Are Ultrabooks Losing the War with the Tablets?
Ronak is a member of The Motley Fool Blog Network -- entries represent the personal opinion of the blogger and are not formally edited.
Technology is moving at a rapid pace and this is visible with the transformation of the PC world. From keyboard, mouse, desktop and a tower we are left with only one small tablet in our hand. The big question is that are all the companies adopting these changes and moving in pace with the technology.
With the launch of Ultrabook it was expected that the sales figures of PC world would revive a bit. They were the combat tools for the likes of Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ), Dell (NASDAQ: DELL), and Lenovo against the rapid moving force called as iPad provided by Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL). But contrary to their expectations the sales figures did not have the expected impact.
Hewlett-Packard continued to be the top international PC seller with 14.9 per cent market share even though its global shipments declined 12.1 per cent. It was trailed closely by Lenovo at 14.7 per cent, with Acer Group third at 11 percent, and Dell fourth at 10.7 per cent.
According to Apple, the company sold 15.4 million iPads worldwide in 2011's final three months, more than double the number it sold in the same period a year earlier and an increase of 39% over the former record of 11.1 million, set in the third quarter of last year.
As it is clearly visible on one hand the sales figure of PCs are declining whereas tablet demand is growing at a very fast rate. Does this mean that tablets will be the reasons for the death of PC?
How are tablets getting the better of the Ultrabooks?
Ease of Use: Ultrabooks are designed to feature reduced size (less than 2.1 cm thick) and weight (usually less than 1.5 kg (3.3 lbs)) without compromising performance and battery life. Though Ultrabooks are smaller and lighter to carry but still it is not as convenient to carry them as it is for us to carry tablets.
Performance: Though Ultrabooks are far ahead in this particular point as they have the full capability of a PC but tablets are not far behind. It can be said that just that when you are looking to sit for hours on some excel or word then you would prefer an Ultrabook over a tablet. But if you just looking from chatting or an entertainment point of view, tablets take a leap ahead.
Cost: The cost of tablet is in the starting range of $200-$500. In comparison to the Ultrabook which is much more expensive than the tablets. Thus it is easily targeting both the middle and upper middle section of the society.
Look and feel: Ultrabooks are coming in different designs and shapes. But the tablets create a different pleasure of holding with the touch screen factor. It is still new in the blocks and the x-factor of attraction comes into play.
Overall, the PC world is on a sinking boat with tough competition from tablets. But this would not mean that it can kill the entire PC world. This is because there are certain factors which cannot be beaten by the tablets especially on the performance scale. But the question is are they prepared to fight it out and outsmart the tablets?
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