iPad Drives Apple to Perch Atop List of Top-Selling PC Manufacturers

[MadJasper]

Google "Is the iPad a PC" and you'll see that many people agree that it is.

I did, and I found that half of the top 10 articles made the argument for it as a PC, and the other half claimed it was not. And much the same with the members posting.

So I'll lean towards Steve Job's description as "an entirely new category of devices".

 

[Eidorian]

No, I'd advise people to have access to a true computer as the iPad and other tablet computers still arn't fully compatible with the Internet. Yes they do a lot of websites correctly but take BMWs used car website for instance. The iPad does a horrible job of rendering it making it impossible to navigate. The touch interface can make this worse as the flick to scroll and others doesn't always work when a menu is embedded on a page Yes this is down to a need for website creators to allow create web pages that are compatible across both platforms and no I don't think a 'mobile' website version is the answer either as these tend to be compromise and not offer the full fat service of the desktop site offer (in my experience anyway). Some companies offer iPad optimised apps to take full advantage of websites but part of the glory of the www is you can offer a service to everyone through HTML standards rather than making an app for every Eco system!

I recall mentioning that ages ago applications would just be customized frontends for "full service" web pages. I can understand why most users are in applications over the web browser. I usually just save pages for later reading on a screen and format I can digest over a mobile device. The mobile browser wall is another great annoyance.

It is nice to see a local increase in touch devices and their ease of use. I have older users coming in with Touchpads and Kindle Fires much more often now. The iPad still appears to be a luxury around here.

 

[smiddlehurst]

How in the name of $DEITY are we still having the 'the iPad isn't a PC' argument in 2012?

Look folks, this is really simple, there is no such thing as a PC. There's NEVER been a standard definition anyway, though you could argue that the common use was 'IBM PC compatible', but today that's clearly a ludicrous definition. What everyone is talking about here is what devices people are using to do the plethora of tasks modern computers allow you to do and that is a really, really simple definition: it's the device you use, end of story.

Doesn't matter if it's a tower, all-in-one, laptop, server, tablet, smartphone or anything else, if it's a device you use to accomplish computing tasks then it's a 'PC'. Why? Because the computer is no longer a tool used by businesses and geeks, it's used by everyone. All sectors of society across virtually all parts of the world and everyone will have a different set of requirements. The OS is irrelevant, the form factor is irrelevant, what others think is irrelevant. All that matters is whether or not it does what you want it to do.

 

[mrbib]

If you take tablets away, Apple for sure would rank the lowest.

Mac Pros are more a forgotten hobby today than the Apple TV itself.

Agreed. Where is the love for the prosumer desktops? We hear all this talk about Apple only focusing on making great products but all they do is focus on making products that generate the most revenue. Sure I love my iPhone and iPad but please pay attention to the other product lines.

 

[aristotle]

I have access to a free copy of MS Office 2010 and other programs bundled with Windows 7 Tablet edition on my iPad the online desktop client for the iPad.

There is currently no client for Android, windows or mac to access that service.

In my basic testing of the service, it is about as a responsive as a windows netbook as long as you have access to a fast enough wifi connection but it can also playback 720p video with audio which some netbooks would struggle doing.

If I can do all of that on my iPad in addition to running iOS native apps and games then explain to me why the iPad is not a PC.

 

[Taz Mangus]

1)As far as I am aware, all apps for the iPad must live in the App Store...free or for a fee. I cannot surf to a website and simply download a software title and install it...such as traditional shareware/freeware/trialware.

2)Personal Computers, for over a decade now, have been getting OS and App UPDATES via the internet...why? Because it's a lot faster than ordering a cd/dvd and waiting for it to come in the mail...and it's free (no shipping costs for the cd/dvd).

1) Does this mean that a Windows machine is not a PC because you can not surf to a website and simply download and install a Mac application?

2) I guess you agree that the iPad is a Personal Computer because it gets over the air free OS and app updates without the need for a CD/DVD to arrive on the mail. Last I checked websites are stored on server storage and accessed via a network connection just like the app store.

You are trying to apply your narrow view here nothing more.

 

[dukebound85]

Some of you are making this way more complicated than it needs to be. People seem to have a hard time empathizing with the average user.

Why would smartphones be included? The iPad has a much larger screen, more capable apps, and is far more comfy and intimate to use. It's delightful, really, so much so that users are trying to find excuses to use it for more and more activities.

That is all there is to it.

If an ipad is a pc, so is an iphone, ipod touch, ps3,etc

Buuuut it doesn't really matter as these "metrics" are the kind presented/fabricated to get the point they want to get across, across. Simple as that.

 

[voonyx]

I did, and I found that half of the top 10 articles made the argument for it as a PC, and the other half claimed it was not. And much the same with the members posting.

So I'll lean towards Steve Job's description as "an entirely new category of devices".

yeah but the people who say it's not are applying their definition of a pc to it. Meaning it doesn't have usb so it's not. or a keyboard so it's not. what consumers are using it for, its function and the actual definition of what a pc is makes it a pc.

 

[mknopp]

FAH!!!

Of course the iPad isn't a PC. You want to know why? Because a REAL PC has to include all of the schematics shipped with the PC so that if a cap blows you can trace it down and solder in a new one, and a real PC has to include a standard compiler for the user to write and compile their own programs. I mean any device that doesn't come out-of-the-box with a compiler isn't a PC, it is a toy because nobody could get any real work done on it.

OR

Of course the iPad isn't a PC. You want to know why? Because a REAL PC has to be capable of calculating the thermal flow of heat in tissue due to the introduction of concentrated EM radiation through a massively multi-processed FEA program and display it on dual 30" screens in living color. I mean anything less than this and it isn't a REAL PC.

Of course, I am being obtuse and hyperbolic to prove my point. The fact is that most of the arguments against the iPad being counted as a PC come from one of two viewpoints.

The first is a historical viewpoint of what a PC was. My first "example" is real, as anyone who owned an old TI-99 can attest. The computer shipped with complete schematics and massive manuals for writing your own code so that your PC was useful. In those days the concept of buying software was pretty much unheard of. Most people wrote their own code. That was what the PC was for. It was a revolution in being able to write and compile your own code on your very own, personal computer, as opposed to waiting in line to use the corporate/school mainframe to compile your code.

The second is a very much personal point of view concerning what that particular individual needs from his computer. The real kicker here is that most of these aren't really describing a PC, they are describing a workstation. There was a time not that long ago that there was a very distinct separation between a PC (personal computer) and a workstation (higher end computer needed for specific work tasks). I can still remember the amazement when a "personal computer" encroached on the workstation domain of having multiple displays. At the time this was huge, and I still tease a friend of mine when she stated, "Why in the world would anyone want or need more than one screen?"

So, taking a more historical view of the computer market over the last few decades, is the iPad a PC?

I would have to say it absolutely is. In fact, it has more in common with the definition of a PC that has been considered for the majority of time than what we now call a PC. What we now call a PC has much more in common with what has historically been called a workstation.

Yeah, right now the iPad is limited in what it can do, but with each iteration those limitations will become less and less. So, as many others have asked, at what point of performance does it count as a PC? What features define a PC?

Those that say that if the iPad is PC then the iPod Touch should also be counted. In a few years, I would completely agree. Because, I think that within a handful of years Apple will integrate Thunderbolt into their iDevices and then when you need a larger screen you plug-in your iPod Touch and have a computer with the iPod Touch acting as the CPU tower. Heck, this has already been done by the Motorola Atrix.

All of this being said, I will reiterate my previous point regarding this. I don't think that Apple cares one bit whether these analyst call the iPad a PC or not. They are making money and they see the future. So, just as the auto manufacturers of old could care less if they were classified as buggies, Apple is looking to the future and could really care less what you categorize the product that is selling in about 15.5 million devices per quarter, and accelerating, as. So, call the iPad what you want, because it doesn't change the fact that the personal computing devices of the future look like the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad. While the "PC" of today will move back to being a workstation or museum piece.

