Will tablets be the end of PC’s and Mac’s as we know it? Not Exactly…

Some of you may well recall that I was one of the so-called “Tablet Skeptics” when the iPad was first released. As the computing industry begins to enter a new phase where purchases of new tablets may exceed traditional PCs and Macs – which will occur either this year (2013) or next year (2014) depending on who you ask – I think it is an appropriate time to reflect on the trends that seem to be driving this phenomenon.

First, I personally don’t believe that tablets or other mobile devices will ever fully replace traditional desktop or laptop PCs. However, I do believe they will continue to *displace* them in selected functions, particularly for personal and portable computing.

While tablet computing power and display technology will continue to evolve to the point where most limitations with current tablets are addressed, at the end of the day, there are still several practical limitations of using a tablet to create new content, rather than to “access”, “read”, or “consume” content. In addition, physical security and maintenance of the devices can be a challenge, particularly in a business or corporate environment.

While trends such as B.Y.O.D. (Bring Your Own Device) will continue to push the “tablet envelope” and I’ll certainly concede that we’ve probably hit the “peak oil” moment in terms of traditional PC or Mac purchases within mature markets for a while, desktop and laptop PCs will never fully go away. Sometimes, you just really want (or need) a full PC (or Mac) to get your work done efficiently.

More next time…

Advertisement