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There’s been a lot of discussion lately about large decreases in purchases of new PCs and laptops. Dwight Silverman does a great job of telling the story, giving us the numbers and analyzing the trends in “Why aren’t people buying new PCs? Because they don’t have to.”
Silverman’s title neatly sums up the answer to the question, but his blog post is definitely worth a read, especially for lawyers and others hoping to get an updated computer in 2013.
First quarter PC shipments have decreased by more than 10%. Personal purchases seem to be most affected as we increasingly turn to smartphones and tablets. I also, anecdotally, am getting the sense that the standard business PC replacement cycle of three years is stretching out to four years. Compare this to our general smartphone replacement cycle of two years.
Silverman points out that a big part of the trend is that our PCs are “good enough” and that older PCs still do the job, especially as more of what we do involves only Internet access.
At the same time, we see that Microsoft has once again extended the oft-extended end date of Windows XP into 2014 as concerns about adoption of Windows 8 seem to be growing. Have we become comfortable with old PCs? Are we moving to a post-PC era? If so, what will it look like – a land of shiny new PCs getting ever more sleek and powerful or a Mad Maxian world of ancient PCs that still seem to get the basic job done all patched up with duct tape, glue and personal decorations?
I was thinking recently about when I might replace my two-year-old MacBook Air that I am writing this post on. In the old days, I would be doing that this year. However, my MacBook air is awesome and feels like it can go on happily for many more years. I realize that my motivation to buy a new PC would not be need, but just want.
Will you not be buying a PC in 2013?
