Tablet sales on the rise, to surpass PCs by end of year

Tablets_Group — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Tablets have been steadily catching up on PCs in recent years as the more fashionable way to get work done, and according to one analyst they’re perhaps even about to overtake the PC in sales. Due to falling sales of PCs and the continuing popularity of tablets, analyst Sameer Singh believes we’re going to see tablets overtake PCs in sales before the end of 2013.

Analyst Sameer Singh has forecasted several scenarios for upcoming sales of both PCs and tablets, and it appears to spell out bad news for PC manufacturers. Originally Singh expected tablets to overtake PCs by 2014 in sales, but his upgraded estimates put the date much sooner – so much sooner that we may see tablets overtake PCs in sales in just a few months. The reason for this trend is two-fold. On one hand, PC sales are dropping much faster than originally anticipated, and tablet sales are continuing to grow steadily. As a result, we may see tablets overtake PCs in sales as early as July or August. Depending on several factors, Singh is expecting tablets to overtake PCs somewhere early or late in Q3, which is only going to further worry PC manufacturers and encourage the shift in production from desktops and laptops toward tablets and similar devices.

Despite this news, tablets are from the all-in-one replacements for PCs as some would expect. While the things we do on our PC are more and more Web-focused, important tools including Microsoft Office and Adobe products are quick to remind us that no tablet is a true replacement to the laptop or desktop we’ve relied on for years since. While some devices like the convertible tablet have tried to offer a mix between the tablet and laptop experience, these devices are still new to the market and have very limited hardware. As a result, convertibles have yet to prove their worth as a potential middle-of-the-road option for consumers and instead. This news also is skewed by the fact that people are not adopting as quickly as they used to, and that most PC owners are happy with their current desktops or laptops, but want to supplement it with a tablet.

Either way, tablets are going to continue to be popular upgrade options, and PCs are still going to remain as tried and true workstations for the more work-intensive tasks out there. While some feel a revolution is on the brink, the fact remains that there is still the potential that both devices can exist in some sort of harmony.

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