Tablets to Dominate, Rendering PC’s a Thing of the Past

It is of little surprise that sales of tablet computers continue their meteoric rise. However, not everyone is in a celebratory mood as tablets are simultaneously taking a massive bite out of the personal computer market. This year alone sales of tablets will skyrocket by nearly 70% while laptop and desktop computers continue their downward spiral into obscurity.

According to a recently published report by Gartner Research, PC sales are expected to total 305 million units — a decline of 10.6 percent. Tablet sales are likely to eclipse PCs by 2015. Tech blog Venture Beat summed up why tablets connect so well with consumers, saying, “Tablets are like hot young starlets edging out the older competition. They are mobile, cost-effective, and provide the degree of instant gratification that consumers these days demand. Furthermore, start-ups from a range of sectors are building beautiful, sleek apps designed just for tablets, which are in many ways better suited to media, social media, e-commerce, and education than PCs or mobile phones.”

Apple’s iPad is the clear leader in the tablet space, dominating the industry with an impressive majority of the market share. Serious players have entered the space, attempting to steal Apple’s thunder. The Nook, Kindle Fire, Microsoft Surface, and a slew of Android devices are knocking on the door to get their piece of the pie. All the tablet fun has come at a high cost for PC manufacturers as this once untouchable industry now faces a bleak and uncertain future. As an iPad app developer it is thrilling to see consumers adopt these devices as readily as smartphones.

Tablets are turning into the ubiquitous business platform. iPads are now standard to use at your doctor’s office, as your point of sale when ordering food, or while perusing your favorite retail store from the comfort of your own bedroom. Every iPhone app developer in New York City can tell you that the creative and disruptive torrent being unleashed by tablets is unlocking enormous potential for industries large and small.