If you have an iPad or an iPad mini, then you're probably already aware that tablets have been becoming increasingly popular. A new report from International Data Corporation highlights just how popular they are, with tablet sales expected to surpass laptop sales by the end of 2013, and pass up desktops in 2015.
Tablet sales are expected to reach 229.3 million units this year, while portable PC sales are only expected to hit 187.4 million, IDC reported. Portable PC sales were not expected to decline as steeply as they did, and IDC suggested that they won't be able to recover from this dip. At the same time, IDC originally did not expect tablet sales to perform so well, with this report noting that this is the second time they bumped up their sales predictions this year.
“IDC continues to believe that PCs will have an important role in this new era of computing, especially among business users,” said Ryan Reith, the program manager of IDC's Mobility Trackers service. “But for many consumers, a tablet is a simple and elegant solution for core use cases that were previously addressed by the PC.”
Mobile's role in the death of the laptops, desktops
Northern Voices Online also recently discussed the IDC study, noting that it is a common that “technology kills technology,” stressing that the main tablets causing the death of the PC include the iPad 4, iPad mini and Android-powered devices. IDC specifically mentioned in its report that the tablet leading the pack is Apple's iPad. In addition, IDC predicts average selling prices for tablets to decrease by 10.8 percent to $381, while, by comparison, the average selling price of the PC will be roughly $635 in 2013.
IDC also looked at tablet screen size preferences, observing that 55 percent of tablets that will be shipped over the course of this year will have screens that are under 8 inches. Forty-three percent of tablets this year are expected to be between 8 and 11 inches. This highlights the changes taking place even within the tablet market, as preferences shift toward smaller screen sizes.
With the tablet fever that the world has apparently caught, chances are there will be more than a few devices broken this year. If you break your iPad or iPad mini, turn to iResQ for our iPad repair services.