Is the end of desktop computing approaching? No I don’t think so!
If like me you have had a look at the latest operating system from Microsoft (Windows 8) you will be forgiven for thinking things are looking very different for Windows users. Windows 8 uses the Metro interface which makes your desktop computer look more like a tablet than a desktop machine.
This has brought many to debate whether we are seeing the end of desktop computing as we know it. Luckily I don’t think that is the case and it may be more a case of Microsoft trying to get a piece of the tablet market that is dominated by Apple, Google and Samsung. My prediction is that it will not work out too well for Microsoft and hopefully will push them back to what they have always done, desktop and laptop operating systems. Here are a few reasons I don’t think we have seen the end of the Desktop or Laptop computers.
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Tablet limitations
Though many will claim it is only a matter of time before tablets will be as easy to use as desktops, I still prefer my desktop or laptop when I am writing articles, letters and other wordy tasks. Tablets are great for emails, browsing the net, social media but when it comes to doing something productive I find this is where tablets are a big let down as it is frustratingly slow to type on a touch screen.
Some may say you can get keyboards for tablets but if that’s the case, do tablets then not become a little pointless if they have lots of peripherals that need to be attached to make them usable on a daily basis for all tasks?
Gaming
While there is no doubt that console gaming is the market leader there is a reason they still make the latest games for the PC and that is because they still sell reasonably well (Although obviously not as well as console games). I own an Xbox and a PS3 and still personally prefer to play my games on my desktop. There will always be those hardcore gamers that prefer a desktop or high powered laptop to a console.
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Ability to upgrade
This is where I think things like tablets and even console are a let down. You are limited in the amount of upgrades you can do (Practically none on a tablet and very few on a console).
What this means is constantly buying new if you want to stay in trend. Laptops can be upgraded easily, although not much is upgradable (only the memory and hard drive), but this is not the same for a desktop computer. Pretty much any part of a desktop can be upgraded.
Size
The final reason desktops in particular won’t die off is because of the size of their competition. For all there portability and light weight they do come with one big downside and that is the size of the screen on tablets and smartphones. For example look at traders with dual monitors, can you ever see that being done on a tiny screen?
Conclusion
I don’t think we have seen the end of the desktop or the laptop and I think they will be with us for a number of years. I think it will be more a case of people using different devices for different tasks in the future.
This article may come across as a bit of a tablet and smartphone hater but I am not. I have my iPad and my smartphone both of which I use a lot. My point is that we now have the technology to choose different devices for different situations and just because the uptake in mobile devices is astonishing does not mean the death of the trusted desktop and laptop.
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I Don’t think this is the end of PC and laptop. Still you can see desktops in the offices. I feel a man can work faster on desktop computers. you cannot work with greater speed on laptops, tablets and etc.
Couldn’t agree more although I love my tablet writing anything other than an email on a touch screen is hard work!
I absolutely agree with you! Tablets and smartphones become more and more popular, but for laptops and dektops it’s not over! These are different technologies and people have different claims. I wouldn’t throw my laptop away, however I have a tablet, too.
I think its is just a case now that we have different tools to do different jobs which gives us a lot more flexibility to do what we need to do in the digital age Sandy
I agree with you Craig as I still feel tablets are still a bit gimmicky. Great for browsing, Youtube etc, not good for anything professional like video editing, music production, graphics etc and I don’t just mean because the lack of CPU power. Give me a mouse, keyboard and choice of multiple screens any day of the week.
Some more great reasons there Mike. My Tablet for me is great when I am watching TV or sat in the garden with a beer. At the minute anyway my tablet is more for entertainment than productivity
Your post is great and i’m agreed at certain extend. Desktop computer is something that will never die, desktop computing is a real hardcore computing which tablets can never deliver. You can upgrade every bits and pieces of Desktop Computer.
Desktop Computers are all settled moving to right direction. Here, the question rises about laptop. I think it’ won’t take a long when people will start replacing laptop on tablets or laptops its will itself evolved in a way that it will be very identical to tablet.
