[opendtv] EE Times: Buyer behavior being driven by 'anywhere, anytime computing'

From: "Manfredi, Albert E" <albert.e.manfredi@xxxxxxxxxx>
To: "opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Wed, 26 Jun 2013 20:23:56 +0000

How timely. This is what I was talking about yesterday. The functionality of
PCs is still very much in demand. What has changed is that the functionality of
the PC is being introduced into devices that are not called "PC" anymore, and
that stress mobility.

Therefore, the doomsday hype about PCs in decline is meaningless. We haven't
quite become a country of imbeciles who can do nothing more than play tablet
games and depend on "apps." Not yet, anyway.

Note how cheap tablets and "ultramobile" PC-like/hybrid devices are supposedly
going to represent the greatest gains, according to Gartner. This makes sense.
Cheap tablets are taking the place of periodicals and paperbacks, essentially.
A different animal from PCs. And the ultramobiles are taking the place of PCs.

At work, for instance, I have a laptop plugged into a docking station. Large
screen, regular keyboard and mouse, no more difficult to work on than any
desktop. Or I can undock the laptop and take it with me. Well, there's no
reason to think that the same can't be done with an ultramobile or, ultimately,
with a smartphone even. There's also no reason to think that you can't set up a
docked tablet or ultramobile as an STB, as I did with the desktop.

Conclusion: Just as the mobility mission doesn't automatically trump the
content-creation mission, or even compromise it, it doesn't make sense to think
that the "decline in PC sales" should have any effect on the sensible design of
"connected TV" products, designed for more than just to do the bidding of the
MVPDs and/or congloms.

Bert

---------------------------------------
http://www.eetimes.com/electronics-blogs/other/4417613/Buyer-behavior-being-driven-by--anywhere--anytime-computing--?pageNumber=0

Buyer behavior being driven by 'anywhere, anytime computing'
Dylan McGrath
6/26/2013 11:46 AM EDT

Market research firm Gartner Inc. now expects shipments of traditional PCs to
decline a whopping 11 percent in 2013. Tablet shipments are projected to
increase by 68 percent, according to the firm.

Combined shipments of traditional desktop and notebook PCs are set to fall to
305 million units this year, according to Gartner, down from 341 million units
last year. Overall shipments of PCs-including ultramobiles-are expected to
decline by 7 percent this year to 325 million, according to Gartner.

Meanwhile, combined shipments of PCs, tablets and mobile phones are projected
to grow by 6 percent to reach 2.35 billion units, Gartner said.

The revised Gartner forecast for PC shipments is another nail in the coffin of
the traditional desktop and notebook PC. Increasingly, consumers are opting for
tablets and smartphones and-to a lesser extent - ultramobile PCs will Intel's
Ultrabook - at the expense of old school PCs.

"Consumers want anytime-anywhere computing ***that allows them to consume and
create content*** with ease, but also share and access that content from a
different portfolio of products," said Carolina Milanesi, research vice
president at Gartner. "Mobility is paramount in both mature and emerging
markets."

Gartner (Stamford, Conn.) attributed the sharp decline in first quarter PC
sales not only to changes in in consumers' wants and needs, but also an
adjustment in the channel to make room for new products hitting the market in
the second half of 2013.

***Demand for ultramobiles (which includes Chromebooks, thin and light
clamshell designs, and slate and hybrid devices running Windows 8) will come
from upgrades of both notebooks and premium tablets***, such as the Apple iPad
or Galaxy Tab10.1, Gartner said. Analysts said ultramobile devices are gaining
in attractiveness and drawing demand away from other devices. This will be even
more evident in the fourth quarter of 2013, when the combination of new design
based on Intel's Bay Trail and Haswell processors running on Windows 8.1 will
hit the market, Gartner said.

Though the new types of ultramobiles will only marginally help overall PC sales
volumes initially, Gartner said, they are expected to help vendors increase
average selling prices (ASPs) and margins.

Tablets, smartphones also facing challenges

Gartner said the tablet and smartphone markets are also facing challenges the
devices attain longer life cycles. There has also been a shift as many
consumers go from premium tablets like the iPad 4 to "basic" tablets, according
to Gartner.

The market share of basic tablets is expected to increase faster than
anticipated, Gartner said. Sales of the iPad mini-the smaller, scaled down,
less expensive version of the iPad introduced last year-already represented 60
percent of overall iOS tablet sales in the first quarter of 2013, Gartner said.

"The increased availability of lower priced basic tablets, plus the value add
shifting to software rather than hardware will result in the lifetimes of
premium tablets extending as they remain active in the household for longer,"
said Ranjit Atwal, research director at Gartner. "We will also see consumer
preferences split between basic tablets and ultramobile devices."

Atwal said Gartner has decreased its forecast for mobile phone shipments this
year due to increased device life cycles and the fact that consumers are
tending to wait delay purchases in expectation of new models and lower prices
expected to hit the market in the fall and during the holiday season.

"The challenge in the smartphone market is also that, as penetration moves more
and more to the mass market, price points are lowering and in most cases so do
margins," Atwal said.

"Although the numbers seem to paint a clear picture of who the winner will be
when it comes to operating systems in the device market, the reality is that
today ecosystem owners are challenged in having the same relevance in all
segments," Milanesi said.

"Apple is currently the more homogeneous presence across all device segments,
while 90 percent of Android sales are currently in the mobile phone market and
85 percent of Microsoft sales are in the PC market," Milanesi said.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
You can UNSUBSCRIBE from the OpenDTV list in two ways:

- Using the UNSUBSCRIBE command in your user configuration settings at
FreeLists.org

- By sending a message to: opendtv-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word
unsubscribe in the subject line.

[opendtv] EE Times: Buyer behavior being driven by 'anywhere, anytime computing'

Other related posts: