Why Laptops are an Endangered Species

Benzinga ^ | 12/06/2011 | Louis Bedigian

[SeekAndFind]

The latest comScore (NASDAQ: SCOR) data gives us another reason to believe that one day laptops will be obsolete.

It's not that we don't love our laptops. Sometimes they can be downright beautiful. But people really, really love the simplicity of those screen-swiping, finger-flicking devices known as tablets and smartphones. And according to comScore, an increasing number of consumers are using their mobile devices to shop online.

Based on data from comScore's own Mobile Retail Advisor report, the company says that 38% of smartphone owners have used their phone to make a purchase at least once in the course of their device ownership.

“The most popular products purchased on smartphones during the month of September included digital goods, clothing/accessories, tickets and daily deals,” comScore detailed in a company release. Those and other findings will be presented live during a webinar on Wednesday, December 7.

“Fueled by smartphone adoption, mobile is becoming a central part in the shopping funnel for many consumers,” Mark Donovan, comScore's Senior VP for mobile, said in today's company release. “In September we saw two-thirds of all smartphone owners perform shopping activities on their phones, including comparing products and prices, searching for coupons, taking product pictures or locating a retail store. Considering there are currently 90 million smartphone owners in the U.S., retailers without a well-developed mobile strategy are not only missing a tremendous opportunity with these customers but also risk becoming obsolete in the minds of these digital omnivores.”

Here are the full details:

And a few more:

How, you might wonder, does this mean the end for laptops? That's simple: every time consumers shift their everyday habits from one device to the next, the losing device gets closer and closer to the end of its lifespan. As recent as 15 years ago, most consumers performed their day-to-day online tasks with a clunky desktop PC. In the last five to 10 years, that trend has shifted toward laptops, thanks entirely to falling prices, increasing power, and the simple fact that laptops are portable and desktops are not.

Now that people are throwing smartphones into their pockets and tablets into their bags, it's becoming all the more difficult (if not all the more pointless) to carry a laptop. Consumers can bank online, shop online, and perform a zillion other laptop tasks using any one of the Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) or Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) devices available. Going forward, their capabilities are only expected to get stronger.

Long-term, I suspect that Apple or some other clever manufacturer will combine the best of both worlds and release the ultimate touch screen laptop. Until then, expect to see the tablet and smartphone usage data to go up, while desktop PC and laptop usage could continue to deteriorate.

[Politicalmom]

My Mom got an early present, an Ipad. I set it up for her.

I’ll stick with my laptop.

[Cletus.D.Yokel]

:: if it’s integrated into a larger primary computer system ala the pads used in Star Trek. ::

Only that on Star Trek, they didn’t call it “The Cloud”.

[cuban leaf]

My friend I mentioned is a web site designer and graphic artist. ;-)

[bcsco]

I have a Toshiba entry level laptop I bought recently for under $400. It only came with 3Gb RAM so I upped it to 8Gb. I use it for my DVD video work and to play games. I use my Dell Inspiron at 4Gb RAM for all my other work and web surfing. I don’t see why one of these lower-end laptops wouldn’t work for you based on what you’ve written.

[kidd]

I just bought my wife a nice Toshiba laptop, with Windows 7 installed, from Best Buy...

for $260

With prices like that, laptops are NOT going away anytime soon.

[Lady Lucky]

Neat! It’s a ghost writer!

[Tribune7]

I predict that within the next five years the tablets -- and maybe even smartphones -- start replacing desktops.

It's just a matter of how comfortable people become to connecting them to keyboards and large monitors.

[Greysard]

The writer must be on some serious drugs.

What really happens is this:

• Users of notebooks and desktops continue to use notebooks and desktops.
• New users are created out of people who never used computers before. These users use smartphones.

Imagine that someone would say that a farmer should replace his truck with a motorcycle because so many city kids ride motorcycles. He'd be laughed at. Same here. Power users - or really any users who do work on their computers - are using notebooks and desktops. It's not just because of keyboard and a larger screen; you can attach those to the tablet as well. Primarily it's because of two things: performance and software.

