High-profile PC makers such as HP and Dell may be preparing to “gradually phase out” of the tablet business, leaving the market to Apple’s iPad, Amazon’s Kindle Fire and Barnes and Noble’s Nook tablets. The rumored sea change follows the realization that best-selling tablets make money from the content they pump out, not from selling the hardware.
Taiwan-based DigiTimes cites unnamed “sources from upstream supply chain” that after unsuccessfully trying their hand at challenging Apple’s dominance, so-called ‘pure’ PC players will leave the tablet field to a small number of brands that can profit from a tight-knit content ecosystem. By focusing on selling content rather than hardware, firms such as Apple can earn revenue while offering devices costing as low as $99, as in the case of the Nook Simple Touch.
A number of PC makers have gotten into the tablet market only to fail miserably. HP’s TouchPad went down in flames only to be sold for $99 by retailers looking to rid their shelves of the slow-moving device. RIM’s PlayBook was met with a similar reception by consumers who seem only to want the look and feel of an iPad.
But what could put the nail in the coffin for PC makers’ foray into tablets is a belief the downward-spiraling prices are not about to end. According to the report, companies foresee a time when tablets will be free, completely removing the motive for firms built to sell hardware.
If the report is accurate, it would be the first move by PC makers that made any sense. Like someone rebounding from a broken relationship, computer makers latched onto the belief that tablets would save them from their stupidity over netbooks.
As we saw earlier this week with a steadily growing demand for Macs, the PC isn’t going anywhere. Although the U.S. and Europe may have a mature market ready for tablets, in Asia income is just now approaching where consumers can afford a PC. It was silly for PC makers to think tablets could totally replace worldwide demand for computers.
Our best lessons often come from failure. PC makers should learn from their failure with tablets to produce better computers than more markets will desire — and they can use Apple’s Mac as a template.
Ed Sutherland is a veteran technology journalist who first heard of Apple when they grew on trees, Yahoo was run out of a Stanford dorm and Google was an unknown upstart. Since then, Sutherland has covered the whole technology landscape, concentrating on tracking the trends and figuring out the finances of large (and small) technology companies.
21 responses to “PC Makers Wave the White Flag: You Win, iPad [Report]”
more money….. just what apple needs
When will these companies learn that want we consumers want is well built machines, not some POS’es that may be a couple hundred dollars cheaper. While a cheap computer has a place for those with more restrictive incomes, these companies all seem to ignore the high end.
Apple is all about the “Total Cost of Ownership” argument.
Most Apple users are not nearly as proficient as Windows users about how their computers work; instead Apple users are more proficient about how to get work done on their computers.
It’s a choice for the consumer: Do you want to get work done on your computer … or do you want to work on your computer?
Think about it …
Here.. The title SHOULD Be WHY PCs are replaceable… By Andy Rooney….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v…
Now you see why at timecode: 1:41 to 1:49
But also, how often does an iPad2 user turn their device completely off? Me, once per 2 weeks. WHY do I say that? Less wait time (relevance for the video). If you can’t get a PC right, how on earth do you plan on getting a tablet right? I wish them all the best.
Actually, I think it’s the Kindle that will drive them out. It did two things: created a second heavyweight performer, and proved you COULD crate another heavyweight. Another middling OS from Microsoft or Android is automatically DOA. iOS left behind large enough scraps to fight over, but they don’t want to fight for the scraps Kindle leaves behind.
They would have had the money anyway, its not like a normal person knows what a tablet is that isn’t an ipad. in a few years, maybe the tablet market will be known as ipad like mp3 players are known as a ipod.
Tried it! The Kindle “Fire” is a piece of crap & total waste of money!! Somehow, Amazon was able to make a far WORSE tablet than RIM’s PlayBook, which seemed impossible! What happens when the original iPad goes for $199 & iPad 2 for $299?? That means “Kindle’s” & “Nook’s” have about 4 months before we don’t even remember they existed! Sad! Regardless of how cheap the “Fire”is, it’ll never satisfy even the “dumbest” of users, that know NOTHING about technology! Leave a potential customer with one of these things for 5-minutes & they’ll run to the Apple section of the store in a heartbeat! The only people that buy these things are the people that go to Best Buy, see the display & make a major purchase without even doing any research or at the very least, try the device for a few minutes & compare it to the industry-leader! Leaving yourself in a state of denial, just so Amazon can claim they’re selling units is PATHETIC & SAD!!!
In a few years?? LOL! Try a few months!!! iPad 3 will destroy the rest!!! Once & for all!! Plus iPhone 5, Apple can barely see anyone else, considering how high above the clouds they are at the moment! Looks like they’ll be the “last” company standing!
Now we see why Jobs and Apple had been working on the iPad concept for so many years. They knew it was the future, but it had to be done RIGHT. And hitting the perfect balance to avoid another Newton was nothing short of a miracle. Many many people predicted the iPad would fail, and they they made good arguments… but their arguments proved right only for all the followers who miss the perfect Goldilocks balance of quality, features, content and functionality to be a success. As far as Amazon’s and B&N’s tablet they won’t sell in large enough numbers to justify their existence for long, and they will end up making their software for the iPad.
Pathetic & Sad seem to describe your comprehension skills. The point isn’t that IPad and Fire are equivalent. The point is that Fire is good enough for a lot of people, and that Kindle executes what they do very well (like Apple). By not overpromising and by executing their strengths well they’ll be very successful as the solid #2 in the market, driving out the rest of the competition.