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Laptops vs. Desktops

Posted on January 10, 2011 by Jill Csillag0 Comments

Unless you have been living under a rock for the past decade, you can’t help but notice the enormous increase of mobile/portable electronics that enable us access to the World Wide Web.

First we saw public Wi-Fi locations popping up everywhere; consumers were packing up their laptops, power cords & wireless mouse’s and heading to their local coffee house to camp out for hours, noshing on fancy pastries and sipping cappuccino. While convenient, not to mention pretty cool, we were still limited to where and when we could get online.

Now, consumers have a myriad of choices, with Smartphones, iPads, and Net books topping the list. We aren’t as dependent upon Wi-Fi connections now, since many of these mobile gadgets provide their own internet access (of course, for a price!)

The mobile technology trend is definitely growing by leaps and bounds. With the recent addition of a 2^nd laptop within my own home, it made me realize just how popular wireless technology has become. Just yesterday, while discussing this issue with a co-worker, I learned he has upwards of 17 wireless devices within his home alone! Presently I myself only have 6, but the way the industry is growing and more choices are made available to us, I’m certain to be in the double digit range myself eventually.

The lone desktop PC in my home is definitely on its last legs. Desktop PC’s simply aren’t practical anymore; they are cumbersome and clunky, and take up entirely too much space. When it finally does bite the dust I expect another laptop will replace it. Here within the walls of Donet, most everyone is exclusively using a laptop computer. Talk about convenience; we couldn’t easily transport a desktop PC home every evening to get some extra work done – it defies practicality.

There have been several recent studies on consumer preferences when it comes to desktops and laptops. Consumers are twice as likely to purchase a laptop, net book, or tablet rather than a traditional desktop PC.

There are also recent “theories” that iPads will become more versatile, thereby having the potential to surpass the laptop in popularity. Time will tell if this rings true, and is highly dependent (in my opinion) upon future apps available to the iPad community.

An example of how the iPad is becoming more mainstream is evident in a recent story about a Chicago restaurant. The Chicago Cut Steakhouse (http://www.chicagocutsteakhouse.com/) has implemented iPads as a way of letting diners review their wine list & make their selection. According to manager David Flom, the over 40 iPads in use have helped to dramatically increase the restaurants wine sales.

I expect this is a trend we are going to be seeing more and more of, quickly. It’s a challenge keeping up with all the new technology, isn’t it? 2011 promises to be a very interesting year on the technology front!