News - People are increasingly replacing PCs with tablets

[HEXUS]

YouGov’s study quantifies cannibalization and identifies the magic price point for tablets.

Read more.

[j.o.s.h.1408]

are u blooming kidding me? where do they get there facts from? people buying tablets over pc's? lol come on.
the day i can connect any usb device onto a tablet and install and use it, run photoshop, run a jboss or tomcat server, do some coding on an IDE of my choice, able to run pc games like bf3 And have a onscreen keyboard thats as good as a physical keyboard, THEN i may consider a tablet

[aidanjt]

Don't forget that the majority of PC owners are little more than a social/media absorbing webtoopuntohh click monkey. And for them, a tablet works just fine.

[Rob_B]

But you're probably not the same as 75% of people who buy PCs with your specific requirements

Plus it's only 8% of tablet owners so probably not a huge overall % of PC buyers/owners.

[Scott B]

Just added a table.

As you can see, for most people a tablet is a supplementary device, but that 8 percent is still a significant minority.

[Rob_B]

Whats a 'neetbook' ? they sound cool!

I'm suprised by the N/A I was given the device - numbers, that's quite high.
Also is there a need for 'other' and 'none of these' answers? Whoever designed that questionnaire wasn't too thorough..

[Saracen]

are u blooming kidding me? where do they get there facts from? people buying tablets over pc's? lol come on.
the day i can connect any usb device onto a tablet and install and use it, run photoshop, run a jboss or tomcat server, do some coding on an IDE of my choice, able to run pc games like bf3 And have a onscreen keyboard thats as good as a physical keyboard, THEN i may consider a tablet

But the thing is, most people, most general home users. don't want to run Photoshop, wouldn't know a jboss server if it bit them in the backside and think a Tomcat is something urgebtly needing a visit to the vet. And not everybody, by a VERY large margin, plays games, especiallly like BF3.

A lot of people use a machine for a bit of web browsing, online shopping/banking, doing their email and maybe writing the odd letter or two.

Note, not heavy word processing but an occasional letter or two.

And that type of user could well see the appeal of a tablet as opposed to a full-blown PC.

And for that matter, a tablet as an addition to maybe a home server also has an appeal.

I'm a natural sceptic, even Luddite, about many forms of "advanced" technology and my views aren't unknown round these parts, but I said a while ago that I can see exactly this shift coming, where tablets start replacing PCs. They clearly won't replace them for everything, or at least, not until tablet technology gets several clear leagues ahead of the current state of the art, and maybe, never. But theyare getting to the point where they're a credible, and highly convenient, alternative for many undemanding users, and as an add-on to the installation of many more demanding users.

And in a few years time, they'll be, IMHO, a lot more ubiquitous than they are now.

Right now, as a mass market device they're a novelty .... rather like iPods were a few years ago. And I clearly remember people dismissing the first cellular phones as an over-priced novelty suitable only for a few business users or poseurs with far more money than sense. But compare those original £3500 bricks with today's smartphones, and you can see what 20 years or so of technology can do to a leading-edge product. So .... what will a tablet be capable of in 20 years? Odds are, FAR more than we'd give it credit for now. It'll probably be eminently capable of running Photoshop CS22 and BF19 .... at the same time as running the nation's air traffic control system.

[Saracen]

Just added a table.

As you can see, for most people a tablet is a supplementary device, but that 8 percent is still a significant minority.

Yup. And expect it to grow.

Tablets have, IMHO, arrived. They may really have only just arrived in any serious manner, but arrive they have. And even I can see the appeal.

[Rob_B]

... And even I can see the appeal.

Dun-dun duuuuuun!!!

Luddite* Saracen in

I like that new gadget even though it's mostly pointless & replicating what I already own

shocker, turn to page 6.

* Actually Luddite doesn't really mean what most people think it does.

[mikerr]

Yup. And expect it to grow.

Tablets have, IMHO, arrived. They may really have only just arrived in any serious manner, but arrive they have. And even I can see the appeal.

Not merely tablets - touchscreen interface, and instant-on devices.

IMO the mouse and touchpad have always been difficult for many to get to grips with for many
since it requires you to coordinate two different movements.

Touchscreens have a zero learning curve. Use your grandma as a test !

I still think the perfect device is one with both a keyboard and a touchscreen.

Disclaimer: iPad owner !

[aidanjt]

I think it's a good thing, personally.. get all the stupid people on tablets, and power users can get back to teletypes in peace*!

*I kid, but l've spent the last two days with nothing more than nVidia kms and screen for all my computing.

[crossy]

are u blooming kidding me? where do they get there facts from? people buying tablets over pc's? lol come on.
the day i can connect any usb device onto a tablet and install and use it, run photoshop, run a jboss or tomcat server, do some coding on an IDE of my choice, able to run pc games like bf3 And have a onscreen keyboard thats as good as a physical keyboard, THEN i may consider a tablet

Hmm, that's a pretty stringent set of requirements - heck I know a lot of normal PC's that'd have problems with that. E.g. my latest PC won't support my ancient Freecom DVB stick, and I can't see many laptops being able to do BF3 justice.
You obviously aren't in the target audience then - the folks who just want a quick way to check eBay, write some emails, browse YouTube and do a quick Angry Birds session.
Good point about the keyboard - I've yet to come across an on-screen that's even on par with a cheap membrane keyboard, never mind something decent.