 

[firewood]

so the iPod Touch is a PC too then?

Given that an iPad is mostly a big iPod Touch, it probably should be, given the nearly complete overlap in features and available apps.

Maybe the only reason it isn't reported as such is that many adults and businesses are not buying iPod Touches instead of laptops (but the kids know better). But many adults and large enterprises ARE buying iPads instead of laptops to fill a few of the same needs. That's what puts them into a category competing for the same customer dollars, factories and distribution shelf space.

 

[george-brooks]

FINALLLYYY. Now if only they could be at the top of the list that DOESN'T include tablets. In time, in time...

 

[voonyx]

Given that an iPad is mostly a big iPod Touch, it probably should be, given the nearly complete overlap in features and available apps.

Maybe the only reason it isn't reported as such is that many adults and businesses are not buying iPod Touches instead of laptops (but the kids know better). But many adults and large enterprises ARE buying iPads instead of laptops to fill a few of the same needs. That's what puts them into a category competing for the same customer dollars, factories and distribution shelf space.

exactly. it has to do with functionality and usage. customers are replacing laptops with pc and the ipad is taking sales away from pcs...simple as that. the market is being redefined, plain and simple

 

[firewood]

(Well over 100,000 iOS Developer enrollments.)

In bold, why do we even need to do that?

Because the result is a product and an app ecosystem that a huge percentage of customers (approaching 20% ?) actually prefer for their personal computing needs.

 

[samcraig]

Personally I see it either way. It can be considered a PC or not. But if you consider the iPad a PC - then where does that leave the Kindle Fire. Is that a PC too? More limited in function - but as you blur the line - how do you truly define what a PC is and isn't. And that's the fundamental problem.

Perhaps it's just better to go more generic. They are all computing devices. "PC" already has its solid place in history. Perhaps it's time to come up with a new name.

Of course - marketing and sales numbers will always want to showcase themselves in the best light which is where we always get into the hot seat. It's pretty arbitrary though. At this point in history - those charts and #s will always have to have footnotes or clarifications as to what was and was not counted towards the result.

When charts and figures no longer HAVE to differentiate what is and what is not counted - then we will be in a new "age" so to speak...

 

[dgree03]

Given that an iPad is mostly a big iPod Touch, it probably should be, given the nearly complete overlap in features and available apps.

Maybe the only reason it isn't reported as such is that many adults and businesses are not buying iPod Touches instead of laptops (but the kids know better). But many adults and large enterprises ARE buying iPads instead of laptops to fill a few of the same needs. That's what puts them into a category competing for the same customer dollars, factories and distribution shelf space.

exactly. it has to do with functionality and usage. customers are replacing laptops with pc and the ipad is taking sales away from pcs...simple as that. the market is being redefined, plain and simple

Any links to support the assertion that people and businesses are replacing their laptops with iPads?

If someone wants a laptop they will get a laptop. They might ALSO have an iPad, but I think generally people know what they want a laptop for. Maybe its word processing? or large screen gaming? who knows?

Sure an iPad can have a keyboard, but then whats the point? get a laptop..

 

[BaldiMac]

If an ipad is a pc, so is an iphone, ipod touch, ps3,etc

Depends on how you are defining PC. Canalys is defining it by the market it is competing in. An iPhone or a PS3 does not compete significantly in the PC market. An iPad does, according to Canalys.

Most people that are arguing that an iPad is a PC either are agreeing with that market classification or can read the dictionary.

Most people that are arguing that an iPad is not a PC either are using a definition that they made up to exclude the iPad (that they are not choosing to share) or arguing that it doesn't participate significantly in the PC market (despite evidence that it does). The latter being the only real argument against classifying the iPad as a PC in a market analysis, but it needs supporting evidence.

 

[samcraig]

If I replace a horse with a car - does that mean my car is a horse?

