14 DAY TRIAL // A few years ago no one talked much about tablets, but ever since Apple introduced its first iPad product, everything has changed. Suddenly everyone had to own a tablet and all major device manufacturers were making them.
Since then, the ecosystem has been deeply diversified and some enthusiasts have hurried to proclaim the demise of the PC business, which includes desktop computers.
Their vision included people abandoning their laptops and working stations in favor of tablets, but as we have seen, the transition hasn't easily been made.
Even if companies like Samsung offer business-centric tablets like the Samsung Galaxy NotePRO that aim to replace working laptops, people still prefer the convenience of a laptop (not to mention a Windows-enhanced laptop).
Anyhow, welcome back to 2014 – where the PC business is making a nice comeback. According to a fresh report coming from Canalys, in Q2 PC shipments experienced a 14% increase amid sequential decline in tablet volume.
Samsung and Apple both experienced a decline in global tablet sales (although in the US the scenario is a tad different with reversed results). However, in Europe, Middle East and Africa tablet shipments fell 11%, while in Asia Pacific it saw a decline with 8%. In Western Europe, shipments crumbled with 18%.
The problem seems to be that people are no longer attracted to the UI of Android and iOS and crave much more than that. That’s probably why Samsung has taken up the development of its own platform, Tizen – in an effort to offer something else.
On the other hand, there’s the problem of perception. People still tend to view tablets as entertainment means or just a simple laptop/desktop companion. Everybody has a desktop at home, but not many of us solely rely on a tablet.
Furthermore, there’s a lack of powerful apps to compete with the laptop/desktop environment. Since people have been fed the notion that tablets are devices destined to have fun with, a real demand for proficient apps does not really exist.
As for hardware, tablets have a faster evolution rate. Each year we see better processors, resolution, RAM and so on. As for notebooks, most of them still offer the 1366 x 768 pixel standard, so why are people having such a hard time changing their perception towards the tablet?
The answer could revolve around convenience. Windows PCs have been around like forever and abandoning the OS altogether doesn't appeal to a lot of folks out there. It’s surely OK to have a Windows working desktop at home and an Android tablet, but we have yet to see the reverse scenario become a viable. After all, humans are creatures of habit.