PC sales could slump by 2017; but this will be made up by tablets, phones and ?ultramobile? devices
The world of technology could be a substantially different place by 2017, according to Gartner, with PCs and desktop computers being increasingly marginalised in the face of their mobile counterparts. Gartner?s report for 2013 predicted that PC and conventional laptop sales would fall from 341 million units in 2012 to 271 million units by 2017?which led several experts and analysts to start predicting the death of PC-reliant companies like Microsoft. But while Microsoft may find its PC business stalling in the years to come, another segment?what Gartner calls ?ultramobile? devices?could see Microsoft?s fortunes actually rise quite sharply. Ultramobiles are, according to Gartner, simply ultra-light, and ultra-mobile notebooks. These devices, which include Microsoft?s Surface, HP?s Envy X2, Samsung?s 500T and 700T, and even Dell?s XPS 12 (which all run Windows) are predicted to grow sharply?almost ten-fold, from 9.8 million in 2012 to 96 million by 2017. So, don?t count Microsoft out of the game just yet.
The other numbers quoted by the report are along expected lines, although the extent of growth predicted for some devices is astounding. Tablets, for example, are expected to grow 303%, from 116 million in 2012 to 467 million by 2017. Mobile phones, arguably having already seen their explosion in growth, will grow at a relatively modest 21.9% in that period. But either way, the likes of Samsung and Apple have a relatively secure future in front of them.