Black Friday 2017: More Consumers Want Laptops than Smartphones

Megalith

Megalith

24-bit/48kHz
Staff member
Joined
Aug 20, 2006
Messages
13,000
Was the PC's death fake news? Shockingly, laptops are more sought after than smartphones -- by both teens and adults -- while tablets don't even crack the top four. Maybe all that talk from pundits about the "Post-PC" era was nonsense after all.

Black Friday shopping is more popular than ever, with more than three-quarters (79 percent) of Americans saying that they plan to spend the day after Thanksgiving buying gifts. Additionally, almost half (44 percent) revealed that they plan to camp out to get the best deals on laptops (22 percent), TVs (21 percent) and housewares (20 percent). The national survey was fielded among 1,034 adults and 507 teens by Propeller Insights on behalf of Ebates.
 
$99 laptop to dick around with something new and shiny that doesn't really do anything different then the previous laptop.
-or-
$800-$1000 cell phone to dick around with something new and shiny that doesn't really do anything different then the previous cell phone.

The economy is good, but it aint THAT good :D

(I got my $99 laptop from Best Buy last night since the offered 1 day Black Friday prices yesterday online for Elite members).
 
I've been working on a spreadsheet of the various black friday laptop deals for myself and friends/family, listing their specs and giving my own personal evaluation of the value of the price. Holy crap! In years past, there was like 10-15 laptops total. Now, there's like 10-15 laptops for sale PER STORE!
 
ccmfreak2 said:
I've been working on a spreadsheet of the various black friday laptop deals for myself and friends/family, listing their specs and giving my own personal evaluation of the value of the price. Holy crap! In years past, there was like 10-15 laptops total. Now, there's like 10-15 laptops for sale PER STORE!
Click to expand...

Best Buy did have like 10 Black Friday laptops. In addition to buying myself the shit laptop for fun, I bought my sister a Yoga 2-1.
 
I'm guessing the upswing is due to people simply needing a new machine, either due to dead battery, slowness in general, old OS, etc. They spent last several years buying up new smartphones and tablets while their laptop was simply good enough. Now that they've had their fill of one kind of device, they realized they need to replace the other.
 
My experience with people on this (I work for a company that issues 8,000 tablets and smartphones to field staff) is that people want flexibility more than super-portable.

Tablets have their place, but given a choice most people would actually take a laptop (especially touchscreen) as they prefer 1 device that does all than multiple devices.
 
My 15 year old daughter wants a laptop... not a MacBook or tablet, a PC gaming laptop. Why can't these kids want something inexpensive for once!
 
Too bad there ain't a laptop on the market today that I give a damn about. I'll be using my trusty rock solid Latitude E6420 for years to come it seems.
 
westrock2000 said:
$99 laptop to dick around with something new and shiny that doesn't really do anything different then the previous laptop.
-or-
$800-$1000 cell phone to dick around with something new and shiny that doesn't really do anything different then the previous cell phone.

The economy is good, but it aint THAT good :D

(I got my $99 laptop from Best Buy last night since the offered 1 day Black Friday prices yesterday online for Elite members).
Click to expand...

They have it extended for Elite members, but I don't see the $99 laptop. :(
 
No one I know buys a phone outright. They wait until their contract is up and then sign up for a new deal and finance a new phone.

Tablets don't intrigue me any more. At this point it's like seeing a DVD player for sale. But to be fair, I don't hear anyone saying they want a laptop either.
 
Currently working retail before graduate school.

People come in during black Friday and buy the 99 or 199 computer and thwn explain that they wantes to play witches 3 or stream and play could yet strike go.

Meanwhile I get brushed off in trying to recommend the 450 dedicated you config that could play at medium.

I think people are really out of touch with how expensive computers are.....

Did I miss a year when phones switched computers for best deal expectations.
 
Domingo said:
Smartphone advancements have stagnated and prices have gone through the roof. You can buy a new laptop for the price of a phone that's 90% the same as one from 2 years ago.
Click to expand...

I feel like everything has stagnated....or rather exceeded the needs of normal usage.

I still have an Asus K55A with a i5-3210. It's 4 years old at this point and I can't in good faith replace it because an equivalent laptop will be $500+ and give no real noticeable day to day difference. Other then better display or longer battery. I keep looking and would love to buy something new, but just can't justify it for no other reason than shiny.
 
westrock2000 said:
I feel like everything has stagnated....or rather exceeded the needs of normal usage.

I still have an Asus K55A with a i5-3210. It's 4 years old at this point and I can't in good faith replace it because an equivalent laptop will be $500+ and give no real noticeable day to day difference. Other then better display or longer battery. I keep looking and would love to buy something new, but just can't justify it for no other reason than shiny.
Click to expand...
Performance wise, a non-gaming laptop really isn't really that different. But the form factor and battery life is so much better now. In the past i've had many thin and light laptops including weird transmeta librettos, porteges and a few ultrabook class like the vaio S and macbook airs which got progressively better for awhile but no great breakthroughs. But these last couple years you have 1/2" laptops with great screens which can be run all day without plugging in, and that's really what makes them so appealing. The power bricks are tiny for travelling and they don't take much more space than an ipad. They're also light enough I can use them without a work surface for long periods of time (carry in one hand, type in the other) so I carry them around when I work on equipment around the house, I have a usb oscilloscope I can use in tight spaces, and I'm only seconds away from an ssh terminal when I need it. The portablity really became an asset when the battery life made it tablet-like. I now only use the tablet for reading and carry the xps 13 everywhere.
 
Miikun said:
I have a usb oscilloscope I can use in tight spaces,
Click to expand...


DUDE! Stop the fucking presses! There are USB o-scopes now?!?? This changes things....like maybe starting with my Christmas wishlist.

Like this?
https://www.alliedelec.com/pico-tec...SZ0QgHWGJ4P0nF7d8YxynVG_WmM2mMoYaAma8EALw_wcB

70345871.jpg


And they come with software to display the waves and stuff?

Your seemingly random comment has changed someones life (y)
 
Phones are boring and I kind of hate them now. I'm also developing software for them - maybe its too much.
I don't have much interest in Black Friday. I want socks and underwear. Thanks.
 
Both cost so much for what you get. I can see how phones have their uses for daily usage but high-end laptop for power user are way too expensive and I consider them a convenience and luxury item.
 
I just bought a laptop. An HP Omen 17" i7-7700hq + RX 580 8gb for $949. Its not really the laptop i wanted, but it games like a boss. I like to leave my desktops mining and its nice being in the living room with the family instead of isolated in my man cave. Ive been taking it to work with me and giving people oculus rift demos to try and convert people to #PcMasterRace.

Its ironic, i never thought all that time i spent going out in service as a jehovah witness would translate into a useful cause...
 
Miikun said:
Performance wise, a non-gaming laptop really isn't really that different. But the form factor and battery life is so much better now.
Click to expand...

I bought a couple laptops for Christmas and this is my first foray into the super thin and lightweight models. You are right the form factor and battery life is great, but I have noticed an issue.

The force of the hinge is stronger then the force of gravity on these light weight laptops. You can't open them with one hand like you can a big heavy laptop. Grab the lid and lift and the whole thing just lifts up. Damn you progress!
 
Because even a shit laptop has more versatility than the top cellphones.
 
I think phones have reached the point that PCs did a few years ago where they're powerful enough and feature packed enough that they aren't going obsolete overnight. Ten years ago you had to upgrade your PC regularly since hardware wasn't keeping up with software demands....now that's not the case. Hardware is more than capable for any software coming in the foreseeable future. I think phones are at that point too.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top