At current rates of growth and decline, global tablet sales will overtake sales of PCs some time around September 3 this year, at about 6 o’clock in the morning AEST.
That’s not bad for a product that’s only been around for a little over 3 years, compared to almost 50 for the PC.
The latest figures from IDC show that tablet shipments grew 142% in the first quarter of the year, to 49.2m, while PC shipments fell 13.9% to 76.3m.
Apple remains the overall market leader, with 39.6%, but that’s down from 58.1% last year, with Samsung leaping from 11.3% to 17.9% and ASUS increasing from 3.1% to 5.5%. Amazon now has 3.7% and Microsoft 1.8%. Others apparently have 31.5% of the market, but I have no idea who they could be (anyone?).
The fall in PC shipments was blamed on Microsoft (isn’t everything?) due to a poor showing by Windows 8. But we all know that really it’s due to a shift in computer usage patterns, which comes down to the fact that the power to do everything we really need to can be squeezed into smaller and smaller objects.
I mean you used to need a fully revved up PC to play Minesweeper, but an iPad will now serve up Angry Birds Star Wars HD with barely a murmur. Oh and tablets are good for work as well.
Really, though, the figures are a testament to modern collaborative manufacturing efficiency. I don’t know when Apple first started ordering parts for the iPad, but it’s simply mind-boggling that they can all get themselves organized and their products can be assembled into something so advanced in just a few years.
A more mundane example is in chocolate bars. Kit Kats used to be four fingers of milk chocolate or nothing. Now Nestle seem to be able to flick a switch and churn out anything from soy sauce to crème brulee. in ‘pop choc’, regular or ‘chunky’ varieties.
Half the world might be broke, but there are productivity gains being achieved somewhere. Perhaps our problem is that its Angry Birds and Kit Kats that are seeing many of the benefits.