by ·Comments Off on Tablets Computers: The New Mainstream Personal Computer
Q1 2012 PC Vendor Market Share

Q1 2012 PC Vendor Market Share (credit: Apple Outsider)

Since the introduction of the Apple iPad in April 2010, then the entry of the extremely affordable Kindle Firein November 2011, the sales of traditional computers like laptops and desktops have slowly dwindled.

Check out the graph which clearly shows the trend in sales for the Apple iPad.  Notice Q1/2010.  This is when the iPad was released.  With the exception of Lenovo, all PC vendor market shares were trending down.

Look at Q4/2011. Notice that the Lenovo market share begins to show a hint of a downward trend.  Q4/2011 was when the Kindle Fire was introduced by Amazon.com.  For $199 a pop, the Kindle Fire quickly moved up second to the iPad in the tablet computer market.

I work in the IT (Information Technology) field.  My general bias is to people who happen to have the traditional personal computer.  But, based on recent conversations with people considering a new purchase of a computing platform, most see themselves as buying a tablet computer.  The reason being is that most users have really been using computers to do one or more of the following activities:

  1. Check e-mail
  2. Stay connected via social networking
  3. Shop online
  4. Read the latest news and gossip
  5. Watch movies
  6. Listen to music

If I missed one, let me know, but based on what I’ve heard directly from people who aren’t that computer savvy, these are pretty much all they do!  If that is so, then the tablet computer is the new paradigm of personal computing.

With Microsoft joining the bandwagon of tablet computing, there is no going back.  I bet you, when the next holiday season comes a long, the tablet computer will be the number one purchase.  There will be so many tablet vendors clamoring for consumer attention that tablet features will be full while at the same time prices will be amazingly low!

This is just on the consumer side of the fence.  I’ve noticed a strong trend on the business side as well.  Where I work, the standard computing device is a Windows-based computer.  However, within the last 3 or 4 months, the strong demand for tablet computers has forced iPads into our business environment.  Note that this is an IT department who is a strong Windows proponent.  This is simply amazing.

This technological revolution can certainly be attributed to the following things:

  • The tablet operating system is extremely easy to use that even a two or three-year old could operate it.
  • The battery life of these devices blow away those of laptops.  Tablet battery lasts anywhere from 8 to 10 hours.
  • Tablet prices have been going down; for $199, anyone can have one.
  • Tablet applications are plenty and extremely cheap.  In the good old days of PC software, $20 or higher software prices were typical.  Today there are many free apps; and for those you buy, the price ranges from $0.99 to $9.99.  Most are only $0.99!

Enough of my ramblings.  The tablet trend is definitely here, and there is now getting around that.

What do you think?  Is the tablet the new personal computer?

by ·Comments Off on Why Traditional Radios are Passe
Traditional Radio

Traditional Radio (credit: zirconicusso from www.freedigitalphotos.net)

During the 70s, 80s, and even 90s, FM and AM radios were prevalent.  People used them regularly to listen to music.  There were many type of radio stations–with each station specializing on a genre of music.  People used to turn to radio stations for their preferred music.  If you were within reception range of  your type of music, you are in luck.    This means you can listen to music you like.  However, if you only had a couple of radio stations within reach, more likely than not, it  wasn’t your type of music, and probably had to purchase a few albums or CDs to listen to your favorites.

I was one of the lucky ones, but I was at the mercy of the radio station’s programming.

Fast forward to 2012.  Today people listen to their music everywhere!  Thanks to a development called MP3 player which were later popularized by Apple through their line of iPod devices.  Of course this is still not the same.  You still had to purchase music, thought not as expensive as before.

I too own an iPod player–specifically an iPod Nano.  I use it to listen to podcasts and music during my long runs.  That’s not quite the same radio experience though where everyone in the room can hear the type of music they enjoy from various artists they like without first purchasing the music.

Just last year, I realized what had replaced the radio in my life–Internet radio, specifically through services like Pandora.com.  What makes this experience similar to a radio is the emergence of tablet computers.  I know you can do this through laptops, but that seems overkill.  With tablet computers, you can play the type of music you like simply by having an account with Pandora.com and entering the name of the artist or song you like.  From there, Pandora does the rest.  You can even  fine tune it to the point where you click the thumbs up or thumbs down button in Pandora to help it determine your music preferences.

I started using my tablet computer like a radio last year just after Thanksgiving.  We used to tune into a radio station which played Christmas music from the day after Thanksgiving, all the way to Christmas.  They played it 24×7.  A few months earlier my wife bought me a tablet computer, and I decided to use Pandora.com to play the music she liked to hear.  From that point on, we were hooked.

Today and on most weekends, I use my tablet computer to play a certain kind of music that everyone in the family likes.  I leave it on during lunch while everyone enjoys their meal.  The beauty of using the tablet computer as a radio is its battery life.  My tablet can run for over 8 hours without a recharge!  It is certainly better than a laptop computer.

Bottom line is that the traditional radio is obsolete, especially for playing music in the house.  In my house, the radio has transformed into Internet radio on a tablet computer.