The research firm has arrived at the optimal price based on a price modeling analysis among 2,000 nationally representative adults who do not own a table

I guess that being table-less would encourage tablet use in preference to a normal PC. Presumably the new Apple iTable would suit - although you'll have to get the matching iChair's too. (Cue sound of crack Apple legal team running off to sue Ikea, DFS, et al)

The research firm predicted the launch of newer, cheaper tablets throughout 2011 will further boost this increase. YouGov has identified £250 as the magic price point and clearly demonstrates the importance of pricing in order to achieve widespread distribution.

Agree with the £250 price point - but I'd argue that for that folks want something reasonable, not the £99 Chinese-sourced, barely-running-an-old-version-of-Android ones. And personally, I can't really see any of the major manufacturers being brave enough to launch at £250 - not when you can ship at £400+ and apparently get away with it.
£200-250 for a decent tablet would persuade me to replace my existing netbook, otherwise I'll stick with the old gear.

[Scott B]

I guess that being table-less would encourage tablet use in preference to a normal PC. Presumably the new Apple iTable would suit - although you'll have to get the matching iChair's too. (Cue sound of crack Apple legal team running off to sue Ikea, DFS, et al)

Thanks, corrected.

[j.o.s.h.1408]

But the thing is, most people, most general home users. don't want to run Photoshop, wouldn't know a jboss server if it bit them in the backside and think a Tomcat is something urgebtly needing a visit to the vet. And not everybody, by a VERY large margin, plays games, especiallly like BF3.

A lot of people use a machine for a bit of web browsing, online shopping/banking, doing their email and maybe writing the odd letter or two.

Note, not heavy word processing but an occasional letter or two.

And that type of user could well see the appeal of a tablet as opposed to a full-blown PC.

And for that matter, a tablet as an addition to maybe a home server also has an appeal.

I'm a natural sceptic, even Luddite, about many forms of "advanced" technology and my views aren't unknown round these parts, but I said a while ago that I can see exactly this shift coming, where tablets start replacing PCs. They clearly won't replace them for everything, or at least, not until tablet technology gets several clear leagues ahead of the current state of the art, and maybe, never. But theyare getting to the point where they're a credible, and highly convenient, alternative for many undemanding users, and as an add-on to the installation of many more demanding users.

And in a few years time, they'll be, IMHO, a lot more ubiquitous than they are now.

Right now, as a mass market device they're a novelty .... rather like iPods were a few years ago. And I clearly remember people dismissing the first cellular phones as an over-priced novelty suitable only for a few business users or poseurs with far more money than sense. But compare those original £3500 bricks with today's smartphones, and you can see what 20 years or so of technology can do to a leading-edge product. So .... what will a tablet be capable of in 20 years? Odds are, FAR more than we'd give it credit for now. It'll probably be eminently capable of running Photoshop CS22 and BF19 .... at the same time as running the nation's air traffic control system.

IMO many people use there pc's for heavy word processing. most families need to write some sort of letter to someone. Also what about people with kids? good luck doing there assignments in a tablet.

right now i just cant see how a typical uk family can adopt fully on a tablet. whether we like it or not, most of us have to do some sort of word processing at some period in ours or our family members lives and a tablet is not up to scratch.

for strict web browsing yea thats fine but not for word processing or any professional use.

i cant see a typical solicitors office dumping pc's for tablets any time soon either. Also, what about connecting there ipod touch or iphone to there tablet? you currently cant do that in ipad 2 right? which goes to my point about attaching any usb device into it. you cant.

what about downloading your favourite holiday photo's from your point and shoot camera? nope no chance on a tablet. see where i am getting? many flaws and limitations for a typical UK family household.

a typical family household would use a pc for this:

downloading there music and transfering to there phones and usb devices
watching movies
doing word processing
browsing internet
printing files(again, can u attach a printer to a tablet yet?)
transfering and storing pictures from your camera or even camcorder
playing famville games

In a nutshell, a table can only do some of the above, not all.

[j.o.s.h.1408]

Not merely tablets - touchscreen interface, and instant-on devices.

IMO the mouse and touchpad have always been difficult for many to get to grips with for many
since it requires you to coordinate two different movements.

Touchscreens have a zero learning curve. Use your grandma as a test !

I still think the perfect device is one with both a keyboard and a touchscreen.

Disclaimer: iPad owner !

The thing about a touch screen is you have to be up close to the screen in order to reach and touch it. if you are a person that sits from a distance you will have to stretch in order to "interact" with the screen.

i suppsoe a 10inh tablet is fine but if they was to produce larger screens it could be an issue as when u dock it at your desk u have to sit close to it so u can reach and interact with the OS. a keyboard and mouse seperates you more from the screen.

[aidanjt]

I'd hardly call a few static pages 'heavy word processing'. I mean really, I can count on two hands how many dead tree letters I've personally had to send in the last 10 years, and I can tell you most of those fingers were further in the distant past.