Tablet Sales Continue to Benefit From Decline in PC Sales

[Maura]

With both IDC and Gartner reporting year-over-year declines in PC shipments for the December 2013 quarter this week, AppleInsider reports on the views of two leading investors on the latest figures, both of whom stressed that tablet sales are still strongly impacting PC sales.

“In the US and Europe, tablets were one of the hottest holiday items, and in emerging markets, consumers are increasingly choosing tablets as their computing device, impacting PC sales,” said Maynard Um of Wells Fargo in a note to investors.

Um added that the PC industry must “innovate more aggressively in terms of capabilities and/or software beyond form factor changes” if it wants to still compete in the consumer market.

As far as the corporate sector is concerned, Um said that this area of the market is much stronger than the consumer sector.


Katy Huberty of Morgan Stanley also commented on the latest PC sales figures, agreeing with Um's assessment of the consumer PC market, as well as noting in particular IDC’s comments that Lenovo and Samsung have had success in the low-cost Google Chrome notebook market.


Source: PC shipments continue to shrink as consumers embrace tablets like Apple's iPad

 

[s2mikey]

Not surprising at all. Most casual users really don't need a full featured PC or laptop to do what they have to do. Makes more sense for them to have the small and portable device versus tying up table or counter space with standard PCs or whatever.

 

[AQ_OC]

I can't remember the last time I bought a desktop, yet I personally control 3 (recently it was 4 but I gifted one to my mom). I upgrade my PC boxes myself, buying and installing all components. Besides, PC vendors have zero idea (and have never had) how to build a cool desktop. Look at the MacBook Pro...even though I know I don't need one, I want one because it is cool. WinTel PCs, even the most powerful, just aren't cool looking. They are stupid looking. You need to be a 13 to even apprecaite them. Why must they all be rectangular boxes with ugly colors and insides with glowing lights and weird colored water? Leave it to Apple to finally bring a cool looking desktop computer out that just makes you want to buy one. Wintel vendors have zero imagination. This is so sad because there are zillions of them and they can't manage to eek out anything new. An industry full of followers with no vision deserves its fate.