Apple Sees Tablets Soon Outpacing PCs

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Wow, the reality distortion field is in full effect today. Tim Cook seems to think that tablets sales will soon outpace PCs. :rolleyes:

As a result, Apple's COO sees "no reason why the tablet market shouldn't eclipse the PC market over the next several years," according to a copy of Shope's note on the meeting sent to CNET.
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Steve said:
Wow, the reality distortion field is in full effect today. Tim Cook seems to think that tablets sales will soon outpace PCs. :rolleyes:
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He should keep his mouth shut because PC users will shrug and say "that's fine. Windows 8 will help us along" and stick with the PC.
 
They will get to a point where they outsell desktop PCs, sure, that's easy and will probably happen within 2-3 years given the current rate of adoption. 6 months ago I wouldn't see a tablet nearly anywhere here in Las Vegas except in a store - last night I went out for a walk in downtown on Fremont Street and saw probably 15 people using tablets in various locations, and I don't mean smartphones, I mean actual 7-10" tablets of all kinds: iPads, Galaxy Tabs, a Nook Color or two, a BlackBerry PlayBook, and even one guy with an Archos 70 taking a video of the Fremont Street Experience show.

That's a pretty significant thing... and it'll just increase as time goes by. ;)
 
Joe Average said:
They will get to a point where they outsell desktop PCs, sure, that's easy and will probably happen within 2-3 years given the current rate of adoption. 6 months ago I wouldn't see a tablet nearly anywhere here in Las Vegas except in a store - last night I went out for a walk in downtown on Fremont Street and saw probably 15 people using tablets in various locations, and I don't mean smartphones, I mean actual 7-10" tablets of all kinds: iPads, Galaxy Tabs, a Nook Color or two, a BlackBerry PlayBook, and even one guy with an Archos 70 taking a video of the Fremont Street Experience show.

That's a pretty significant thing... and it'll just increase as time goes by. ;)
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Good marketing can have that affect on people.
 
I think so too. Although I don't think it will necessarily gut the PC market, at least not yet. Business still need PC's, and then there's the group of people that augment their PC's with tabs.
 
Man who runs business with vested interest in product growth says his product will outsell competitors soon. Next up, Jane Smith with our story of the night: water is wet, and grass is green. Who knew?!
 
While they'll probobly outsell PC's, they'll never out-perform them.
 
He might be jumping the gun on timing, but in 5 years I agree with him.
Businesses don't need to buy new machines like they used to. Those Core 2's from 5 years ago are still doing fine and will continue to do fine for a while. Unless you're doing serious design work that needs more horespower, the PC's from 2 generations ago are still more than capable.
Home consumers in a similar position - hence all of those MS commercials telling people that they really need a new PC when they have one that works fine.
Outside of gaming or specific design programs a tablet can handle many if not most everyday PC tasks pretty well. Give them another 3-4 years to gain additional power (and support) and there's no reason they shouldn't be able to replace desktops in most cases.
 
I just do not understand the appeal of Tablets. I will never have a use for one. A laptop yes, but why do I need a oversize smartphone? I can see them having application in Businesses but not at the consumer level.
 
I see tablets outselling PCs yes, but never ever will it replace the PC. The reason is that more times than less the tablet is a consumer device and the PC is used more for productivity. Its just another PR stunt from the marketing company know as Apple. (I mean electronics company) ;-)
 
Most of us agree that they'll outsell PCs in the next few fears. Why is this a reality distortion field mr Steve? A PC is overkill for most users nowadays. A good amount of users only do web/mail/facebook/youtube/etc which is a tablet is better at.
 
You folks did read that he - meaning Tim Cook - said he sees "no reason why the tablet market shouldn't eclipse the PC market over the next several years," right? He didn't say "I see the iPad and only the iPad besting PC sales..." - he said tablets meaning any and all tablet devices... right?

I mean, you got that, right?
 
this is the same company who talks post PC for all their products, yet requires a PC out of the box to make them work, correct?
 
