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It’s Official: Apple’s iPad is Killing PCs

PCs will still be needed by those who create stuff, iPads for those who just consume. iPods never killed of full sized stereo systems, there is a place for portable with shitty sound and room sized esoteric systems.
 
That's simply because iPads (or that form factor combined with the software set) is more useful or easier to handle than a PC for certain things. Just as a laptop computer is more practical than a desktop PC for certain things. Or at least the ease of it ways up for the deficiensies (e.g. screen size).

The iPad isn't killing the PC, it's just moving in where it makes some sense. Just like I don't log in at my desktop anymore to do my Skype calls, now that it's integrated in my N900 wi-fi phone it's easier and more natural to use the N900 than the PC with its otherwise great large screen (I only do voice calls, if I did video calls maybe an iPad would have been the choice - my jacket has a pocket made to fit an iPad).

There are still a lot of things where a big computer is better/easier/more productive. All these new gadgets are still computers (including the smartphones), so the only thing we can say for sure is that the number of computers are constantly rising.

-Tor

Edit: I suddenly realized that the OP may be refering to Microsoft Windows computers with the term "PC".. I didn't, I was thinking of desktop computers in general.
 
An average 16 year old teenager "with a social life" is asked by dad, you have 1 of two choices, an Iphone 4/5 or a PC sitting on your desk, which do you think he will pick?

That pretty much sums up alot.
 
This depends on what happens long term. I think the Ipad is selling about 20 million units this year. The question is whether that can continue to double every year for the next few years and exceed 100 million units per year or if it will reach a plateau. Plenty of cheaper PC replacements have come along in the past and gradually dropped off as useful features were added to the conventional PC at a reasonable price.
 
Note that Apple isn't particularly interested in iPads, per se, but rather selling of apps and services (such as iTunes). If dead rats would sell iTunes, Apple would be making them.

And as there's nothing really revolutionary in an iPad's hardware, you can expect very cheap clones as production volume goes up.

Would I use an iPad to lay out a PCB or design a building? Nope. the desktop workstation will be with us for a long time, just not so much as a consumer item.

Instead our eTrash will be coming from non-upgradable mobile devices. Credit a win for the consumer society.
 
Chuck(G) said:
Note that Apple isn't particularly interested in iPads, per se, but rather selling of apps and services (such as iTunes). If dead rats would sell iTunes, Apple would be making them.

And as there's nothing really revolutionary in an iPad's hardware, you can expect very cheap clones as production volume goes up.
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Except that Apple has a host of duboius patents and well-paid lawyers to stop this happening (note what's happening with ipad clones in Europe). I find irony in the fact that the whole marketing pitch of Apple towards IBM in the early '80s was the little creative guys (Apple) vrs the big, all-controlling "big brother" (IBM). Who wears big brother's shoes now? Apple fanboys seem blind to this aggressive corporate dominance or maybe they just don't care.

Tez
 
I'm sure that if Apple's competitors would consent to paying a royalty and tying use of the the thing to iTunes and Apple's app store, Apple would have few problems.
 
tezza said:
Except that Apple has a host of duboius patents and well-paid lawyers to stop this happening (note what's happening with ipad clones in Europe). I find irony in the fact that the whole marketing pitch of Apple towards IBM in the early '80s was the little creative guys (Apple) vrs the big, all-controlling "big brother" (IBM). Who wears big brother's shoes now? Apple fanboys seem blind to this aggressive corporate dominance or maybe they just don't care.

Tez
Click to expand...

The Apple of yesterday sure isn't the Apple of today that's for sure, but then again, Apple has never been cheap or affordable.

I think the Internet Culture has put them where they are today.
 
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Every new little device that comes along is going to "kill the PC", but, given the desktop's generalist nature, none of them ever do. The PC just keeps rollin' along as the "killer device" fades into history with the advent of the next fad.
 
Druid6900 said:
Every new little device that comes along is going to "kill the PC", but, given the desktop's generalist nature, none of them ever do. The PC just keeps rollin' along as the "killer device" fades into history with the advent of the next fad.
Click to expand...

Time will tell.
 
Personally I don't see IPAD-type devices as being just a fad. They are Internet communication/entertainment devices that are both robust and practical. Just a nautural evolution of computing technology. There are still some things you'll need a PC for, but in many households these IPAD-type devices might be all you need.

Tez
 
Chuck(G) said:
Instead our eTrash will be coming from non-upgradable mobile devices. Credit a win for the consumer society.
Click to expand...
Nicely put. And I guess the one nice thing I'll ever say about Facebook is it serves as a convenient self-imposed prison that most of 'em will never leave, which means I won't have to deal with them.
 
That's my problem but I'm not a trend based consumer. Buying a proprietary non-upgradable device for the same cost or more than the fully functional equivalent doesn't do anything for me. I know the market will change/evolve but a large bad to carry around is quite inconvenient in my eyes. That coupled with a dumbed down computer and a bunch of stuff it can sort of do for a cost (app store) but not quite as well as free open source software on a full computer eh.. that and at least the 3g plan my wife was offered had a 2GB/month cap for $20/month from AT&T. That's about 1.5 movies per month that we could stream on a road trip.. made the 3g part a joke. My dad had a different experience with his though, he found lack of 3g crippled a lot of the functionality that his iphone had and he would have expected the ipad to also have.. i.e GPS stuff and maps weren't as accurate or updatable from the field. Just a lot of small things he wasn't realizing at first made it less convenient than his phone. He likes it for the bigger screen and email and for whatever reason did upgrade to the ipad2 (I think it was a work expense and his ipad1 went to another employee).

Far as killing the PC, 1 it's still a personal computer so no.. but 2 no I don't see the Palm Pilot/Newton killing or even threatening the PC right now. I think perhaps if it was more of an open market and open development then perhaps it could do something useful.
 
gerrydoire said:
I think the Internet cultural has put them where they are today.
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Yeah, it's definitely that shallow, faddish, fanboy-spawning Internet culture we have to thank for the endless quantities of mindless spams/trolls clogging forums around the world with promotional material hawking Apple's products for free. It's a marketing dream come true. Hooray?
 
tezza said:
Personally I don't see IPAD-type devices as being just a fad. They are Internet communication/entertainment devices that are both robust and practical. Just a nautural evolution of computing technology. There are still some things you'll need a PC for, but in many households these IPAD-type devices might be all you need.

Tez
Click to expand...

I agree..........
 
Druid6900 said:
Every new little device that comes along is going to "kill the PC", but, given the desktop's generalist nature, none of them ever do. The PC just keeps rollin' along as the "killer device" fades into history with the advent of the next fad.
Click to expand...
Like the infamous IBM vs Apple back in the 80s. For a while, IBM was winning the race, but in the early 2000s, IBM switched to servers only. Now, Apple seems to be the dominate one these days.
 
I know this is an idiotic question to ask at this point, but how exactly does an iPad lovefest qualify as a "Vintage" computer conversation? (IE, this thread is in the "Genre"->"Other" category, in a section of the forums that based on the named genres seems to draw an "appropriate for discussion" line somewhere in the middle-late-1990s. Does this not simply scream "General Off Topic", or possibly "Rants"? Or is there an "Astroturfing" section I'm not seeing? That'd be a perfect fit.)
 
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