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LOVE my Macbook Pro, and it's only a matter of time before I upgrade. This drop is simply due to mobile/tablets. Apple is just fine.
 
Steve Jobs really was a visionary.

He actually started Apple working on the iPad before the iPhone, so as far back as 2005 or so he saw this coming and planned for it. Apple may be one of the few companies to pass through the PC-to-tablet transition.

We're gonna go from Dell-HP-Apple to Samsung-Amazon-Apple. Pretty amazing.
 
I was in a market for a notebook but settled for a powerful tower and continued use of my iPad.

Now I'd like a MacBook Air but they need to drop the prices .
 
Imagine that, a maturing market has less growth than in previous years. Only the analysts and journalists expect there to be exponential growth in every market for eternity (which they wilfully pass on to the unsuspecting dupes in society), and when that doesn't happen it's most obviously because Apple (and others like it) have failed the market and consumers somehow.

There are fewer people needing their first computer, and computers are lasting longer. Add to that our usage and needs of computing are changing (toward mobile).

"Market plunges"
"Shipments fall"

iYawn, shipping now.
 
Where does IDC get their figures from and how accurate have they been in the past? Do other PC makers disclose sales figures ons quarterly basis?

If these figures are believable it seems HP and Dell are being hurt most by Lenovo.
 
Hardware has far exceeded software. I've had the Same pc for 6+ years Q6600 processor and I have no reason to upgrade, started with Vista and now on Windows 8 and plenty fast for me. Same with my 2010 Mac.
 
Makes sense why the MacPro has slipped in development. Desktops are dying on the vine. They'll be around for a while, but they'll become a tiny specialty market by decade's end; as the tablets expand computing power, desktops will be bloated tech for 99% of the market.

After the Macs all get upgrades to retinas/TB/USB3/etc., I'd imagine it might be 2 year between upgrades. They might just bump a processor every 12 months.

Hardware has far exceeded software. I've had the Same pc for 6+ years Q6600 processor and I have no reason to upgrade, started with Vista and now on Windows 8 and plenty fast for me. Same with my 2010 Mac.
Same here with an upgraded processor in my 2006/7 MacPro. It is still incredibly snappy compared to the modern single-processor machines. I plan an upgrade in 2015.
 
But think about it from a business standpoint, if you headed off this publicly traded company you would do the same as you claim them to be doing. Put forth much efforts towards what sells, because sales are the bottom line, not serving the niche customers.

From a business perspective I understand their behavior, and in my post I refer to it.
Regarding MS Office you are right, but I really wish I could have written my diploma thesis in iWork. For scientific work iWork isn't suitable. MS Office for Mac did a great job and I was able to do my work on a Mac by using MS software. This is not bad, don't get me wrong (Office 2011 is great), but I am a Mac addict and I am proud that I did my thesis on a Mac, but doing it on a Mac by using superior Apple software would have been perfect.

Concerning Mac Pro, I know it's a niche product, like all Macintoshs are niche compared to iOS devices. But three years is not fair, really.
 
PC hardware is finally sufficient for longer-term sustainability. My most demanding tasks are video conversion and high def viewing. My 5 year old computer handles that just fine.

People are also now buying 2,3 or 4 computing-type devices per person. A pc is just one item on the list.
 
I love my iPhone and iPad. But... They are no substitute for a real computer. For quick easy stuff, sure. But the screen size, mouse/keyboard, and full OS of my iMac make it my favorite to use by far.
 
Imagine that, a maturing market has less growth than in previous years. Only the analysts and journalists expect there to be exponential growth in every market for eternity (which they wilfully pass on to the unsuspecting dupes in society)

You find exponential growth in the iOS device market.
Macs had a linear growth. Growth of 20% - 25% was a healthy margin.

I don't think that these -7% can be ascribed to the iMac delay. The most part of Macs are portable devices.
 
