NPD DisplaySearch estimates that within three years, 75% of all personal computers sold will be tablets.
Although some analysts object to the inclusion of tablets in the PC category, which has traditionally be reserved for desktops and laptops, with tablets serving in the capacity of personal computers for millions of people around the world, the classification of tablets as PCs may be something with which we’re forced to live.
Falling prices and advances in display technology will lead to higher shipments of tablet PCs, which will increasingly replace notebook PC shipments in 2014 and beyond, the new report estimates.
The Quarterly Mobile PC Shipment and Forecast Report calls for global tablet PC shipments to rise to 315 million this year, comprising more than 65% of the market. By 2017 tablet PC shipments will climb to 455 million, encompassing nearly 75% of the mobile PC market.
“Momentum for the tablet PC market is in full swing as it has become the dominant mobile PC form factor,” says Richard Shim, senior analyst at NPD DisplaySearch. “Competition is expected to increase as traditional notebook PC brands, including Lenovo, HP, and Dell update their product portfolios to emphasize tablet PCs. Increased competition will mean more attention on, and development of, various segments of the market, which will ultimately lead to greater choice and devices that better fit the needs of consumers.”
