PC Sales Tanking - Windows 8 Blamed

[Zoot]

http://techreport.com/news/24642/gartner-idc-pc-shipments-tanked-last-quarter

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-04-11/q1-pc-shipments-drop-most-ever

Against a forecast -7.7%, the worldwide shipment of PCs collapsed -13.9% to a mere 76.3 million units. This is the fourth consecutive quarter of declines and is the worst quarter since records began in 1994.

"While some consumers appreciate the new form factors and touch capabilities of Windows 8, the radical changes to the [user interface], removal of the familiar Start button, and the costs associated with touch have made PCs a less attractive alternative to dedicated tablets and other competitive devices."

Few of the articles covering this are blaming the economic situation, which I would imagine is a far bigger factor than Windows 8.

It seems to be a combination of the economics, the shift towards mobile devices like smartphones/tablets, and the lack of popularity of Windows 8.

This would mainly be just OEMs though which is understandable given the financial performance of HP and Dell at the minute, but I wonder what PC Component sales are doing.

 

[seumasbeathan]

With a thing like pc's surely they are always going to be dropping? Less and less people don't have a PC so less and less demands for them.

 

[WillSK]

I actually think the enthusiast market is probably relatively stable. I'm sure I read when doing some uni research that PC gaming is seeing growth still thanks to platforms such as Steam and that sorta goes hand in hand with people getting into custom pcs

 

[SieB]

The problem isn't Windows 8. The problem is peoples inability to accept change and learn how to use it.

So many people write Windows 8 off because of the start screen, thinking "oh no I don't want to use this tablet OS."
What they don't realize is, you don't even have to use it. If you do, it's actually pretty easy to use and takes the same amount of time to use as the start menu would anyway.

Some of the blame for it comes down to MS though with the marketing and them not giving people the option to disable it.

There is nothing wrong with Windows 8, it is better than windows 7, fact. It just gets written off because of the start screen which is a bit stupid if ask me.

Like Willsk said though, the enthusiast market is ok, it's just the other side of the market, the average Joe's.

 

[Excalabur50]

I gotta agree it's not because of windows 8 as there is a sharp rise in the sales of smartphones and tablets atm and a trend towards consoles. It's like anything trends and fads come and go and pc popularity will rise again.

 

[Zoot]

The problem isn't Windows 8. The problem is peoples inability to accept change and learn how to use it.

People always resist change, particularly when it's changing something that's been around for nearly 20 years now. Regardless of whether said change is better overall or not.

I can't comment on Windows 8 since I've never used it, I don't see much reason to upgrade to it yet. Although it seems strange to me that they'd put the tablet interface as the default on the desktop version. I mean even Apple keeps these things seperate.

Like Willsk said though, the enthusiast market is ok, it's just the other side of the market, the average Joe's.

"Hanging in there" is probably a better term rather than "okay". A lot of the motherboard manafacturers were missing their targets for shipments in 2012 for instance.
http://www.techpowerup.com/178142/ASRock-Misses-Motherboard-Sales-Target-for-2012-Ships-7.5-Million.html

If I've a period of time where I've nothing to do over the rest of the weekend, I'll have a dig through MSi's, Gigabyte's and Asus's financials to see if I can get my hands on figures.

OEMs sales collapsing the way they are doing most certainly isn't good for the industry as a whole because it's a major chunk of revenue for any of the hardware manafacturers. The enthusiast DIY market is quite small by comparison.

 

[alienware]

I wouldn't blame Windows 8. I would put the blame on tablets and other 'lazy' devices that you can lay on the sofa with and still get some functionality out of.

When I got my Ipad (sold it now got bored) I didn't use my PC for about two months. It was far easier to just lounge around tapping the screen. It was only when I wanted the functionality back (emaling properly and playing games) that I ditched it.

Windows 8 was designed to take on the tablet market and nothing more. It is pretty useless on a desktop even though it does have some good features. Microsoft saw a market they weren't involved in and decided to jump in head first hoping to cash in on sales of tablets.

PC sales are dying but I don't blame Windows 8. I went to PC world a couple of months ago for an emergency router (ours bricked on a firmware update) and the PCs there were really quite pathetic. All of them were tiny little under-powered piles of crap.

They didn't even have their obligatory rip off cases and psus etc for double the internet prices. There was also no PC game aisle at all so they weren't even stocking any PC games.

Smart phones have had a hand in this too but I say fudge em. Nothing will ever replace my PC.

