When laptops were first introduced there was a danger that the desktop could go extinct. Desktops however seemed to have survived. But there is a new contender in the arena threatening to outdo both the devices put together. The freedom an Apple iPad offered was nothing short of revolutionary. The biggest threat an iPad poses is to the laptop. The desktop will perhaps chug along for the time being as the preferred computing device of the office.

The trend is already visible, according to a report from Reuters. The report said that the tablet shipments have overtaken laptops for the first time in 2013. The popularity of tablets has led to consumers buying new tablets instead of replacing their ageing laptops or desktop computers.

The proliferation of tablets has been fuelled by the availability of cheaper devices especially from Chinese companies. According to a report from Canalys, desktop shipment worldwide fell in the first quarter of 2013 by 10.3% and the notebook market also fell by 13.1%. The tablet market however showed a 106.1% increase in shipment.

The trend can be particularly worrying to computer giants like "hp" and "IBM." Both the companies have been unable to stem the tide of the rising popularity of the tablet devices. The companies have no choice but to get on the tablet bandwagon. Hp is reportedly working on a new 10 inch tablet. Some companies have tried a tablet laptop combo but they have not been as poplar.

So far tablets have been used mostly as a personal computing device and only a few top management executives using them more from a business perspective. The use of tablets for business can gain in popularity with the "work station" accessory. iPad has the "Origami Workstation." Many companies are also working on providing cheaper workstations to the market.

If and when tablets become the accepted norm as a device for office work, that will ring the death bell for the iconic laptops. Laptops for long have been a friend to the travelling executive. But the iPad revolution has given a thinner, light weight and stylish alternative to laptops. Is it only a matter of time that we see the laptops in its traditional form only in the tech museums of the world? Or will laptops survive just like the desktops?