Tablet computers have shaken up the PC industry so much that Apple may overtake Hewlett-Packard as the world's biggest computer distributor by the second half of next year.
That's the claim of market analysis firm Canalys, which says Apple's industry-building iPad has already made the Cupertino, Calif.,-based giant No. 2 in the world during the third quarter of this year.
The Tab Is Fab
Soaring sales of last year's iPad and this year's iPad 2 will help drive total 2011 global PC shipments to 415 million, up 15 percent year-on-year, Canalys says, while tablet shipments will reach a whopping 55 million units by year's end. Heavy volume during the holiday season may drive fourth-quarter figures to 22 million, with the iPad dominating the market. Amazon's Kindle Fire and Barnes & Noble's Nook Tablet will also be competitive, the firm said.
But is lumping tablets together with laptops and desktops as personal computers, well, mixing apples and oranges?
No, says Rob Enderle, principal analyst at Enderle Group.
"Actually tablets historically were PCs, and as we move into next year the new ones, which started out more like big smartphones without the phone part, will be getting four- and five-core processors and begin to run Windows," Enderle said.
Finnish handset giant Nokia has recently signaled that its debut next year in the tablet market will be a Windows 8 device.
Noting that they are competitively priced, Enderle has been suggesting for some time that tablets should be included in PC market share numbers as consumers increasingly choose between the two.
"I've seen a number of reports that actually don't put Apple on the chart in order to make the PC vendors look better and I think that is a huge mistake, because it creates a false sense of confidence," Enderle said.
"The risk for Apple is much of their historic value has been their exclusivity. As the No. 1 vendor in the segment they won't be exclusive anymore, and premium providers typically can't maintain premium status if they become the status quo. "
All Is Not Peachy for Apple
Canalys also believes that Apple has some challenges ahead.
"Apple has seen its PC market share expand from 9 percent to 15 percent in just four quarters, though iPad shipments in its core market -- the United States -- are likely to come under pressure in Q4 due to the launch of the Fire and Nook at extremely competitive price points," said Canalys Analyst Tim Coulling. "HP and Apple will fight for top position in Q4, but Apple may have to wait for the release of iPad 3 before it passes HP."
Earlier this year, Morgan Stanley Analyst Katy Huberty cited cannibalization of the traditional PC market by tablets in reducing her forecast for PC shipments in 2011 from 7 percent to 2 percent.
war of 1812 war of 1812 jeffrey eugenides jeffrey eugenides volcker rule matthew stafford rosie o donnell
No comments:
Post a Comment