Personal computer sales stop declining, but Windows XP dips, and tablets are down too

Sales figures for personal computers, with the introduction of tablets, declined from 2011, but are now stable (New York Times, July 16, 2014).

Quarter 2 sales in 2012 of personal computers were 85.4 million, which slumped to 75.6 million in Quarter 2, 2013 (representing an 11.5% decline). In the second quarter to end June 2014, the sales declined to 74.4 million, but this was only a 1.7% decline from a year ago. This is the PCs best quarter sales (April to June 2014) since 2012, mainly due to new technologies, says the article – such as 3-D printing, medical imaging, robotics, and cloud computing, which are all controlled by PCs.

Tablet sales, on the other hand, have surged since 2012. But a 2014 information technology study of North American businesses by Spiceworks found that 79% of IT professionals plan to purchase desktops and 71% plan to buy laptops, which may threaten tablet sales in the future.

The renewed interest in PCs is because smartphones and tablets “don’t do everything that needs to be done.” Productivity is grounded in the PC, says Ammiel Kamon, executive vice president at Kontera, a data marketing company in America. Also, with the end of servicing for Windows XP in April 2014, people who were looking at upgrading their operating systems opted for new computers. “As PC sales rebound, tablet shipments are in a funk.”

Research firm NPD Display Search predicts tablets will grow by 14% over the next year, but will only grow in single digits to 2017. This may be due to younger consumers using smartphones to watch videos and older consumers using laptop screens - with not much happening in the middle.

Smartphone with larger than 5.5 inch screens are eating into the tablet market, especially tablets with 7 to 7.9 inch screens which accounted for 58% of the global tablet market. Tablets don’t require replacement as often as smartphones and PCs because they are usually purchased to accompany other devices (not instead of other devices). The new ultra-mobile PC, which is emerging, may become the bridge between the traditional computer (desktop or laptop) and the tablet.

Hence it is unlikely that the PC is passe – at least not yet – as people hang onto or buy them to have larger screens and more productivity.

Comments

Pir-E-Kamil - The Perfect Mentor by Umera Ahmed: book review

The Perfect Mentor pbuh (2011) is set in Lahore and Islamabad in Pakistan. The novel commences with Imama Mubeen in medical university. She wants to be an eye specialist. Her parents have arranged for her to marry her first cousin Asjad. Salar Sikander, her neighbour, is 18 years old with an IQ of 150+ and a photographic memory. He has long hair tied in a ponytail. He imbibes alcohol, treats women disrespectfully and is generally a “weird chap” and a rude, belligerent teenager. In the past three years he has tried to commit suicide three times. He tries again. Imama and her brother, Waseem, answer the servant’s call to help Salar. They stop the bleeding from his wrist and save his life. Imama and Asjad have been engaged for three years, because she wants to finish her studies first. Imama is really delaying her marriage to Asjad because she loves Jalal Ansar. She proposes to him and he says yes. But he knows his parents won’t agree, nor will Imama’s parents. ...

Flaws in the Glass, a self-portrait by Patrick White: book review

The manuscript, Flaws in the Glass (1981), is Patrick Victor Martindale White’s autobiography. White, born in 1912 in England, migrated to Sydney, Australia, when he was six months old. For three years, at the age of 20, he studied French and German literature at King’s College at the University of Cambridge in England. Throughout his life, he published 12 novels. In 1957 he won the inaugural Miles Franklin Literary Award for Voss, published in 1956. In 1961, Riders in the Chariot became a best-seller, winning the Miles Franklin Literary Award. In 1973, he was the first Australian author to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature for The Eye of the Storm, despite many critics describing his works as ‘un-Australian’ and himself as ‘Australia’s most unreadable novelist.’ In 1979, The Twyborn Affair was short-listed for the Booker Prize, but he withdrew it from the competition to give younger writers the opportunity to win the award. His autobiography, Flaws in the Glass...

Sister cities discussed: Canberra and Islamabad

Two months ago, in March 2015, Australia and Pakistan agreed to explore ways to deepen ties. The relationship between Australia and Pakistan has been strong for decades, and the two countries continue to keep dialogues open. The annual bilateral discussions were held in Australia in March to continue engagements on a wide range of matters of mutual interest. The Pakistan delegation discussed points of interest will include sports, agriculture, economic growth, trade, border protection, business, and education. The possible twinning of the cities of Canberra, the capital of Australia, and Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, were also on the agenda (i.e. called twin towns or sister cities). Sister City relationships are twinning arrangements that build friendships as well as government, business, culture, and community linkages. Canberra currently has international Sister City relationships with Beijing in China and Nara in Japan. One example of existing...

FEAST OR FAMINE

Search This Blog