Steve Jobs Triumphs Posthumously In Platform Wars – Why Tablets Are Beating PCs

The Register’s Paul Kunert says it’s finally official – the epic battle of legendary Apple CEO Steve Jobs is finally won, now that he has toppled the PC platform from beyond the grave, in the UK, at least.

Kunert cites IDC metrics showing that during Q1/13 more tablets were shipped into Britian’s consumer and business channels than PCs – notebooks and desktops combined, with tablet sales up 188 percent on the past year combined with a 20 percent drop in portable sales and a six percent decline in desktops.

The trend lines also saw consumers continuing to opt for competitively priced tablets, particularly the new 7-inch devices, with the top three UK tablet vendors being Apple, Samsung and Amazon according to IDC.

Why Tablets Are Beating PCs

ZNet’s Robin Harris notesthat he had a hulking, 45-pound quad-core Mac Pro for years but that his little, 3-pound i7-inch MacBook Air has faster Geekbench scores and feels snappier. And that in a nuthsell explains is why tablets are winning the device wars he says.

Harris says that one reason he had the big Mac Pro was to edit video, and that although its stability, an Intel workstation motherboard, ECC RAM, and ample cooling haven’t been equalled by any newer Mac he’s used, and while he hires hire a professional for most of hisvideo editing now, I still does some at home and really can’t tell the difference between editing on the Mac Pro and editing on the MacBook Air.

Harris further observes that the MacBook Air’s motherboard is tiny – smaller than an iPhone. and that here’s a lot less fan noise as well, all in a system that weighs 8 percent of the old Mac Pro and costs substantially less.

And this dynamic explains why tablets are so popular Harris contends. We’re now able to put the technology that people need and want into lightweight, portable, and functional systems that have more power, better ease of use, and longer battery life than most notebooks did 10 years ago, and that’s why although desktops and notebooks aren’t going to disappear, the tablet will be the leading platform for the next eight to 10 years. Perhaps in 2018, they’ll even be fast enough for Harris.