Topic: What's with all this "PC versus Smartphone" talk?

[tendoboy1984]

Across the various corners of the Internet, I've been reading about how PC's will eventually be displaced by smartphones, because (apparently) smartphones sell more units. Well yes, EVERYONE has a phone these days; they are essential tools for communication while out and about. But the two devices serve very different purposes. PC's are used for content creation and business, smartphones are used for mobile communication (talking, texting, Twitter, etc.). Yes, they both connect to the internet, but that's where the similarities end.

The main problem with smartphones is how unstable the apps are. Smartphone apps crash often (most likely caused by poor coding and memory mismanagement), and their app stores are filled with junk apps made by inexperienced developers.

Also, an oversaturation of devices with different hardware configurations makes it difficult for many people to update to the current software (you never know which device will receive an update). Granted, most of the update problems stem from carriers and manufacturers delaying updates, but you'd never see these problems on a Windows/Mac computer, because Microsoft/Apple control the update distribution themselves.

So I ask, aside from mobility, what's the advantage of owning a smartphone over a computer?


Now if we were comparing tablets to PC's, then it might be a better comparison. We're already seeing Android and Windows tablets that can successfully mimic a PC (both OS and hardware). Microsoft is (ironically) helping to change the landscape (transition?) from PC to tablet, but I highly doubt PC's as we know them will ever go away. They are much more stable and reliable than tablets, at the moment. Plus there's the fact that a majority of businesses and schools use computers for day-to-day tasks.

[nickmitch]

PCs won't die for the reasons you stated. It's a lot easier to lock down a desk top in an office building than to give everyone tablets. And in many situations, you need the horse power and storage that you get from a desktop.

I think the crux of that argument is that most people never really needed computers anyway, at least not for personal use. Even in the AOL days, the family computer was for (illegally) downloading music, checking email, chatting (IM-ing), and reading articles. It's just that a PC was the way to do those things. Now, we've got phones and tablets are designed around an internet experience.

Some people do still need that extra power for work, gaming, video/photo editing, etc. So, that market is probably never going to die. It's just shifting.

[Morari]

It basically boils down to some people being morons while others still get use out of an actual computer. If all you ever aspire to be is a consumer, then stick with your phones and tablet. Otherwise, get out and actually create something!

[Ian Sane]

I'm pretty sure anyone who figures that smartphones will outright replace computers doesn't realize that computers are used for more than what THEY use it for.  A lot of people don't get that computers are used to develop the very software that is run on computers and smartphones.  It is not even just processing power.  How do you efficiently develop software without a decent sized screen, a keyboard and a mouse?  Just the physical layout of a desktop computer is pretty much a requirement for any sort of real work, not just in development but in general office work.  Yeah, texting your friends is easy with a smartphone.  Writing up a 50 page report for next week's board meeting?  Uh, no, you would find it to be complete hell on a smartphone.

I agree with nick that most of the world never needed a computer in the first place and thus is perfectly fine with a less functional machine that is more tailored to their personal use.  PCs used to be much much geekier because they really only were used by professionals and, well, geeks.  We'll probably just go back to how things were in the pre-internet times where you either were a very knowledgeable computer user and you didn't use computers at all.

What's funny is that the 2000's were the only decade where your average Joe knew his way around a computer.  Here in the 10's there has been the move to smartphones and tablets.  In the 90's in was not uncommon at all for a household to not own a computer and not know really how to use one.  I graduated in 1999 and like maybe half my class was truly comfortable using a computer.  And anything before the 90's was totally enthusiasts only.

[ShyGuy]

If you're making or modifying content, use a computer

If you're viewing content, use a smartphone, tablet, netbook, Smart TV, Roku, Wii U, or PC.

[shingi_70]

Pc's wont die but become more niche in a post PC or PC+ world.


http://www.theverge.com/apple/2012/7/12/3151491/fighting-words-apple-post-pc-microsoft-pc-plus


Its more that computers will be used for work while tablets/smartphones will carry on for the hardcore products.


Less of this everywhere










and more of this










Hell as much as I want to get a an awesome ultrabook like the Macbook air or the Acer S7 I think the Nexus & and a future Nexus phone is enough for me .




I'm thinking about buying a low cost chromebook for document editing but that's about it.

[Do_What]

There is going to be a place for buttons for the forseeable future.
Also, PCs are necessary for jobs like mine. Tablets and stuff just don't have the processing power to do everything pcs can do yet.

[UncleBob]

I think the crux of that argument is that most people never really needed computers anyway, at least not for personal use. Even in the AOL days, the family computer was for (illegally) downloading music, checking email, chatting (IM-ing), and reading articles. It's just that a PC was the way to do those things. Now, we've got phones and tablets are designed around an internet experience.

This.

Home Computers were really a niche market until the internet started taking off (via AOL and Compuserve).  Aside from smartphones, you've got things like your Roku boxes, your video game consoles and, now, Smart TV and Smart Blu-Ray players - that let you stream movies, shop and play casual games.

Hell, the vast, vast majority of stuff we all do could be done without a dedicated computer.  Even this post - I could make it straight from my TV, my Wii, my Wii U, my phone, my DS, DSi, 3DS, my wife's Kindle... I'm not sure if my Blu Ray player has a browser...

PCs will go back to being a niche market.  This is why you saw Microsoft take such a huge design leap with the basic interface (and not much else) of Windows.  It's designed for tablets and smartphones.  It's why Microsoft has started taking the idea of a line of mobile phones seriously (after such gloriously failed attempts like the two-month window of the original Kin units).

There will *always* be a market for PCs.  There are aspects of my job I can't do via smartphone.  But I could easily see a day where I don't need a PC in my house.

[tendoboy1984]

So PC's will go back to being used for office productivity then?

If you use a keyboard dock with a tablet (allowing for word processing), it essentially becomes a PC, just with a stripped down OS and a focus on bite-sized apps.


PC's (Windows, Mac, Linux) offer so much more than tablets. They are fully customizeable, you can download virtually anything straight from a web browser (thus making them more open), and you don't have to worry about apps crashing and force-closing.


Tablets are catching up to PC's, but they still have a long way to go before they reach the stability of one.

[shingi_70]

But the General Public doesn't care that a PC can do so much more. The form factor as well as the apps that you van only get on a tablet ios what makes it so appealing. Like I said most people are content with s tablet>phone combo and only having a /PC for word processing or something like photo editing.

[Morari]

The general public are consumers. They don't want to have to think, so things like tablets are fine for them. They want these walled gardens where all they can do is consume media. They want glorified televisions, existing solely to feed them mediocre content... for a price. The creatives of the world will still utilize actual desktops with real operating systems and true freedom. This isn't just about low-level office productivity either. We're talking all graphic design, video editing, programming, sound mixing, etc.

It's conceivable that some people may forgo traditional computers in favor of their iToys. But really, they're still going to need at least a dock. Research and word processing is pretty painful without a decent sized screen and keyboard. At which point, you're just using a stripped-down, locked-up, gimmicky version of what everyone else is.

If all you ever do is consumer content, then go buy and use your tablets.
If you actually want to create content, then stick with a real computer.
That won't be changing any time soon, if ever.