We are in the post PC era. iDevices are the future of Apple. The Mac will receive less and less attention as time goes on. Right now the iDevices are responsible for over 80% of Apple's profits. The Mac will eventually just be a "hobby" for Apple as much as it hurts me to say that.
 
I think it makes sense: If you can't afford a good computer, you could get a good tablet instead. That way, you can always afford a good experience, if you don't need a full computer.

What is more suited for your parents? An expensive computer with a discreet GPU and hyperthreading? A slow, low end PC that keeps popping up messages about updating software you don't even use, security alerts about potential threats that won't happen, problems with network connections you don't even have, with a needlessly complex file system? Or a simple tablet that does just what they need in an easy way?

People are switching from crap computers to tablets, and computers will no longer be the thing that everyone must have to get anything done, whether they need all its features or not. Tablets are better suited for simple tasks, and computers should only be used by those who actually need the extra stuff.

And of course people don't like Windows 8, why did they think people are going to like it? "Wow I have a great idea, let's make a particularly bad operating system made up of giant, un-stylized, colorful rectangles, I bet people will love it" well guess what, nope!
 
A tablet is nice for reading in the bed or on the couch, but for working all day every day... you gotta be kidding me. How can you give up your 27" display, a physical keyboard and a proper mouse? That said, I'm a hardcore developer working with PDF, DOC, images, while doing photography as a hobby. I don't see myself giving up real computers, unless some sort of a direct brain interface is developed.

What happens is that for basic computer use a yearly upgrade is not necessary. Even I upgrade every 3 years or so, even though I'm running 10 virtual machines and shoot 36 megapixel images. The average person doesn't have to upgrade at all anymore. Unless they're still running Windows XP, which slows down completely after 2 years of use.
You're pretty much right on point here. However, I cannot imagine sitting at a desk in front of computer screen anymore. Everything I want to do can be done with a laptop, wherever I want to do it. Also, it used to be that you needed a new PC to get "faster" experience. Now it's like the stereo harmonic distortion spec wars, the speed increases are so incremental, you hardly notice them. The result...you don't upgrade unless there is a really serious reason to do so, usually a heavy CPU using program that you just have to speed up to make it tolerable to run. For the $1300+ Mac price tag, it's going to make me wait until upgrading is a necessity, not an impulse. And since you can buy a relatively "cheap" ipad to do most of your routine activities, the next purchase is delayed even more. All this leads to fewer Mac purchases.

But then again...I'm just a lowly average consumer. ;)
 
Question:

do windows 8 rt tablets count as PCs or tablets?

do windows pro tablets vount as PCs or tablets?

Do windows 8 rt laptops count as PCs or tablets?

What about chrombooks? and android laptops?



what defines a PC? the OS? the Cpu architecture? the form factor?
 
Not surprised...

New smartphone - $200-300
Contract - ~$100/month
Tablet - $300-$800
Home broadband - $50/month
Optional 3g plan for tablet - $30/month

New hardware costs - $500-1100
Data plans - $1800/year or $2160 with 3g for tablet.

So to have a PC, smartphone, and tablet, you are looking at ~$1800/year just to use them. More in a year if you happen to make a hardware purchase.

There is only a limited amount of pie for tech. And given the choices, people are opting to keep their broken down PC longer. Especially considering they can usually use a work PC for most of a day.
 
The Jobs aura is wearing off. Tim Cook just hasn't got it. :(

Actually, Steve predicted this would happen when he talked about the post-PC world. Apple has a shot at dominating a much bigger market than PCs so I don't think they're as worried about slippage in Mac sales as they are about growing their tablet business.
 
Where does IDC get their figures from and how accurate have they been in the past? Do other PC makers disclose sales figures ons quarterly basis?

If these figures are believable it seems HP and Dell are being hurt most by Lenovo.

They are considered very accurate, along with Gartner. There are some differences, and the numbers might not be 100% accurate, but they are close enough to be considered correct.

IDC and Gartner are reliable sources for this sort of data.
 
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