4 ms·

"But he appears to be oblivious to a signifiant new problem facing Windows 8: people and businesses aren’t buying as many PCs as they once were. They’re buying

by crag 14y ago

"But he appears to be oblivious to a signifiant new problem facing Windows 8: people and businesses aren’t buying as many PCs as they once were. They’re buying iPads." I don't know what office you work in.. but no; iPads have not replaced PC's. Yet. There are too many applications that just don't work well enough on a tablet device. This will change of course. But not today. Granted a lot of people in the office have ipads, but most bought it themselves. And use it with a PC. Not in place of.

rrrene 14y ago
That's certainly true for the office. But, as the author points out later in the article, many PCs were bought to serve as cash registers and info terminals, and those are replaced by tablets more and more. So IMHO it's not that far fetched to say that individuals and businesses are buying less PCs than they were when Win XP came along. Doesn't say they aren't buying them anymore, just less.
- crag 14y ago
  Really? I was just at the mail the other day, and I didn't see one iPad being used as a cash register. The only place I see people using their iPads to cash out are at the farmers market. And that makes sense since you are outside and need something portable. But I do agree, businesses are buying less PC's but not because they are replacing them with iPads. Because they aren't spending the money. The glut in the PC market is that everyone has one. It's saturated (I'm talking the Western World here, not developing countries). Now you buy one as a upgrade. And businesses only upgrade when they must. MS's job is to provide a compelling reason to upgrade. Time will tell if Windows 8 does this (I doubt it actually. Maybe when more apps are built for it).
  - stinos 14y ago
    "Really? I was just at the mail the other day, and I didn't see one iPad being used as a cash register." the comment above you also talks about 'tablets', not 'ipads'. Tablet-style things (ie rather small devices with a touch screen) have been used for cash registers and as controls in the industry for quite some time. A lot of them were merely PC's, running some sort of Windows. This might start changing now since tablets are getting more widespread, hardware getting cheaper etc.
  - randomdata 14y ago
    And businesses only upgrade when they must. Which must be a pretty slow cycle in this space. I recently shopped at a store that I hadn't been to in at least a decade. I was shocked to find they were still using the exact same orange screen terminals that they were using when I was a young child. That doesn't necessarily invalidate the original claim though. All new POS terminal installations could be using iPads or similar tablet devices.
- lnteveryday 14y ago
  There are many tasks at many jobs which require a PC (PC as in personal computer, which could be any OS as the author points out). The trade-off between a tablet device and a PC makes for a difference between ease of work, efficiency, and power. Imagine trying to effectively generate an excel sheet. I cringe at the thought of trying to manipulate data from a tablet. You would waste a lot of time to produce something sub par. This is one example, there are many more. Although apple reinvented the tablet market it will take greater innovation and the creation of some other tools before tablets become effective and efficient machines in the work place.
martin_bech 14y ago
Funny you should bring this up. The place I work for, sells a POS like setup for fitness clubs, but with more features, than a traditional POS. We've been talking a lot about replacing everything with iPads. The install price for the customers would be much much cheaper, and the experience for all involved would be better. The only thing holding us back, is the lack of available man hours, to make the switch, but it will happen.
- andyjohnson0 14y ago
  What are the drivers for using an iPad for POS applications? As far as I know iPads are built for light consumer use. Wouldn't a more ruggedised tablet running something like android be cheaper, more durable, and less of a target for theft? (Edit: added "something like")
  - martin_bech 14y ago
    Most good Android tablets, are atleast as much as the iPad when considering cost, however you could then posibly get away with using off the rack MSR or barcode readers, provided, that the Android device features USB. The bonus of using iOS, is predictable behavior, sleek design, better custom accesories (iPad msr) , percieved value of the customer, but also the ability to get a replacement device, with ease. If you go with Acer X, you have no idea of availabilty 2-3 months later, let alone a year or two.
    - andyjohnson0 14y ago
      Interesting points - thank you. Is deploying a custom application to the iPad (without going through the App Store) as easy was sideloading to an android device?
      - martin_bech 14y ago
        I think I would go trough the App Store, and just use som kind of authentication, as that would be easier for some clients, and would provide better visibility of the app and the company. However, if you would rather sidestep the regular appstore, Apple provides something called the Volume Purchasing program. With that, it is possible to provide apps directly to devices, either for free or a paid solution. source: http://www.apple.com/business/vpp/ http://www.apple.com/business/vpp/

