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Story URL: http://hardware.silicon.com/desktops/0,39024645,39372799,00.htm

Is it RIP for the desktop PC?
News analysis: Oh motherboard…

By Reuters

Published: Wednesday 07 January 2009

The age of the desktop PC appears to be over as its more portable cousin, the laptop, surges ahead with consumers clamouring for light-weight computers in funky designs for use at home, in cafes and on the train to work.

Not a single desktop model figured on online shopping portal Amazon.com's top 10 selling PC and hardware list the weekend before Christmas, while seven laptop models made the list.

It was yet another sign that the former dominance of desktop PCs is fading as wireless advances and lower prices make laptops the preferred option for millions of PC users around the world.

Research group iSuppli analyst Peter Lin said: "On both price and performance, laptops are so competitive now it's surprising they weren't able to catch up with desktops even earlier.

"The ability to surf the internet wirelessly at public places, the need to be able to take your office out with you when you travel, and an increasing range of notebook computers have all led to lower desktop sales."

Laptops posted a milestone in the third quarter of 2008, passing desktop PC sales for the first time, according to iSuppli.

With an entry-level price of $300 for some basic models, laptops should bolster their position in 2009. They are forecast to take up about 55 per cent of all computer shipments, according to data tracking firm IDC.

Many companies eagerly awaiting the era of the laptop are in Taiwan, maker of about 80 per cent of the world's laptop PCs. They include the world's top two contract manufacturers, Quanta and Compal Electronics, and laptop brands, Acer and Asustek. While those firms have seen their market share rise, the world's top two PC makers overall, HP and Dell, have seen their share shrink.

To keep their growth coming, Acer, Asustek and others vying for laptop dominance are increasingly looking to segmentation, taking aim at the wide range of computer buyers.

The runaway success of low-cost mini notebooks, initially derided by many industry watchers but now one of the fastest growing categories, could foreshadow a coming boom in products offering a wide range of prices and functions.

IDC analyst Richard Shim said: "There is incredible choice in the notebook space now. You can get notebooks at every inch size from 5-inch to 20-inch."

Segmentation comes in both form and substance. In the former, Asustek offers a bamboo-cased laptop for the environmentally conscious. HP has tied up with designer Vivenne Tam to release the "world's first digital clutch", a laptop designed to look like a woman's handbag.

On the more technical front, companies are offering an ever wider range of specialised laptops in varying sizes, processing speeds, wireless capabilities and prices. Battery life is also coming into play, with HP recently announcing that one of its laptops has broken the 24-hour barrier.

Faster boot-up times and features such as touchscreens are also being touted as companies try to convert former desktop users and build new markets.

As portability becomes the norm, some are asking if there's any room left for desktops in the brave new era of laptops.

But desktops can still offer substantial savings. Gartner analyst Lillian Tay said: "How can a laptop compete with a desktop on price?"

"Especially in the emerging markets where price is a consideration, laptops simply cannot compete on price with a group of people who slap a motherboard, a hard drive and a few chips together to get a desktop," she said.