With PC sales continuing to decline, we examine the trade-o in widespread adoption of highly portable, but ultimately di cult-to-upgrade, locked-down devices
Desktop computer sales have continued their downward trend for the sixth quarter in a row, and the projected future doesn’t look any better for PC makers. Reasons for the slump are complex and varied, but analysts believe one of the most signifi cant causes is that PCs and laptops are now su ciently powerful that they don’t need to be so frequently updated. Plus Windows 8 hasn’t been Microsoft’s most popular OS release, with its preference for touch-enabled hardware potentially causing some people to hold o upgrading from Windows 7.
Online services are also adding value to older PCs, as they expand their capabilities in the cloud. The prolonged fi nancial recession is a strong factor, as customers try to make their money, and old hardware, stretch further.
But the sudden and meteoric rise of tablets, allied to the ever-more powerful smartphones that accompany us at all times, has probably had the most tangible impact of all. In the same period that PCs stumbled to sales of around 80 million units, the smartphone market grew by an impressive 39 percent, selling three times as many devices – 258.4 million, according to IDC. Tablet sales also grew to 47.6 million, and this upward trend looks set to continue.
Too many choices?
Perhaps a more obvious sign of how the PC market is in a state of confusion is best represented by the barrage of designs that has emerged since the introduction of Windows 8. Now there are laptops that transform into large, cumbersome tablets, devices whose screens fl ip over or detach to transform into a tablet, and desktop machines that can be leaned back at mystifying angles.
So far this has been a mixed bag, with the hybrid nature of the Windows 8 interface still proving di cult to fully realise on a single device. And Microsoft’s entry to the hardware space has ru ed a few feathers: we’re now seeing companies such as HP, Lenovo, Dell and Acer releasing machines that don’t run Windows at all, instead dipping their toes in the waters of Android, ChromeOS and Linux.
By its very nature, technology is a constantly evolving medium, but its current path presents some uncomfortable possibilities. With PCs ubiquitous in the workplace, there isn’t a tremendous need for many people to have a powerful system at home. If all you want to do is check your email, spend some time browsing online, and keep up to date with your social networks, a tablet makes a lot of sense.
The cloud effect
Traditionally you’d also want a decent-capacity hard drive on which you could store your photos and music, but now you might instead use any one of the plethora of cloud services, such as Dropbox or Google+, iTunes Match, Google Music or Spotify. This is all good, as it saves the user from needing to think about how a device works or remembering to plug it into their PC to update the media content.
Ease of upgrades
Up until now computers have been pretty much open to use as we pleased. If you were handy with a screwdriver you could also prolong a machine’s lifespan by upgrading its hard drive or RAM. Friends and family members will always turn to the resident techie for help. Whereas in the past these requests would generally be met with a successful result (and hopefully the o ering of babysitting or a cake in return), the only assistance o ered in the case of a dropped tablet will be “take it back to the place you bought it”.
It’s a subtle turn of events, but with the glued-shut, irreparable devices that are beginning to replace our trusty old laptops and desktops, we are faced with an increased reliance on manufacturers. This is also becoming a reality on the software side.
Locked in Unless you jailbreak your iOS device the only place from which you can get software is Apple’s App Store, which is tightly regulated. Microsoft has implemented a similar strategy with the RT version of Windows 8, which runs software only from Windows Store. This has the benefi t of security, but also gives the companies power over the apps you can access. Google’s Play store is more open, but concerns about Android becoming an increasing target for malware has seen Google pressured into ramping up its app security.
Amazon has taken Android and turned it into a portal to its online services with the Kindle range, and Samsung recently showed its hand by staging its fi rst developers conference in San Francisco, focusing on making its devices more interoperable. The Korean giant has also built its own app store into its devices and fi lled the storage with bespoke versions of its own software, presumably to increase your reliance on its products. All this alludes to the main concern: customer lock-in.
The ideal landscape for manufacturers is that you use only their products, buy software only through their stores, and regularly update your hardware. This is evident when you see how some devices work best when paired with other products from the same stable. Want the Samsung Smartwatch? You’ll also need the Galaxy Note 3.
This makes sense from a technology perspective, as the manufacturer can optimise its hardware, but there are too many instances when you feel this restrictive practice has the shareholders’ rather than customers’ best interests at heart.
The sad truth as we move into this new era of personal computing is that it’s becoming more di cult to resist the convenience these o erings present. Once you’ve paid for the apps you like and grown used to how they work, you won’t want to repeat the cycle – or investment – on a new platform. In a few years from now customers will be even more entrenched, held in place by media purchases or services that work only on a particular platform. Mobile devices have ushered in an age in which you need to choose your platform wisely: you’ll be dependent on it for a long time to come.
