The stunning announcement by Hewlett-Packard, the world’s top personal computer maker, that it is taking steps to exit the business is the surest sign yet the post-PC era is here. “We tend to throw the ‘post-PC era’ term around a lot, but it’s clear that, in the wake of HP’s announcement, we’re closer than ever to that reality,” said independent technology analyst Carmi Levy.
“When a stalwart of hardware’s golden age essentially walks away from the business on which it was built, it’s easy to conclude that the point of no return has been officially passed.”
HP said its board has authorised the evaluation of “strategic alternatives” for its unit that could sell or spin off its PC business into a separate company. The Windows-powered PC has been at the center of the lives of consumers for years but the arrival of powerful smartphones – essentially pocket computers – and touchscreen tablets like Apple’s iPad has lessened its importance. Consumers no longer need a desktop or a laptop to be connected and with the steady erosion of profit margins on PCs, HP failed to position itself with the products of the future, Forrester Research analyst Sarah Rotman Epps said.
California-based HP also said it was stopping production of its iPad rival, the TouchPad, and phones based on the webOS mobile operating system acquired from Palm last year for $1.2 billion. Explaining the moves, HP chief executive Leo Apotheker said, “The tablet effect is real and sales of the TouchPad are not meeting our expectations.”
The screens on the smartphones are too small, and the touchpads have no normal keyboard. Add a keyboard to a touchpad and you've got a laptop. Thus the supposed end of PCs isn't that close IMO.
Comments are closed.