My mode of transportation has changed - not the name of the means.

So I lean more towards needing a new name/term that encompasses these devices (PCs, Tablets, etc) that is more about what they do.

 

[ABernardoJr]

No...

1)I am not arbitrarily coming up with my own points...PC has been pretty well defined for about 25 years.

2)As I mentioned, this topic, with the hundreds of examples that can be given, is best talked about...not written in some small discussion thread with everyone jumping in at once and only having text to help the disussion.

3)If you want a few more examples of what an iPad CANNOT do that a PC (as been defined for a long time) can easily do, here are a few more in addition to my previous list...after this, I am not giving tons of more examples:

a)cannot print...oh, unless you count the 8 magical printers out of the thousands.
b)does not have standard i/o interfaces such as USB
c)non-replaceable battery (compared to PC laptops)
d)completely non self-serviceable (ram, drive, general cleaning, etc)
e)cannot be expandable using standard external devices like USB Flash, USB hard drives, USB camera...any and all expansion is Apple proprietary
f)I cannot SAVE any of my files in any kind of standard, file system. Besides, all I can truly save on my iPad is MP3 (via iTunes syncing) and picture/video...no Word docs...no PDF files...etc.



What matters is NOT the similarities between an iPad and it's traditional laptop/desktop PC cousin...what matters are the DIFFERENCES...if the differences are vast (in my belief they are), then the 2 categories are not equal. Just like passenger cars are not passenger trucks....similar, though. Or that hammers has many subcategories.

As the world lives on, sure, the definition of PC will change, SLOWLY, over time.

A) Your points definitely fairly presented and duly noted. But like I said, are those points A-F what actually define a "PC" (or a computer for that matter)? You're implying that it's been documented for about 25 years, and yet you did not offer such an explanation, you only offer "examples A-F" of what a "PC" can do that an iPad cannot. Now are your points A-F actually part of that documented definition of a PC that or are they features of what a PC can do? I'm asking this seriously because I don't currently have the 25-year old documented definition before me, and this distinction is very important.

B) You're basing your qualification of the iPad as not being a PC solely because of comparisons, or "DIFFERENCES" to be more specific, with current PCs. The issue with this is that the iPad, or any other proposed PC, should not be qualified based off of comparisons with what currently exists but rather it be based off of whether it fits the actual qualifications of a "personal computer." It is a computer, and it's personal. It carries out much of the traditional and more contemporary elements of a personal computer, such as listening to music, web browsing, and even document creation (I don't know why you refuted this?). These elements reasonably constitute a personal computer, correct? And to the main consumers (who constitute much of the "PC" user demographic), these things are what matter. Further, the analogy is valid passenger trucks-passenger cars analogy is not valid when applied to iPads and PCs. Passenger trucks and passenger cars are separate subcategories (of vehicles), so of course they'll have their differences. And that alone (the virtue of having differences, that is) is hardly enough to differentiate all products that have their differences. And PC is a subcategory of a computer, and an iPad is a product, not a subcategory. And definitions of "personal computers" are arguably subject to more interpretation and evolution than "hammers."

The reason why your comparisons with what we currently know to be PCs as a means to validate the "iPads are not PCs" claim is that it is strictly based off of a series of retrospective comparisons to what we "currently" have versus what we may get in the future. Of course they're going to have their differences, as this is what evolution entails, but it does not take away from the iPad being a PC. And remember that the point is not that iPads are going to replace all notebook and desktop PCs, but rather that iPads are certainly PCs themselves.

 

[voonyx]

Any links to support the assertion that people and businesses are replacing their laptops with iPads?

If someone wants a laptop they will get a laptop. They might ALSO have an iPad, but I think generally people know what they want a laptop for. Maybe its word processing? or large screen gaming? who knows?

