Supply and Demand
Supply and Demand
Shopping for a personal computer these days involves more than comparing hard drive size, physical memory, and price. A couple of years ago, when I was in the market for a new computer, I knew I wanted a laptop, and that’s about all I knew. I researched the internet looking for the type of laptop I would need as an adult online student. The details I needed to consider were use, size, weight, battery life, warranty, and operating system. This was at the time when tablet computers were just coming out, and had I known that these tablets were a good substitute for a laptop, I’m quite positive I would have chosen a tablet. I was not aware that these tablets could do anything a laptop could. Tablets are a viable substitute for laptops, as well as smartphones. I had a smartphone for about a year, but gave it up in order to save money on my cell phone bill. Personally, I did not feel that my smart phone could serve as a substitute for my laptop.
The sale of home personal computers, both desk top and laptops has dropped off significantly the last couple of years. [It is safe to assume that the Home PC’s are a normal good and income levels have an impact. The growth in Asia and Latin America and de-growth in the US point towards that. But clearly there is another phenomenon at work. The rise of close substitutes like: Tablets and Smart Phones. As the computing power in smartphones and tablets increase they do start working as close substitutes for PC’s, especially laptops. According to the same press release: "Low prices for consumer PCs, which had long stimulated growth, no longer attracted buyers. Instead, consumers turned their attention to media tablets and other consumer electronics. With the launch of the iPad 2 in February, more consumers either switched to buying an alternative device, or simply held back from buying PCs“.
In a separate report claims that sales of tablet computers will more than quadruple from 15 million
Shopping for a personal computer these days involves more than comparing hard drive size, physical memory, and price. A couple of years ago, when I was in the market for a new computer, I knew I wanted a laptop, and that’s about all I knew. I researched the internet looking for the type of laptop I would need as an adult online student. The details I needed to consider were use, size, weight, battery life, warranty, and operating system. This was at the time when tablet computers were just coming out, and had I known that these tablets were a good substitute for a laptop, I’m quite positive I would have chosen a tablet. I was not aware that these tablets could do anything a laptop could. Tablets are a viable substitute for laptops, as well as smartphones. I had a smartphone for about a year, but gave it up in order to save money on my cell phone bill. Personally, I did not feel that my smart phone could serve as a substitute for my laptop.
The sale of home personal computers, both desk top and laptops has dropped off significantly the last couple of years. [It is safe to assume that the Home PC’s are a normal good and income levels have an impact. The growth in Asia and Latin America and de-growth in the US point towards that. But clearly there is another phenomenon at work. The rise of close substitutes like: Tablets and Smart Phones. As the computing power in smartphones and tablets increase they do start working as close substitutes for PC’s, especially laptops. According to the same press release: "Low prices for consumer PCs, which had long stimulated growth, no longer attracted buyers. Instead, consumers turned their attention to media tablets and other consumer electronics. With the launch of the iPad 2 in February, more consumers either switched to buying an alternative device, or simply held back from buying PCs“.
In a separate report claims that sales of tablet computers will more than quadruple from 15 million