This could be great news for Microsoft if Windows 8 is successful. With current supply chain problems in the tablet Microsoft got a little lucky and has a little more time to get Windows 8 out the door at a time where tablet demand could be hitting its stride and supply able to keep up.
 
If I could find a tablet that's affordable that can handle art programs like Alias sketchbook for example (for direct input via a digi-pen) i'd get one. Until then, I'll keep my PC and wacom tablet.
 
He is making a typical mistake in assuming tablet growth will continue at the current rate.
There is a limited market for $600+ tablets, and at some point the sales numbers will level off or even fall.

Now if you expand the definition of a tablet to include everything from ebooks to anything with a screen and no keyboard, he might eventually be correct.
 
Putz said:
this is the same company who talks post PC for all their products, yet requires a PC out of the box to make them work, correct?
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That is an excellent point. Also an excellent point? Has anyone tried to do any WORK on a tablet? That's near impossible to do any real work on most tablets.
 
I completely agree with him.

There will always be a need for workstations and laptops, atleast for the immediate future... but for the vast majority of users (my parents, my sister, my grand parents, aunts and uncles, etc), they don't need a desktop nor a laptop to check/write email, browse the internet, shop online and print pictures. I consider myself a power user but since getting my ipad, I've barely touched my laptop or desktop. I just don't find the need to... the ipad is 100X more convenient and is just as useful.

Tablets are the future.
 
Lol when i glanced at the thread title i thought it said apple sues someone and i thought :rolleyes:
 
Tablets are not "the future" and their current success is imaginary. They are overhyped by the media because they think this will prevent them from dying. Most tablet sales are for the iPad, and most of the buyers already owned Apple products, and that should tell us something: the only people actually buying this crap are hipsters/fanboys. iPad sales are actually belows Apple's predictions.
 
dr.stevil said:
I completely agree with him.

I consider myself a power user but since getting my ipad, I've barely touched my laptop or desktop. I just don't find the need to... the ipad is 100X more convenient and is just as useful.

Tablets are the future.
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I'm not sure how you are defining "power user" in this case but I would think most people, myself included, would say you couldn't be an actual power user if you can get by just fine with your ipad.
 
Something to keep in mind about tablets is that people are assuming that they're going to stay the same as they are now and that laptops will, too. In the next few years they'll likely start to merge a bit.
As they gain more power the only think really separating them from a laptop will be their built-in touch-screen...which Windows 8 will support natively. Plus, you you have to think support for things like keyboards and mice will only get better. I know several people who use the Office-like apps on the iPad along with a bluetooth keyboard (one of those built into the case) and they're able to pretty standard work functions just fine. If the iPads had a full OS like Windows they'd full-on replace a laptop for almost anyone.
 
Joe S said:
I'm not sure how you are defining "power user" in this case but I would think most people, myself included, would say you couldn't be an actual power user if you can get by just fine with your ipad.
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Why would most people, yourself included, say that? Are you implying that someone can't possibly be an advanced computer user and appreciate the convenience of a tablet?

I guess I'm just not understanding your logic
 
It almost seems as if Apple intentionally created the iPad as a real-world test of the limits of its ability to sell style over substance. I'm going to focus on the iPad for this post simply because all the other tablets hitting the market are obviously "me-too" products, even though my points apply to them as well.

Smart phones are a brilliant achievement in terms of form and function, and they keep getting better. But one of the critical elements of their success is portability. The iPad sacrifices that element for the sake of a larger display. Lovely. Oh, and you can't use it as a cell phone either. What else does it add? Higher resolution? No. Exclusive software? No. Faster processor? No. More convenient I/O? No.

It costs the same or more than many laptops, without being significantly more portable. But laptops have keyboards, touchpads, optical drives, and an integrated "monitor stand."

I realize that none of these points are new or original. But they are all still true. I am stunned that so many people have chosen to ignore them and get a tablet anyway. Surely the supply of gullible, fad-driven toy buyers is almost exhausted by now? Maybe not.
 
nutzo said:
He is making a typical mistake in assuming tablet growth will continue at the current rate.
There is a limited market for $600+ tablets, and at some point the sales numbers will level off or even fall.

