Does Microsoft know that tablet success means PC sales destruction?

[Tk1917]

It?s obvious that Microsoft knows that tablets are the future for consumer computing. They?ve invested and continue to invest heavily on the platform, both in hardware and software. The win they?re courting is the creation of an ecosystem where consumers seek out the triple crown of technology exclusively from Microsoft ? a Windows phone, Xbox media in the living room and a tablet for everything in between with consumable media being bought through the online Microsoft store. But in their hustle to push Windows 8, the touch-friendly device OS, onto everything, including laptops and desktops, have they considered that growth in tablets will cannibalise sales in PCs, the device of choice for business?

 

 

 

http://thebackbencher.co.uk/does-microsoft-know-that-tablet-success-means-pc-sales-destruction/

[MikeChipshop Member]

It doesn't.

[xWhiplash]

I agree with Mike.  What does Joe Somebody need with an i7 processor if he has a Core 2 Duo and only uses Facebook and email?

 

The problem is the performance enhancements these days are not for the general user.  The general user no longer needs to upgrade every year.

 

Even a Pentium 4 is good enough for email and facebook.  The general user does not care if they launch program X Y seconds faster!

[Draconian Guppy]

It doesn't.

 

I agree with Mike.  What does Joe Somebody need with an i7 processor if he has a Core 2 Duo and only uses Facebook and email?

 

The problem is the performance enhancements these days are not for the general user.  The general user no longer needs to upgrade every year.

 

Even a Pentium 4 is good enough for email and facebook.  The general user does not care if they launch program X Y seconds faster!

Agreed, tablets go only so far concercing productivity... Yes they can be used for autocad, powerpoint, the likes, but they simply won't ever match the ease and performance of using a PC, at least not in the next 10 years... Every time I see someone carry a tablet it's for facebook on the go, angry birds or taking pictures  :huh:  i'd say out of 100 people I say anywhere, 90 aren't doing jackshit productivity wise. AGAIN, not saying this is the defacto, but atm, it's the majority.

[Night Prowler]

Microsoft is basically concerned with their software sales, as this has been where all their profits come from.

 

Microsoft is seeing the trending towards tablets, and thats why we are seeing Microsoft enter the tablet market (RT and Pro). Microsoft has set what they believe should be the standards (starting point) for Windows tablets. It's now up to the OEM's to push this along.

 

The future of the desktop PC has been in question for years. If the desktop PC dies, it's all on the OEM's.

 

My home desktop PC is going to retire as soon as the Surface Pro 2 is released.

[M_Lyons10]

It doesn't.

Agreed.  They target two different needs...

[123456789A]

I'll retire my desktop PC when I can put 2 GTX Titans into a tablet.

[Draconian Guppy]

This pretty much sums it up:

Agreed.  They target two different needs...

 

I'll retire my desktop PC when I can put 2 GTX Titans into a tablet.

[Lord Method Man]

Let me know when they release a Surface that can hold my 6 TB storage server in it.

[DirtyLarry Veteran]

Just some food for thought, as I am also of the belief that tablets are not taking over anytime soon, however...

I work at a very large corporation. It is in the Top 100 of Fortune 500 companies.
The IT department is currently piloting a few different tablets in a few different divisions. The Surface, Lenevo's ThinkPad Tablet whose name is escaping me right now. And everyone right now in the sales force has iPads. Our IT department would love to replace those since we are a Windows based environment.
The best way to replace iPads? Find a Windows based tablet that can also replace users laptops as well, killing two birds with one stone so to speak.

So yeah, while home power users still very much have a need for a "traditional" desktop or laptop, a tablet may very well be sufficient enough in a corporate setting, and that is a huge market as many of you already know.
 

Really all it needs to do is MS Office for most corporate users. PPT especially. Not that many people in corporations are editing videos or opening Photoshop.

So this may not be that far fetched is all I am saying.

[Growled Member]

Tablets will one day surpass desktops, but that day is not coming anytime soon. But Microsoft is planning for the future, as well they should.

[Order_66]

Tablets will one day surpass desktops, but that day is not coming anytime soon. But Microsoft is planning for the future, as well they should.

