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If you're brazen enough to ask a power user which he would prefer, a tablet PC or a desktop system, be prepared for a backhand to the cheek. Tablets, including ones that slip neatly into multi-functional docks, pale in comparison to desktops in terms of raw horsepower and what you can do with the thing. At the same time, users who just want to look up recipes on the Web and fart around Facebook from time to time may find that a tablet is a better option, and if there are enough people who think that way, it's conceivable that the demand for tablet PCs could surpass desktops as early as next year.
Folks entrenched in the electronics supply chain in Taiwan tell news and rumor site DigiTimes that they think global demand for tablets of all types will jump to 130 million units in 2013, which is possibly high enough to skip ahead of desktops.
The charge is being led by Apple and the company's iPad line, of which a new model was introduced to the world earlier this week and will begin shipping on March 16, 2012. Looking back at last year, Apple accounted for two-thirds of the 60 million total tablet shipments around the globe. By the time 2012 comes to a close, DigiTimes predicts tablet shipments will climb to 90-95 million units.
One thing to keep in mind is that many people are buying tablets as secondary or even tertiary devices to complement their desktop and/or notebook, so in that way the numbers can be a little deceiving. And then you have the crowd that's buying into glorified eReaders like the Kindle Fire and Nook Tablet. So, while tablet PC shipments could leap ahead of desktops, it doesn't spell doom for the latter any more than the rapid rise of smartphone shipments does.
Image Credit: LG
Comments are closed on this article
Zoandar
March 11, 2012 at 3:30pm
Hey MPC, how about making it impossible to post any URLs at all. That would kill off some of the spammers. Really, why do any of us ever need to be able to post a URL in a comment anyway?
RtDK
March 11, 2012 at 11:03am
Really wish that MaxPC would stop running articles like this. Tablets may find a SLOT in the market, and they may cannibalize some of the PC's sales, but the way they keep running posts that imply, "Oh, the PC is done for!" is getting more than a little annoying....
Seriously guys, your opinion has been established--you don't need to keep recycling the exact same thing over and over again.
JohnP
March 11, 2012 at 12:38am
Tablets, the new netbooks. Underpowered, overpriced, and too small to do much with. When the market get saturated enough, this whole fad will fade very quickly. and yeah, I own one.
Smart phones have much more staying power as they are more portable and do the communications thing a lot better.
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Baer
March 09, 2012 at 12:45pm
Let's face it, most of us will replace a tablet (or a smart phone) far more often than a PC. I tend to upgrade my PC every year or so but I only actually replace it (in my case build a totally new one) about every three years.
Tablets and PC's are different and making a direct comparison is like saying "I buy milk more often than expensive wine".
Penterax
March 10, 2012 at 3:30pm
I agree.
I don't really get why some pundits have to try to compare tablets and PCs. Are they computers? Sure, but so is the little device that keeps your modern car running right.
I'm not sure why MaximumPC feeds into the tablet hype by passing these goofy reports along.
;)
stradric
March 09, 2012 at 9:56am
Tablets are the new hotness right now, but people are going to eventually realize that iOS or Android is not going to cut it for productivity. People are going to want full-featured operating systems if the switch to tablets is ever going to happen. Ubuntu has a cool docking solution with Android and Microsoft is obviously developing Windows 8 for tablets. I think that's where the future is. Everything else is really just a toy.
It's going to take a while for the hoards of drooling consumers to come around. It always does. For them it's more about the fad than the practicality of it all. And that's fine, but it could be so much better.
Wingzero_x
March 10, 2012 at 2:21am
By that statement you'd think people are actually productive on their PCs. When fact they're not, and everything they do on their PCs can be done just as easy or easier on a tablet.
That being said there will always be a place for the PC, though I think in many places their role will change. I believe more and more PCs will be used more like servers.I know that is basically how I use my tablet.
tekknyne
March 11, 2012 at 10:34am
I'm at work right now with 20 tabs open in Firefox. Ranging from Technet articles to Facebook, Outlook, System Center Config Manager, 4 industry-specific apps which aren't even going to be developed for an OS other than Windows.
I would hardly call myself the most productive person at my company. I'd hate to see the hurting they would put on your tablets. Keep dreaming.
