The Case of
the Dwindling Laptop Sales is still an open mystery. It turns out tablets may
not be the culprit after all, at least according to a new survey of tablet
owners by market research firm IDC.
Many
technology-watchers, noting that tablet sales were rising at about the same
pace as laptop sales were falling, assumed there was a direct correlation
between the two. The IDC study, conducted last April, contradicts that. Just
8.7% of survey respondents said they bought a new tablet as a laptop
replacement while 58.5% specifically purchased the tablet to use in combination
with their laptop.
The survey
sample wasn’t all that large—only 299 adults—but it shows that consumers buy
different devices for different reasons, and don’t want to ditch any of them
yet. “A huge percentage of people still see a lot of value in a laptop for one
kind of app or service they use on it. Would they want to do their taxes on a
tablet? They haven’t quite made the leap to being comfortable with a mobile
device like a tablet,” IDC analyst Tom Mainelli told Computerworld.
College
students probably fit into that category. A tablet is easier to tote around
campus for checking course updates in the learning management system in between
classes, for example. A laptop is better for working on papers and projects.
That still
leaves the mystery of why laptop sales are down. It’s possible tablets do share
some of the blame. After buying the latest tablet, purchasers may not feel the
need to upgrade their laptops to a new model. Also, those who use their tablets
on the go, such as students, may find their laptops last longer parked at home
where there’s reduced risk of theft or breakage.
