For the last few years, there has been debate over whether the technology sector had officially entered the post-PC world. While the growing use of tablets and smartphones is undeniable, have these devices truly surpassed the computer? Late Apple CEO Steve Jobs thought so, and said as much during the introduction of the iPad back in 2010.
"This transformation is going to make some people uneasy… because the PC has taken us a long way. They were amazing. But it changes," Jobs said during the D: All Things Digital conference in 2010. "Vested interests are going to change. And, I think we've embarked on that change. Is it the iPad? Who knows? Will it be next year or five years? … We like to talk about the post-PC era, but when it really starts to happen, it's uncomfortable."
Well, it seems like it is time to deal with that uneasy feeling if the latest quarterly sales numbers are anything to go by. According to a report from IDC about the first quarter of 2013, PC sales dropped 13.9 percent compared to a year ago. This is the steepest decline reported since the firm started keeping record back in 1994 and nearly double the 7.7 percent estimate.
Not a single major PC manufacturer experienced growth. Lenovo broke even while some companies like Acer saw a drop as big as 31.3 percent. Mac sales saw the smallest drop at just 7.5 percent, but this shows that the trend of consumers turning toward mobile devices is not just about Windows 8.
While many businesses do not need to worry about replacing all their PCs right away, they should start considering moves for the future like an iPad implementation. This is something that an IT consultant company with mobile device experience can help with.
