What has caused the demise of the PC? Via Acumor

As Web site Business Insider engaging in hyperbole when it declared the end of the era of the PC? Maybe. But there’s no doubt the boom times of the personal computer are over. Just look at the growing demand for mobile computing. Consumers today are turning to their tablets and smartphones in increasing numbers to access the Internet. And that’s the primary reason why Business Insider’s editors aren’t too far off in predicting the end of the PC’s computing dominance.

Are PCs outdated?

Think of the way you search the Internet. How frequently do you boot up your PC? Now, how often do you visit Mapquest from your smartphone or check the weather report from your iPad? And you’re hardly alone. Consumers today want their information quickly. And they’re getting it online using their smartphones and tablets as they’re on the go. Waiting to get in front of a desktop PC seems rather old-fashioned these days. That’s why, as reported by the Business Insider story, the sales of PCs have been flat since 2009. It’s also why shoppers now buy more smartphones than desktop computers.

Consumers want tablets

It’s becoming more and more clear that today’s consumers prefer to do their computing on tablets in place of PCs. Business Insider points to data from IDC, Strategy Analytics and Gartner that show that tablet sales have become greater than PC sales. In fact, the story shows that consumers are buying more than one iPad per household. According to research data, more than 32 percent of consumers reported their households contained two iPads as of July of 2012. And that’s only the beginning of our iPad mania. The same research found that 4.9 percent of households boasted more than four of the devices.

A dreary future for PCs?

The future doesn’t look more favorable for PC makers. Business Insider, relying on numbers from Nielsen, found that about 40 percent of consumers 13 and older want to purchase tablets in the next half-year. Quite a bit less impressive is the number who want to buy PCs. Only 19 percent are interested in computers. And the news is even worse for PC makers when it comes to young consumers. Business Insider reported that a whopping 75 percent or so of young consumers want to purchase tablets in the next six months, compared to just 30 percent who would like to buy a PC.