Take the example of Asus Eee Transformer Prime. If joint the keyword, by just looking physically anyone can cheated at first sign. But if you remove the keyboard it is as tablet as it is. Well, what you think about it?
Very well written and I couldn’t agree more. These company’s are putting so much investment into tablets I fear soon they will be novelty. Spoken about in history as a rage which came and went.
While I don’t think it will ever truly die, I have to disagree – we are close to seeing the end of the Desktop PC as we know it. But by “close” I mean 3-5 years. Although if Google really did launch a $99 tablet by year end, then the game is over. That pushes both the low-end down, and creates a market for “premium” tablets at a price less than PC’s & laptops can ever be made due to the sheer material cost of their components. This will lead to tablets being packed with extra features to justify the premium price. Soon we’ll be talking about them as serious “desktop replacements”. This is Microsoft’s hope with Windows 8 – ignore the low-end (for now) as it’s already lost. But make “slates” become the next PC – tempt those that want a tablet to buy a “PC replacement” instead, thus maintaining your market share.
I think that the points you make in your article only apply to a relatively small chunk of the market. I consider myself a geek and so do not represent the wider market – but looking at my friends, family & colleagues I see the following:
Gaming: Few do on PC, of those I know that do – they are not “hard core”, they don’t constantly upgrade their boxes. Some “game” on bog-standard laptops! They will not stick to PC gaming as costs rise. But it is a market, just a relatively small one – but it won’t go away entirely.
Upgrades: Most everyone I know who has bought desktops and laptops have never upgraded them. A few have, but this has been because they had really older hardware that was struggling. As everything moves to the web – very few need an i5 or i7 box with 8GB or more of RAM to browse facebook, youtube and do spreadsheets. A 3-5 year old computer is not that bad to work with, even now. I don’t see the hardware requirements for “basic computing” rising as fast as the processing power and connectivity of tablets already is.
Size: We’ll see Windows 8 tablets with HDMI. We already have ARM ones. A cheap docking station can provide a desktop experience. Wait until Samsung or someone bundles these with monitors & Bluetooth keyboards. In future “traders with dual monitors” will either be buying from the specialised suppliers that video editors end up buying from – or just using NUC-sized boxes or even tablets docked with dual monitors.
Being the one who always fixes friends & family computers, I’ve always been struck about how wrong the PC or Laptop really was for them – most never needed it. They just wanted the internet, music & video (and most of that is internet now too). I’m seeing them move to tablets in droves. I keep hearing “my laptop (most ditched desktops already) is getting old/broke, so I just bought a iPad/Nexus 7 instead”.
For those that need the bigger size and keyboard – tablet-based solutions will be made. Sure the desktop software may not be optimized or available for tablets yet – but that’ll quickly change. But I think even this is temporary measure, in time I we’ll see Samsung & others build cheap ARM chips running Android into their desktop monitors – and between that, a tablet and a smartphone – most users will have all they need.
Of the “desktop PC” market that remains, I think it will become a mix of more powerful tiny form factor boxes such as Intel’s new NUC, small ARM boxes, and monitors with CPU’s built in. But there will still be us geeks & professionals that do need big boxes they can upgrade – I’m not saying it’ll ever go away entirely. But we won’t be using “mainstream” hardware any more.
Hell, the average person might now even need a box connected to (or a CPU built-in) to that monitor – what about a wireless charging pad for your smartphone or tablet, with a Bluetooth 4.0 keyboard & mouse, and WiDi for wireless display? Two things are holding this back – battery life (but several developments this year could go some way towards solving that), and that certain manufactures do not wish to cannibalise their desktop/laptop sales. But as sales of those fall rapidly, I think the leap will be made.
We’ll still be building our own though – but I think ours will become a increasingly specialized (read: expensive ) hobby.
I might be wrong – but just look where we are compared to 5 years ago. My phone and tablet do 70% of what I want to do – the other 30% is the kind stuff that most people simply don’t do. Ultimately – just look at what people are buying….
If you ask me, nothing will ever replace my desktop computer with a nice large monitor with Full HD screen resolution. For a period of time I had only laptop, and when I bought a powerful desktop, I noticed that I was a fool 🙂