RIP Desktop PC

For most of us, the only time an actual desktop PC is used is at work. Recently, not a single desktop model figured on online shopping portal Amazon.com's top ten selling PC and hardware list the weekend before Christmas, while seven laptop models made the list.

 

"On both price and performance, laptops are so competitive now it's surprising they weren't able to catch up with desktops even earlier," said iSuppli analyst Peter Lin.

 

Who wants a PC anyway? They have multiple parts with various wires connecting the user to the wall, the wall! No one wants that commitment of having to stay put for hours on end tied by ugly black cords--to the wall.

 

"The ability to surf the Internet wirelessly at public places, the need to be able to take your office out with you when you travel, and an increasing range of notebook computers have all led to lower desktop sales."

 

In college not one person had a PC in their dorm room and the only place a PC was found was in the library along with the rest of those obsolete items--books, encyclopedias and video tapes.

 

"It's just evolutionary I suppose," said Gartner analyst Tracy Tsai. "Things have reached a point where the price difference is no longer as pronounced as before for many consumers, and the average person is more likely to choose the option that offers him portability over the one that doesn't."

 

According to Reuters, to keep their growth coming, Acer, Asustek and others vying for laptop dominance are increasingly looking to segmentation, taking aim at the wide range of computer buyers.

 

"There is incredible choice in the notebook space now," said IDC analyst Richard Shim. "You can get notebooks at every inch size from 5-inch to 20-inch."

 

Alex Gruzen, Dell's manager for consumer products, agreed that the days when his company could offer laptops "in the same shades of grey" are coming to an end.

 

As portability becomes the norm, some are asking if there's any room left for desktops in the brave new era of laptops.

 

Salesmen at Taipei's Kuanghwa computer market, one of the city's top PC hang-outs, said hardcore computer game addicts may be one of the few groups to keep buying desktops that offer greater processing power for memory-intensive applications.

 

"Hardly anyone buys desktops anymore," said Elton Tsai, gesturing toward the solitary HP desktop sitting in his shop amid rows of laptops.

 

"Anyone who is enough of a geek to want real processing power can probably assemble his own computer, saving himself at least a few thousand Taiwan dollars in the process," Tsai said.

 

But not everyone believes the desktop, which was first introduced in the 1970s, will soon be relegated to the junkyard of history. After all, desktops can still offer substantial savings, especially for those who are handy with a screwdriver.

 

Gartner analyst Lillian Tay asked, "How can a laptop compete with a desktop on price?"

 

"Especially in the emerging markets where price is a consideration," she said, "laptops simply cannot compete on price with a group of people who slap a motherboard, a hard drive and a few chips together to get a desktop."

 

However, although based on Tay's opinion, the price of a self-made PC could beat laptops in that area, it could be concluded that not everyone has enough nerd-skills to make that happen.

 

Laptops posted a milestone in the third quarter of 2008, passing desktop PC sales for the first time, according to research group iSuppli.

 

With an entry level price of $300 for some basic models, laptops should bolster their position in 2009. They are forecast to take up about 55 percent of all computer shipments, according to data tracking firm IDC.

 

Many companies eagerly waiting for the era of the laptop are in Taiwan, maker of about 80 percent of the world's laptop PCs. They include the world's top two contract manufacturers, Quanta and Compal Electronics, and two of the most aggressive laptop brands, Acer and Asustek.