 

[alpenwasser]

People always resist change, particularly when it's changing something that's been around for nearly 20 years now. Regardless of whether said change is better overall or not.

+1

OEMs sales collapsing the way they are doing most certainly isn't good for the industry as a whole because it's a major chunk of revenue for any of the hardware manafacturers. The enthusiast DIY market is quite small by comparison.

Very true. This tends to be overlooked somewhat.Sure the "extreme"
products get all the glory and PR but compared to the OEM stuff they're
not very important in direct revenue. They do bolster a manufacturer's
image though and that might help with selling OEM stuff, but that's very
tricky to quantify.

I wouldn't blame Windows 8. I would put the blame on tablets and other 'lazy' devices that you can lay on the sofa with and still get some functionality out of.

But can we really blame people? For many, a tablet or mobile phone is just simply
a much more sensible investment and a lot closer to what they actually need,
so why would they get a PC? If you have no need for it, there really is not
much point to shelling out money on it. For me, this somewhat goes into what
Zoot said about people resisting change, only this time it's us who's resisting :lol:

Despite that, for me personally:

Nothing will ever replace my PC.

+1

 

[alienware]

Tablets and phones make PCs look innocent IMO. The rate that the new ones come out and make the old ones worth a toffee is crazy.

 

[alpenwasser]

Tablets and phones make PCs look innocent IMO. The rate that the new ones come out and make the old ones worth a toffee is crazy.

It reminds me somewhat of the GPU race in the early 2000's with the original
GeForce 256 and what came after.

New generation every 6 months, on the clock, bloody amazing and annoying at
the same time :lol:

 

[Zoot]

For me, this somewhat goes into what Zoot said about people resisting change, only this time it's us who's resisting :lol:

I hear you about resisting change! In fact I've yet to jump on the tablet/smartphone bandwagon. I'm still rocking this POS that isn't capable of anything more than calls or texts. :lol:

Although I really did envy my friends when I was in Beijing and Shanghai last year, it was so easy to find your way around with the GPS on the phone. Depending on street maps in China is a big no-no!

Tablets and phones make PCs look innocent IMO. The rate that the new ones come out and make the old ones worth a toffee is crazy.

Most new growth markets are like this regardless of the industry. I'm sure over time you'll have a lot of the small players pushed out of the market.

Long my it continue though; it's absolutely fantastic for the consumer though.

 

[alpenwasser]

I hear you about resisting change! In fact I've yet to jump on the tablet/smartphone bandwagon. I'm still rocking this POS that isn't capable of anything more than calls or texts. :lol:

:rock:

Until two months ago I was still lobbing around this behemoth. It was so totally
awesome to tinker with that thing since it runs Linux and is completely open.

Sadly, Nokia killed the platform shortly after having launched the phone due
to their alliance with M$, so the choice of apps was rather limited, and those
that did exist have started to become quite dated. Also, the phone was not
really suited for browsing because it was simply too slow.

So two months ago I finally jumped to Android (Motorola Razr i, pretty neat)
and I do have to admit it does have its strengths.

But handing over all my contact info, and especially all the people's contact
info who are in my phone book, to Google does feel quite a bit discomforting

I'm holding out hope for Tizen and mobile Ubuntu at this point.

Although I really did envy my friends when I was in Beijing and Shanghai last year, it was so easy to find your way around with the GPS on the phone. Depending on street maps in China is a big no-no!

GPS, email and schedules for public transport really can be life savers to have
on your phone. (at least for me)

 

[Spiderz]

It is a shame to see the PC market having trouble but to blame smartphones and tablets for it doesn't do the whole thing justice. Laptops are more likely to push into the desktop market as they provide similar features regarding proper emails, word processing etc only laptops do it somewhat slower due to less power. Those that want the extra power and ability of a desktop get it for things like games but many don't need it.

Owning both a desktop and a tablet I find that each has their advantage and it is why I doubt I could ever go back to a laptop. All my gaming, DVD watching and major work is done on my desktop but for lounging about, killing time and on the go my tablet is more than good enough and lighter, quicker and easier to use than a laptop.

On the whole Windows 8 thing- I've tried it for a couple of hours when forced to but not used it long term on a setup with a mouse and keyboard. Wasn't a massive fan of it and feel that Windows 7 is easier to use int his regard.
Mobile on the other hand is where Windows 8 really excels. Worked well when I had a play about on the Surface and my current phone is Windows 8 phone and I really do like it, perhaps even more than my previous Android stuff. Once they get the app store on it up to speed it cold be a major force.