A year ago, pundits were declaring the personal computer dead. Smartphones and tablets were cannibalising sales, and the once-revolutionary PC seemed unnecessary, and boring.
A year ago, pundits were declaring the personal computer dead. Smartphones and tablets were cannibalising sales, and the once-revolutionary PC seemed unnecessary, and boring.
Sure, a smartphone is great for checking emails, snapping photos and playing games.
Tablets are perfect for watching videos and shopping online. But don’t count the PC out just yet. Manufacturers are crafting high-resolution, curved screens for desktops and other new features you can’t get in a hand-held device, while trying new laptop designs that mimic the tablet’s appeal.
“For the last couple of years, mobile devices have been the hot commodity,” acknowledges Dell executive Neil Hand. “But we’re seeing a re-emergence of innovation in the PC space.”
For years, PC innovation consisted mostly of putting faster processors or a bigger harddrive inside the same basic box. That didn’t really matter when the personal computer was a mostly unchallenged commodity. Global PC shipments peaked at more than 365 million units in 2011. But then sales fell off dramatically as tablets stole hearts and wallets. PC sales plunged 10 per cent in 2013 alone, according to research firm Gartner Inc., marking the worst annual decline in the industry’s history. They slipped a little further last year, to about 314 million units. PC makers say they understand the need to evolve, and at the annual gadget show International CES in Las Vegas this week are showing off many new features aimed at wooing back consumers.
Depth-sensing cameras, for example, are popping up in high-end desktops and laptops. Intel vice-president Navin Shenoy said his company’s “RealSense” camera can recognise its owner’s face and unlock a PC without requiring a typed password. Intel is also promoting software that uses the camera in games that respond to a player’s head or hand movements.
PC makers are borrowing ideas from tablets, with laptops that are increasingly thin and lightweight, with longer battery life. Dell’s new XPS 13 notebook has a screen that extends nearly to the edge of the frame, like the screen on many tablets.
By eliminating wider borders, Dell says it can fit a larger screen into a smaller frame.
Several companies have hybrid or convertible devices that resemble a tablet with a physical keyboard attached.