by crag 14y ago

rrrene 14y ago

That's certainly true for the office. But, as the author points out later in the article, many PCs were bought to serve as cash registers and info terminals, and those are replaced by tablets more and more. So IMHO it's not that far fetched to say that individuals and businesses are buying less PCs than they were when Win XP came along. Doesn't say they aren't buying them anymore, just less.

crag 14y ago
Really? I was just at the mail the other day, and I didn't see one iPad being used as a cash register. The only place I see people using their iPads to cash out are at the farmers market. And that makes sense since you are outside and need something portable. But I do agree, businesses are buying less PC's but not because they are replacing them with iPads. Because they aren't spending the money. The glut in the PC market is that everyone has one. It's saturated (I'm talking the Western World here, not developing countries). Now you buy one as a upgrade. And businesses only upgrade when they must. MS's job is to provide a compelling reason to upgrade. Time will tell if Windows 8 does this (I doubt it actually. Maybe when more apps are built for it).
- stinos 14y ago
  "Really? I was just at the mail the other day, and I didn't see one iPad being used as a cash register." the comment above you also talks about 'tablets', not 'ipads'. Tablet-style things (ie rather small devices with a touch screen) have been used for cash registers and as controls in the industry for quite some time. A lot of them were merely PC's, running some sort of Windows. This might start changing now since tablets are getting more widespread, hardware getting cheaper etc.
- randomdata 14y ago
  And businesses only upgrade when they must. Which must be a pretty slow cycle in this space. I recently shopped at a store that I hadn't been to in at least a decade. I was shocked to find they were still using the exact same orange screen terminals that they were using when I was a young child. That doesn't necessarily invalidate the original claim though. All new POS terminal installations could be using iPads or similar tablet devices.
lnteveryday 14y ago
There are many tasks at many jobs which require a PC (PC as in personal computer, which could be any OS as the author points out). The trade-off between a tablet device and a PC makes for a difference between ease of work, efficiency, and power. Imagine trying to effectively generate an excel sheet. I cringe at the thought of trying to manipulate data from a tablet. You would waste a lot of time to produce something sub par. This is one example, there are many more. Although apple reinvented the tablet market it will take greater innovation and the creation of some other tools before tablets become effective and efficient machines in the work place.

martin_bech 14y ago

Funny you should bring this up. The place I work for, sells a POS like setup for fitness clubs, but with more features, than a traditional POS. We've been talking a lot about replacing everything with iPads. The install price for the customers would be much much cheaper, and the experience for all involved would be better. The only thing holding us back, is the lack of available man hours, to make the switch, but it will happen.

andyjohnson0 14y ago
What are the drivers for using an iPad for POS applications? As far as I know iPads are built for light consumer use. Wouldn't a more ruggedised tablet running something like android be cheaper, more durable, and less of a target for theft? (Edit: added "something like")
- martin_bech 14y ago
  Most good Android tablets, are atleast as much as the iPad when considering cost, however you could then posibly get away with using off the rack MSR or barcode readers, provided, that the Android device features USB. The bonus of using iOS, is predictable behavior, sleek design, better custom accesories (iPad msr) , percieved value of the customer, but also the ability to get a replacement device, with ease. If you go with Acer X, you have no idea of availabilty 2-3 months later, let alone a year or two.
  - andyjohnson0 14y ago
    Interesting points - thank you. Is deploying a custom application to the iPad (without going through the App Store) as easy was sideloading to an android device?
    - martin_bech 14y ago
      I think I would go trough the App Store, and just use som kind of authentication, as that would be easier for some clients, and would provide better visibility of the app and the company. However, if you would rather sidestep the regular appstore, Apple provides something called the Volume Purchasing program. With that, it is possible to provide apps directly to devices, either for free or a paid solution. source: http://www.apple.com/business/vpp/ http://www.apple.com/business/vpp/