Tablets Seen Outselling PCs in 2015, Researcher Predicts

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The sale of tablets is projected to outpower PCs (personal computers) in 2015. According to a statement released by market researcher IDC on Tuesday, consumers are increasingly persuaded by tablets' cheaper prices and smaller designs.

IDC estimated the sale of tablets to grow by 45 percent in 2013, which means it will reach 332,4 million units in 2015. On the other hand, the sale of PC will only reach 322,7 unit, which means a decline up to 7,8 percent in 2013. This is the greatest decline up until now, and is much worse than the prior projected decline of only 1,3 percent.

"For many consumers, a tablet is a simple and elegant solution for core use cases that were previously addressed by the PC," said Ryan Reith, an analyst at IDC.

According to IDC, in 2017, 333 million units of PC will be sold all around the world. Meanwhile, the sale of tablets, might reach 410 million units. Previously, IDC estimated a gradual increase of PC sales in 2014. Now, the research body has corrected the figure and said there will instead be a decline of around 1,2 percent.

Currently, PC producers are trying to prevent PC users to switch to tablets. According to a researcher in IDC, in 2013, the sale of tablets will also prevail over the sale of laptops in 2013.

The estimated figure is boosted by the impact the newly-released Windows 8 brought to the market. Windows 8 is designed to be usable in touch-screen devices, which include tablets. Hewlett-Packard and Dell are now reportedly trying to expand their tablet markets to counter the effects of the decline in computer and laptop demands.

"Many users are realizing that everyday computing, such as accessing the Web, connecting to social media, sending emails, as well as using a variety of apps, doesn't require a lot of computing power or local storage," Loren Loverde, an analyst at IDC, said in the statement.

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