 

They should absolutely plan for the future however trying to marry an obvious tablet interface with a traditional PC isn't working out too well for them and as a result the traditional PC is slowly being destroyed.

[HawkMan]

Hmmm tablets can't replace laptops or desktops... Or maybe they can replace both and then some.

Surface pro tablet.

- read news in the morning, check some mail

- fix some word or excel documents on the way to work.

- at work dock it, and use it with a big screen monitor and keyboard and mouse

- finish working on the documents and do some pre viz renders in 3dsmax

- undock surface and bring to presentation meeting.

- show off the documentation and renders pre-viz directly from the tablet to the projector.

- on the way home, stop and the park open the auto desk real painting app, and do some sketching/painting with the proper pressure sensitive digitizer tablet.

- stop by the shop on the way home and check your shopping list on the tablet.

- cook dinner from a recipe on the tablet

- remote in to work to fix some mistakes

- play some games

- do some surfing while your wife watches something boring on tv.

Seems like a surface pro can replace a PC for anyone but a core gamer to me, and then, a tablet plus a Xbox is a much cheaper and better investment then anyway in most cases.

No need to wait 10 years.

[HawkMan]

They should absolutely plan for the future however trying to marry an obvious tablet interface with a traditional PC isn't working out too well for them and as a result the traditional PC is slowly being destroyed.

You're seeing no existent causation, still. Despite its been proven that your causation is false.

[spaceelf]

Tablets will one day surpass desktops, but that day is not coming anytime soon. But Microsoft is planning for the future, as well they should.

I'll probably get a win8.1 tablet soon.  Android and iOS just don't cut it for me.

 

They should absolutely plan for the future however trying to marry an obvious tablet interface with a traditional PC isn't working out too well for them and as a result the traditional PC is slowly being destroyed.

It already was before win8 existed.

[adrynalyne]

Hmmm tablets can't replace laptops or desktops... Or maybe they can replace both and then some.

Surface pro tablet.

- read news in the morning, check some mail

- fix some word or excel documents on the way to work.

- at work dock it, and use it with a big screen monitor and keyboard and mouse

- finish working on the documents and do some pre viz renders in 3dsmax

- undock surface and bring to presentation meeting.

- show off the documentation and renders pre-viz directly from the tablet to the projector.

- on the way home, stop and the park open the auto desk real painting app, and do some sketching/painting with the proper pressure sensitive digitizer tablet.

- stop by the shop on the way home and check your shopping list on the tablet.

- cook dinner from a recipe on the tablet

- remote in to work to fix some mistakes

- play some games

- do some surfing while your wife watches something boring on tv.

Seems like a surface pro can replace a PC for anyone but a core gamer to me, and then, a tablet plus a Xbox is a much cheaper and better investment then anyway in most cases.

No need to wait 10 years.

 

 

Everything you detailed can be done on a 300 dollar Walmart special laptop.

 

Surface Pro starts at 799.00.

Xbox is what, 299?

 

So 1100 dollars for your solution.  That could buy you a single laptop with a decent GPU and it could do all of the above instead of spreading out across multiple devices.

 

 

Not seeing validity in the much cheaper comment.

 

Edit:  For example

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834300195

[Growled Member]

They should absolutely plan for the future however trying to marry an obvious tablet interface with a traditional PC isn't working out too well for them and as a result the traditional PC is slowly being destroyed.

 

This is a transition period and Microsoft has to plan for the future while supporting the past. I agree that Windows 8 hasn't worked out as well as MS would have liked, but MS has a tradition of taking two or three iterations to get things right.

[vcfan]

a windows tablet is a pc. its just another form factor,therefore I fail to see how it will cannibalize pc sales, in fact, it helps the pc market.

[HawkMan]

Everything you detailed can be done on a 300 dollar Walmart special laptop.

 

Surface Pro starts at 799.00.

Xbox is what, 299?

 

So 1100 dollars for your solution.  That could buy you a single laptop with a decent GPU and it could do all of the above instead of spreading out across multiple devices.

 

 

Not seeing validity in the much cheaper comment.

 

Edit:  For example

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834300195

Really it can. I can just whip out a laptop and easily work on it in a public transport or in a passenger seat... Umm nope.

