Apple’s iPad 3 vs. Traditional PCs and Laptops: Which is More Popular?
The growing hype and frenzy towards Apple's iPad 3 have speculated countless number of arguments regarding Apple's dominance in the market against the declining popularity of traditional PCs and laptops.
Apple's Dominance
Some experts predict that Apple would be able to change the whole technology industry through the release of their products. The newest gadget to be released is the much-anticipated iPad 3. Tim Cook, the chief executive for Apple predicts that there will come a day where tablet devices like the Apple iPad can outsell traditional personal computers. This prediction seems to be supported by research studies such as the one conducted by the research company, Forrester Research Inc. According to the company's research study, Apple currently holds 73% of the tablet market share and other competitors like Hewlett-Packard and Samsung are trailing behind with 6% and 5% respectively. The research also revealed that there were a total of 15 million iPads that were sold last quarter which was double if compared to sales figures of the same quarter a year before.
Analyst Gene Munster and Piper Jaffray shared their thoughts about this situations stating that "You look at the adoption curve of the iPad versus the iPhone and it's vertical for the iPad and the reason is that something bigger is going on here: Essentially anything we once thought of as pen-and-paper activities can now be supplemented by a tablet." The release of Apple's iPad 3 could have a significant effect towards Apple's dominance in the market.
Traditional PCs and Laptops are Not Dead
On the contrary, there are some who still persists that traditional PCs and laptops are not yet dead. In fact, desktop and laptop computers still outsell these gadgets with a factor of six to one. Elliott Chun, communications manager for Future Shop shared his thoughts about the "buying attitude of consumers stating that "You have to ask yourself what the main functions you want out of your device. "If you just want to check email, surf the Web and use a few cool apps, you can get by with a tablet. However, if you're looking to do a little more like upload photos, create presentations, in addition to some of the social stuff, you may think of a laptop or netbook."
According to Chun, traditional PCs or desktop computer are still selling relatively well, comprising for about 30% of all computers. Customers who are elderly and who are not that computer-savvy still prefer to use desktop computers for all their computer-related needs. The main problem in this situation is that many customers are overwhelmed by the number of options that they have in the market in regards to buying traditional PCs, laptops, and tablets.