Sure an iPad can have a keyboard, but then whats the point? get a laptop..

well i would think that since the op states that lenovo is the only oem to gain pc share and all others lost share, that people are choosing ipads over other pcs. especially since the canalys article says the ipad would have topped the list by itself even without the macs. if apple gained share in the pc market they took it from another oem, and the ipad would have done that alone.

 

[firewood]

Any links to support the assertion that people and businesses are replacing their laptops with iPads?

Both VMWare and Citrix have huge conventions in SF that are larger than MacWorld. At these conventions, lots of companies are reporting that they are buying iPads for enterprise app virtualization to help reduce the cost of supporting desktop PCs. Check the press releases.

Lots of people on this very forum have reported buying and using an iPad instead of another MacBook.

 

[dgree03]

well i would think that since the op states that lenovo is the only oem to gain pc share and all others lost share, that people are choosing ipads over other pcs. especially since the canalys article says the ipad would have topped the list by itself even without the macs. if apple gained share in the pc market they took it from another oem, and the ipad would have done that alone.

How could the iPad take what may or may not be there?

I have a 3 laptops and 1 desktop. All bought last year.

If I walk into a store and buy an iPad (which i did) iPad market share went up. Doesnt change the fact that I still have 3 laptops and 1 desktop at home.

 

[Taz Mangus]

Any links to support the assertion that people and businesses are replacing their laptops with iPads?

http://news.softpedia.com/news/66-of-IT-Pros-Say-the-iPad-Has-Replaced-their-Laptop-246649.shtml

EDIT: Also, http://news4geeks.net/2011/07/01/how-a-big-law-firm-replaced-laptops-with-ipads/

EDIT2: And let's to forget about this: http://appsnews.co/2011/airlines-use-aeronautical-charts-for-ipad-to-replace-laptops-in-the-cockpit/

EDIT3: http://www.cirmagazine.com/cir/ipad-makes-its-dramatic-london-insurance-market-debut.php

EDIT4: http://www.cio.com/article/637864/Why_One_Company_is_Ditching_Sales_Laptops_for_iPads

EDIT5: Let's not forget about education: http://www.wccnet.edu/news-events/articles/view/185/

I see I have been down voted for posting these link

 

[voonyx]

How could the iPad take what may or may not be there?

I have a 3 laptops and 1 desktop. All bought last year.

If I walk into a store and buy an iPad (which i did) iPad market share went up. Doesnt change the fact that I still have 3 laptops and 1 desktop at home.

would your laptop and desktop share go down if you did that? the point is people are not buying as many pcs from other oems and they are buying something else instead.

everyone but lenovo lost share.

 

[dgree03]

Both VMWare and Citrix have huge conventions in SF that are larger than MacWorld. At these conventions, lots of companies are reporting that they are buying iPads for enterprise app virtualization to help reduce the cost of supporting desktop PCs. Check the press releases.

Lots of people on this very forum have reported buying and using an iPad instead of another MacBook.

So now iPads are replacing desktops in the enterprise? I don't believe that for one second. Now if you meant replacing laptop or other windows based tablets, then I would be more inclined to believe that. Clarify?

"Another Macbook" is the keyword in your last sentence. They are buying the iPad as a supporting device(This doesn't explain the argument on whether or not it is a PC). Again, if people want a laptop they will get one, if they can make it by on just an iPad alone, then they never needed a laptop or desktop in the first place.

----------

http://news.softpedia.com/news/66-of-IT-Pros-Say-the-iPad-Has-Replaced-their-Laptop-246649.shtml

EDIT: Also, http://news4geeks.net/2011/07/01/how-a-big-law-firm-replaced-laptops-with-ipads/

Thanks for the link. Interesting read, seems like the article is suggesting that 10% of those surveyed have completely replaced their laptop while 56% say partially. The partially part suggest that it is still largely a consumption device and most surveyed used it as such instead of a laptop.

 

[fabianjj]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0_1 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A405 Safari/7534.48.3)

What about attaching a jpeg and a vCard file to an email? The iPad does a lot a lot of things, but if I want to do that, then apparently I need to boot up a 'real computer'.