Analysis - Canalys: PC market up 7%, but that includes tablets

[HEXUS]

The market researcher thinks tablets are PCs, we disagree.

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[cheesemp]

Completely agree. A tablet is more a large smartphone without the phone than a PC/laptop.

[scaryjim]

Of course, when Windows ports to Arm in the next iteration that could actually be game changing. And there are tablet devices that blur the lines already, like ASUS' Transformer and Slider, which are marketed as productivity devices and laptop replacements rather than large MIDs. Plus there are a few 10"ish x86 Windows tablets available that really have to be considered as PCs, and a lot of people have bought tablets as a replacement for a netbook, and we'd definitely class netbooks as PCs. So I think there's a certain amount of blur there and it'll be a couple of years before we can really decide whether tablets should be classed on their own or if they're really low end PCs. At the minute, however, I'm happy to see analysis looking at it both ways: their effect on the PC market and their growth as a category in their own right.

And just in typing that, it's also occurred to me that there's been no Arm tablets announced (as far as I'm aware) that make use of Arm ports of desktop Linux. Given that the hardware is mature and powerful enough to give a low-power PC experience, I'm amazed no-one's tried to bridge the gap with a mobile device + desktop OS combination. Perhaps linux is considered too niche to bother with: but I'd be willing to put money down that when Windows finally moves to Arm we'll see plenty of ASUS Transformer-type devices running it

[jim]

They're calling tablets "pads".

Not much point worrying about what else they have to say

[Scott B]

Of course, when Windows ports to Arm in the next iteration that could actually be game changing. And there are tablet devices that blur the lines already, like ASUS' Transformer and Slider, which are marketed as productivity devices and laptop replacements rather than large MIDs. Plus there are a few 10"ish x86 Windows tablets available that really have to be considered as PCs, and a lot of people have bought tablets as a replacement for a netbook, and we'd definitely class netbooks as PCs. So I think there's a certain amount of blur there and it'll be a couple of years before we can really decide whether tablets should be classed on their own or if they're really low end PCs. At the minute, however, I'm happy to see analysis looking at it both ways: their effect on the PC market and their growth as a category in their own right.

And just in typing that, it's also occurred to me that there's been no Arm tablets announced (as far as I'm aware) that make use of Arm ports of desktop Linux. Given that the hardware is mature and powerful enough to give a low-power PC experience, I'm amazed no-one's tried to bridge the gap with a mobile device + desktop OS combination. Perhaps linux is considered too niche to bother with: but I'd be willing to put money down that when Windows finally moves to Arm we'll see plenty of ASUS Transformer-type devices running it

All good points and there are clearly aspects of tablets that have more in common with PCs than smartphones. But there are also plenty of examples of the converse, which is why I think a distinct category is necessary.

It will be interesting to see what people make of these hybrid devices with keyboards. Will they be the ideal compromise or the worst of both worlds?

[scaryjim]

I can't comment specifically on hybrid tablets, but I've just bought a USB host equipped Android tablet and plugged a keyboard into it. It's completely changed my opinion of Android as an OS - and today's release of Google Docs for Android can only help to improve Android's position as a viable productivity OS. Before today I'd always assumed I'd need a Windows laptop as well as an Android tablet to get a computing experience I'd be happy with, but being able to type on my Android tab from a proper keyboard means I can forum, blog, word-process - probably 90% of everything I'd want to do on a computer. Personally I'm finding that an Android tab with a keyboard is definitely on the better side of both worlds...