Business needs are so closely tied to specific pieces of software that it's hard to even change the OS from Windows to Mac or Linux. Need AutoCAD? Use Windows. Need SolidWorks? Use Windows. Need MS Office (unclouded version)? Use Windows or Mac. Your business requires IE for SharePoint integration? Use Windows. Tablets aren't even in the running here, simply because their software is far more primitive compared to PC versions.

Performance is another issue. Some would say that it's plenty fast for what they are doing. That's fine, it only means that they aren't doing anything important. Try to edit a 100-page MS Word document with illustrations, on a tablet or a smartphone. You'd hurl that smartphone into the wall within minutes.

Smartphones open new markets for software vendors. That is true. People who never played with entry-level software now can do that on their phones. But this new market doesn't affect the established market of business systems and software, even if some people are present in both spaces. You can't do business computing on a smartphone - unless you are a PHB so high up that your computer needs are limited to finding out what the weather is.

I have four notebooks and five desktops (I think) at home. I have no smartphones. I have one tablet (Galaxy Tab) that I got to use for free; I'm reading e-books on it in bed. I'd never pay money for it just to do that. Nothing else on that tablet is of any value to me. My cell phone can only make and receive calls; it has no SMS or Web capabilities, and I like it that way. As you can see, I'm not suffering from lack of computers, I work with them all day long. I don't need another one in my pocket.

[cantfindagoodscreenname]

I don’t see why one of these lower-end laptops wouldn’t work for you based on what you’ve written.

I haven't done my research yet, but the main thing I'll need is a lot of RAM and a screen with good color that I can calibrate. Thank you for your suggestions. I appreciate it.

[cantfindagoodscreenname]

Tryy making a Visio Network Diagram with an Ipad. try reading a CAD plan on an Ipad........

Hey, I was only talking about my own needs. I wasn't saying everyone else could live with only an iPad. :-)

[warsaw44]

Wondered the same thing about swiping and Photoshop. Just would not work. I have a laptop and still use a mouse when restoring photos with photoshop.

Honestly, I can't stand the touch pad ( I think thats what its called ) and can not use it for Photoshop.

Am curious what you think about ACD PhotoCanvas for restoration of images? Heard about it on a forum and the author said it was far easier and faster than Photoshop.

[sheana]

I trade futures so have a desktop in my office with 4 huge screens. Have a laptop that I used to carry with me everywhere. Since I got my ipad about 14 mnths ago haven’t touched the laptop. Throw the ipad in my purse and off I go. Love it.

[Dan(9698)]

I just don’t know if I want to shell out big bucks

Go on Ebay.

There are usually over 27,000 Laptops for sale there.

Don't bid high, If you get outbid, pick another as there will be another available in less than an hour.

[fellowgeek]

Haven’t used ACD PhotoCanvas.

Just a Photoshop guy ...

[Pilated]

I will not change from my laptop like my parents won’t change from their desktop. They have trouble seeing the laptop screen and I have trouble trying to read a dinky screen. We also have no problem not being “ON” and connected to the world at every moment of our lives. My phone is just a phone nothing else, it’s all I need. Same with music disks, no mp3 for me, I have no need to carry my entire music collection everywhere I go.

[fellowgeek]

I don’t like the idea of my information being in a ‘cloud’ either, but was thinking more along the lines of a central home computing system instead.

The thing is this: I have a newer laptop with a Core i7 processor, that has much more horsepower than any tablet on the market. I can crunch and edit large photos/video for at least an hour on the battery, while it’s powering a USB hard drive. You just can’t get that performance out of a tablet.

[lurk]

I’m nearly 18,000 words into writing a book. I wouldn’t want to do this on a pad or a phone, and I often set up to write a bit in restaurants or public places. The laptop is the vehicle of choice.

[ican'tbelieveit]

HP has a laptop with a touchscreen. I bought one a few years ago for college note taking. I have moved on.