesome touch based interface. Speakers should be awesome and offer plenty of connections.
I'm not saying that a tablet should replace your smart phone or your awesome MP3 player. Your tablet should compliment these items. BTW you really need a desktop or laptop at the very least to sync with. Hell you can't do much with a new Ipad without a computer to hook it up to.
Steve Jobs and Apple computer are retarded.
downlinx
June 03, 2010 at 2:25pm
just like iphone was suppose to rule the phone industy? I take half of what steve jobs says and then throw the other half in the garbage.
gendoikari1
June 03, 2010 at 1:57pm
Funny, I could swear I read the title as "Steve Jobs A Colossal Dumbass", reread the title, then confirmed my suspicions.
Fecal Face
June 03, 2010 at 1:49pm
It appears Steve Jobs has never heard of PC gaming.
How the hell am I supposed to play current-gen games /w highest graphics settings smoothly on a tablet?
How am I supposed to host a server to play such games with my friends on a tablet?
FYI Jobs, cute little 2D Motorcycle games don't count.
If someone ever did make a tablet that could support current-gen games, why the hell would I want to play it on a tiny 10" screen?
I don't see tablets overtaking PC's for a LONG time, if ever.
Hell, even netbooks can do more than tablets right now.
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monkeykid753
June 03, 2010 at 8:03pm
He uses a mac. Steve the prophet and lord of the universe: "What's gaming?? 3D? since when are there 3D games? I thought PCs can only play DOS games... Damn, they beat me again.. You sure there are 3D games? And people pay over $500 for their video cards? Well then, I guess that means I better charge $300 on my macs! They have FTW Videocards!!" His advisor, thinking to himself: "uhhh.... yeah.... I need a new boss.... Can't handle these retarded guys any longer... HE FRICKING USED FTW IMPROPERLY!!!"
My exploding trick: Any iBad/Phone/Mac haters get a lot of silly putty, then clog up the speakers on iBad and iPhone or vents (if they exist) on an iMac and wait for a few minutes... then....
BIG BOOM!!!!
The Creator of that
Silver925
June 03, 2010 at 1:40pm
CDROM's will replace the Hard Drive.
Powerful Laptop computers will supplant the Desktop PCs.
CPUs will become so powerful that there will be no need for video cards.
Don't get me wrong, evolution of the form-factor of computers is inevitable. And on a certain level he has a vague point. But the way he presents his opinion seems to feel like 'Apple's Vision' WILL be the direction that the computing world will evolve towards.
Wasn't the iMac (A small form-factor self contained computer that was all about style) supposed to be the 'vision' of what all computers would quickly evolve into. While products like that are still being R&D'ed, they by no means are the death knell for the modular PC.
As with so much that Steve says. There's a grain of truth in it, but he is no prophet, that's for sure.
compro01
June 04, 2010 at 2:23am
Well, judging by sales figures, prediction #2 appears to be correct. Laptop sales surpassed desktop sales a couple years ago.
kjrviking
June 03, 2010 at 1:24pm
Once tablets have USBs, maybe a Disc drive, fold-up keyboard/mouse, stand, and can do everything a laptop can do, then maybe they might take over, but until then, a laptop will be more portable (given that they have USBs, disc drives, and a keyboard/mouse pad) and more powerful. And i'll stick with power, and screw what the Apple God has to say cause he is extremely idiotic when it comes to true computing.
ilfipian
June 03, 2010 at 1:22pm
Something quite tablet like makes a lot of sense for general business and connectivity purposes.
But really, 10 hours is not sufficient battery life for it to be ubiquitous.
Screens in sunlight, not there.
Nor is the onboard storage. Sure, cloud based storage is probably part of the future for such computing, but there are plenty of secure types of content neither businesses nor consumers would want in the cloud, nor does the cloud reach lots of places people will want to use such devices. This leads to there being some significant on board stoarge requirements.
But graphic artisists, CAD/CAM require much better input accuracy than a tablet supports without peripherals. General input for a tablet device is still pretty rough. Voice recognition poses it's own problems in public spaces or cube farms. The keyboard and mouse still have quite a bit of value for actual productivity and likely will for many more development cycles.
Gaming, the current tablet interface is pretty clunky for that too.
BouJhi
June 03, 2010 at 1:16pm
Oh yeah, tablets are the WAVE of the future. Just about the whole country of Korea is going to give up playing starcraft as a professional sport. The whole south pacific (Vietnam, Malaysia, Cambodia etc) is going to stop playing warcraft. USA is going to give up every FPS (counter-strike, MW2, TF2) in the name of apple. Speaking of FPS, counter-strike will retire the title of the most popular game video game in the world. Billions of people are going to suddenly make it big and become suddenly able to spend over $500 dollars to read an e-book, and watch all their movies on a 10-inch screen. PC. Pff. who really cared beside over 99% of todays businesses who use PC everyday to get work done? Sony will causally hand over blu-ray to apple so apple can name it to 'steve-jobs-ray'. Oh, yeah, and everybody, everywhere is going to have rallys to burn all cd's, dvd's, or any other kind of disc in huge bond fires. (tablets don't have disc drives)
I can think of alot more reason why tablets are the future, but I'm getting carpal tunnel because its taken me over an hour to write all of this on my touch screen keyboard. TABLETS FTW!
MdX MaxX
June 03, 2010 at 1:15pm
The iPad isn't a tablet until someone installs a REAL OS on it.
And I highly doubt any technology created in my lifetime will beat out the classic desktop setup. Even if someone develops a tablet that could run Crysis max settings at 100 fps, I wouldn't want to use an on-screen gamepad to play.
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