That 300 dollar laptop not only comes with a though screen but a Wacom digitizer compatible with Wacom high end accessories like the airbrush? Wow. You must show me this laptop.

This laptop comes with a quality non TN screen that not only has good colors but is also bright and visible in daylight ?

You still need an Xbox with that laptop that has a ###### graphics card, sure the current gen surface pro only has a HD4000m still beats that 300 dollar craptop.

It's not just about cheaper, it's about convenience and capability, your solution has neither.

I'd also like to see you read news and check mail with the laptop at the breakfast table. Never mind walking around the shop picking p groceries using the laptop as your shopping list.

[adrynalyne]

Really it can. I can just whip out a laptop and easily work on it in a public transport or in a passenger seat... Umm nope.

That 300 dollar laptop not only comes with a though screen but a Wacom digitizer compatible with Wacom high end accessories like the airbrush? Wow. You must show me this laptop.

This laptop comes with a quality non TN screen that not only has good colors but is also bright and visible in daylight ?

You still need an Xbox with that laptop that has a ****ty graphics card, sure the current gen surface pro only has a HD4000m still beats that 300 dollar craptop.

It's not just about cheaper, it's about convenience and capability, your solution has neither.

I'd also like to see you read news and check mail with the laptop at the breakfast table. Never mind walking around the shop picking p groceries using the laptop as your shopping list.

It was just an example.  There are plenty sub 1100 dollar laptops out there with good video cards.

 

Hell, I could say cheap laptop and xbox and still not see your point on your example being cheaper.

 

All you have done here is show that there are different needs for laptops, tablets, PCs, and game consoles.

 

This was never an argument.  The argument is that tablets cannot replace PCs for everyone at this time, and that is a fact.

[LaP]

Agreed, tablets go only so far concercing productivity... Yes they can be used for autocad, powerpoint, the likes, but they simply won't ever match the ease and performance of using a PC

 

The problem is most consumers without teens going to school don't need those.

 

We are looking at PC sales here. As in Personal Computer. We are not looking at workstations or servers inside companies or schools.

 

In the consumer market lot of people don't actually really need a computer over a tablet. Most people here posting on the forum are pros. We use our personal computer to work. And most of us still upgrade it every 3 years or so. But we represent only a fraction of the consumer market.

 

Tablets wont kill the personal computer star. And the traditional desktop computer and laptop will remain strong inside companies and even schools. But saying the tablets/smart phones/smart TVs wont significantly affect the consumer market is kind of foolish imo.

[Lord Method Man]

Windows Tablets would have to actually sell before they could cannibalize anything.

[HawkMan]

It was just an example. There are plenty sub 1100 dollar laptops out there with good video cards.

Hell, I could say cheap laptop and xbox and still not see your point on your example being cheaper.

All you have done here is show that there are different needs for laptops, tablets, PCs, and game consoles.

This was never an argument. The argument is that tablets cannot replace PCs for everyone at this time, and that is a fact.

Again, never in my first post did I use cheaper as an argument. Let go of the straw man.

And actually no. Way I showed is that a single more convenient device can replace a PC for all tasks except heavy gaming, and be able to do a whole lot more at the same time.

[adrynalyne]

Again, never in my first post did I use cheaper as an argument. Let go of the straw man.

And actually no. Way I showed is that a single more convenient device can replace a PC for all tasks except heavy gaming, and be able to do a whole lot more at the same time.

For it to be a straw man, you first have to not have said it.

 

 Seems like a surface pro can replace a PC for anyone but a core gamer to me, and then, a tablet plus a Xbox is a much cheaper and better investment then anyway in most cases.

No need to wait 10 years.

[AJerman]

I now own 3 tablets, and absolutely never would consider replacing my PCs with them. Maybe if all you do is update your Facebook status it could replace it, but otherwise it won't ever happen.

 

Phones will replace PCs though, but that's still a ways out. In time our phones will be our computers. We'll drop them in a dock and they'll come up on a big screen with a keyboard and mouse and be every bit as powerful as the computers we have now. Perhaps around this time we'll see wireless touch displays that can connect to your Phoneputer and act like a tablet, but tablets themselves won't replace PCs ever.