An interesting article by an AP reporter talks about the decline in PC sales in Japan. It comes just a few days after a debate with some friends found us mulling over the same issue. My idea that the life of the PC was limited and that the computer as we know it was on its way out, was shot down in flames. I was especially on a no-win streak as I couldn’t come up with anything sensible as an alternative!
The report by Hiroko Tabuchi states that the PC shipments to Japan have fallen for five consecutive quarters and Japan is considered a key market in this industry. The trend is noticable across the board for desktops and laptops. Sales are also slowing in America. The only growth is still being experienced in the developing world.
The question that begs an answer is what is replacing the PC? That is not that easy to answer. Possibly one should rather ask, what was the computer being used for that is now being served by other tech gadgets?
The first item that comes to mind is the music gadget. What the younger generation downloaded onto their PCs is now being downloaded onto their phones or the new iPod Touch for instance, which is a combination music organiser and web surfer gadget.
Digital cameras are now able to be linked directly to printers in this way bypassing the computer. And I am sure that some cameras come with photo image manipulation software so that one can quickly crop and edit where required. Some video recorders have full on editing functionality installed. The iPhone and presumably other mobile phones allow one to upload photographs directly onto ones Flickr account.
What about other forms of entertainment such as video, movies and games? For that there are TV sets that are getting bigger and better with amazing picture quality and gaming consoles plugging into the same flat-panel TVs which in turn plug into any kind of sound system.
And the internet? Apparently more than 50 percent of Japanese send e-mail and browse the internet from their mobile devices. So what is left for the computer then. So far it seems that it is back to office applications and possibly for the odd person who is into video editing and serious photo image manipulation that requires high computing powers.
Even Apple whose fun PC bashing TV adverts promote a Mac over PCs because of all the fun personal applications that allow one to play with photos, video, text etc. is seeing a decline in their computer sales in the developed world.
So what are the computer manufacturers doing about it? It seems they have now decided, that possibly it’s because they have been selling beige boxes, that innovation in the packaging of the computer could halt the decline in sales.
Some of Sony’s desktop computers have folded up to become clocks, and one of its latest versions even hangs on the wall. Laptops have funky illustrations on them and some manufacturers are finally listening to consumers and are working on making the fan quieter.
Of course there are all sorts of marketing experts that try and put a spin on the declining sales figures. One technology analyst maintains that although Japanese workers are workaholics, they seldom take their work home. Surely that personal preference hasn’t changed in the last few years?
And some official from NEC maintains that the consumer has to remember that the PC is top in terms of computing power. Well Mr NEC official, the consumer probably knows this, but possibly computing power isn’t it anymore.
Maybe in our hurried society, having it at our finger tips is it. Standing in a crowded commuter train for an hour’s trip home, you are not going to be able to fish the laptop out of the backpack. But you can browse on your mobile phone. Japan’s fastest social networking site, Mobagay Town, is designed exclusively for mobile phones. Doesn’t that say something about what gadget the consumer is using?
On a recent trip from London, I shared an iPhone to watch a video. The quality was exceptional and the easy to plug-in earphones which we shared as well made it a private viewing. When we arrived in Brighton the phone was slipped into the coat jacket. No awkward computer to pack away. So I ask you, is it the end of the line for the PC already?