Now if you expand the definition of a tablet to include everything from ebooks to anything with a screen and no keyboard, he might eventually be correct.
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If that definition is used, all touchscreen smart phones could be included in the count and then, of course, "tablet" sales will eclipse "PC" sales.

I doubt that "tablets" will ever eclipse PC's, they seem to be converging: Asus Transformer.
Is that a tablet or a PC? Both, I would say.

I certainly would buy a tablet that had a dedicated dock with a decent keyboard... but only if it were under $400 since my netbook does all the same things (for me) for <$300.
I could never see myself walking around with a 10.1" tablet everyday, just like I don't walk around with my netbook.

I used to carry my 3.5" pocket PC around with me before smart phones came around... so does that mean I was a "tablet" user?
 
dr.stevil said:
Why would most people, yourself included, say that? Are you implying that someone can't possibly be an advanced computer user and appreciate the convenience of a tablet?

I guess I'm just not understanding your logic
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I believe he's saying that you can't replace a multi-monitor code development or video production setup with a 8" tablet that has no keyboard. I can't even imagine trying to write a short college essay, or even a long email, on a tablet.
 
dr.stevil said:
Why would most people, yourself included, say that? Are you implying that someone can't possibly be an advanced computer user and appreciate the convenience of a tablet?

I guess I'm just not understanding your logic
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What I'm saying is that if you consider yourself a power user but have barely touched your desktop/laptop since getting your ipad, then you must not have really had to do a lot of power user type work in the first place.
 
wizdum said:
I believe he's saying that you can't replace a multi-monitor code development or video production setup with a 8" tablet that has no keyboard. I can't even imagine trying to write a short college essay, or even a long email, on a tablet.
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But then there's the other side of the equation, tablets that CAN do these things like an EP121, I've been using it to write Windows Phone apps and it supports dual monitors and both keyboards and mice.

That's not to say that advanced users can't make good use of a device like an iPad, but it simply isn't an advanced device. That's not what it was designed for and indeed its simplicity is one very important reason why its popular.
 
heatlesssun said:
But then there's the other side of the equation, tablets that CAN do these things like an EP121, I've been using it to write Windows Phone apps and it supports dual monitors and both keyboards and mice.

That's not to say that advanced users can't make good use of a device like an iPad, but it simply isn't an advanced device. That's not what it was designed for and indeed its simplicity is one very important reason why its popular.
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I don't see any benefit to using a tablet if you're going to put it on a desk with a keyboard and 2 monitors. You might as well put a more powerful laptop or desktop there. I like tablets for entertainment, but I don't see how people can actually consider doing real work on them.
 
Joe S said:
I'm not sure how you are defining "power user" in this case but I would think most people, myself included, would say you couldn't be an actual power user if you can get by just fine with your ipad.
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I assume by "power users" he means "I know how to use iTunes, and other power user software such as solitare, and even Internet Explorer." :D
 
Commander Suzdal said:
I am stunned that so many people have chosen to ignore them and get a tablet anyway. Surely the supply of gullible, fad-driven toy buyers is almost exhausted by now? Maybe not.
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Like the iPhone, there will be refreshes of the iPad and the Mac zealots will keep buying them. They've got to look trendy at the nearest Starbucks.
 
That means they will sell more tabs than macs.....not PCs...
 
My job simply requires too much screensize and resolution for a tablet to be useful. At home, I don't have a use for one either. My media center/htpc setups have it covered. If my job required travelling, sure, I might get one.
 
wizdum said:
I don't see any benefit to using a tablet if you're going to put it on a desk with a keyboard and 2 monitors. You might as well put a more powerful laptop or desktop there. I like tablets for entertainment, but I don't see how people can actually consider doing real work on them.
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But that's the beauty of Windows tablets and why I think Windows 8 will do well. They can be used in a number of different ways and in a number of different environments. You won't need a tablet AND a PC, one device can serve both purposes and be a main computer without giving up much. Currently with the EP121 you do sacrifice the long battery life of the iPad but hopefully Windows 8 and new Intel chips will improve upon that.
 
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