Tablets Hurting PC Sales? - of Course They Are!

The last few months have seen various PC makers proclaiming that tablet sales are not hurting PC sales. Rubbish, of course PC sales are being hit by tablets. Almost every PC maker has tried to sell an "iPad Killer" ... and failed. It is very ironic to me that the best two competitors to the iPad are made by bookstores. I can personally attest that for me it was 1) build a new PC or 2) buy an iPad 2. I love my iPad. My PC is getting really lonely. It goes weeks on end without being turned on. I finally had to actually boot it up this weekend to try and diagnose a problem with my DSL since the PC is hard wired to my router.

I ran across this article on Slashdot.org today: Using a Tablet As Your Primary Computer. SlashDot.org links to How the iPad 2 Became My Favorite Computer Talk about generating some forum messages...as of Monday at 1pm CST, Shash Dot has over 400 comments on the story.

I think it is just going to get worse for Dell, HP, and others since the ARM processors are getting more and more powerful. Tablet makers are already adopting the latest and most powerful ARM processor. I talked about the new ARM processor in September - How about twice the performance for less power?. Acer seems to be the only major PC maker that is making headway with tablets Acer's New Iconia Tab A200 Packs Tegra 2, ICS Soon.

Speaking of the top two competitors to the iPad, Ars Technica has a nice comparison article on the Kindle Fire and the new Nook Tablet Kindle Fire vs. Nook Tablet: which one should you buy?. Both have plenty of horsepower: a dual core ARM processor.

Ars also reviewed the Kindle Fire Don't call it a tablet: the Kindle Fire reviewed
...and the Nook Lean, mean consuming machine: the Nook Tablet reviewed.

I think the Nook has some advantages, but I am wary of Barnes and Nobles's quality of tech support. My personal experience with them has not been good. The Nook Tablet retains the Mini SD slot from the color nook so you are unlikly to fill it up like the Fire. Neither is perfect. But software updates should resolve some early issues with both of them. Side loading some apps will resolve the rest. They are both dynamite buys for the price!

Comments

  1. Robert ParrishDecember 5, 2011 at 2:49 PM

    I am really thinking about getting a Kindle Fire. I have an iPad 2, but it is really the school's ipad 2 and I want a personal device I feel comfortable toting around with me everywhere. I won't take my school owned equipment more than from wort to home.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Mike KentDecember 5, 2011 at 7:00 PM

    The fire is now the #2 table sales wise. You can side load apps on it. I just wish it had an SD or micro SD slot.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Robert ParrishDecember 5, 2011 at 7:12 PM

    That is the only downside to the Fire. I have added it to my Amazon Cart at least a dozen times and then remove it. I just can't pull the trigger :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Mike KentDecember 5, 2011 at 8:44 PM

    I have the color nook and it is good, just a bit slow. The nook tablet adds the needed RAM and horsepower. The fire would be perfect if it just had an SD slot or at least 16GB of storage.

    ReplyDelete

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