As the economic situation continues to struggle, PCs have to evolve in order to deliver the performance people expect at a reasonable price. The problem here is that even as prices come down many customers still can’t afford to purchase a new computer. This has caused a significant drop in this quarter’s PC shipments.
Not every type of computer has been hit the same. Desktop PCs have experienced the biggest reduction, while laptop computers have gained some ground. However, even those laptop PCs have been shipping more units, the value of those computers has gone down. Either way, both declining shipments and declining profits are causing the industry some troubles.
Things are getting more and more precarious for PCs. They have lost a lot of revenue from business that have to cut spending and individuals who can’t fit it in their budgets. In recent years this has built up a consumer base that will make do with their current computers that seem to be “good enough.”
That wasn’t a problem a couple years ago. Back then it seemed that any computer use was more than willing to shell out money for the latest computers and gadgets. However, desperate times call for desperate measures, and consumers have slowly turned away from high-end, expensive computers and seek out the more affordable models.
Manufacturers have tried to compensate for this slump through innovation and price reductions. Intel, for example, has announced the new Corei7 and Core i5 processors that are more powerful and more energy efficient than most of their previous models.
There is also a lot of innovation around the laptop and tablet PCs. Manufacturers are always seeking new ways to make the user experience more enjoyable, and many of them are implementing touchscreens to give users more precise control over the objects. The most recent development in this area is the multi-touch screens that create a more intuitive and enjoyable experience for the end user.
Then, probably the biggest change coming to PCs is the release of Microsoft Windows 7. This new operating system is supposed to solve a lot of the problems created by its predecessor while offering native support for many of these new technologies.
Will all these innovations be enough to turn around the troubled PC market? It’s hard to say. Many projections think that the PC market in general will be okay, because even though desktop PCs probably won’t see much growth, the laptop and netbook markets will pick up the slack. Will that be enough? Only time will tell.
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