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Laptops Outsell Desktops in Retail Stores
TechnoPope writes "According to this article on MSNBC.Com, laptop computers accounted for 54 percent of of 500 Million in retail computer sales last year. Also mentioned was that LCD's outsold CRT's in retail as well. "
Not included in the article is discussion of the fact that, per unit, more desktops/CRTs are sold than laptops/LCDs because of the costs. When people buy more laptops/LCDs despite the price, then I'll be impressed.
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LN2 is cool!
Now that LCD monitors are getting more and more affordable, of course the better technology will sell over the lesser. As far as laptops over desktops, I believe large corporations account for the majority of computer purchases and from what I have seen in my own company, everyone gets a laptop and a docking station (to simulate a desktop).
weren't computer sales down 6 months ago?
corporations don't have the money to upgrade anymore, that's a big bulk of a downcline in desktop sales...
and, universities would rather use laptops rather than desktops becuase of space and power requirements.
Runnin' On Empty
I read this yesterday and thought "whoah! More laptops than desktops!" but after reading the article I became aware that the money brought in from laptop sales was more than the money brought in from desktops. Considering the average laptop costs twice as much as the average desktop, you've still got roughly a 2-1 ratio of desktop units sold over laptops.
"He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lampposts...for support rather than illumination." - Andrew Lang
People want mobility with out sacrificing performace. Todays laptops seem to do that nicely, especially Apple's power books. I never liked palm pilots but laptops are quite nice on the average. I just wish heat wasn't such an issue. I used to have an Acer laptop 5-6 year ago and it left burns on my lap after an hour or so of use.
Is this a sign that 'joe user' starting to realize that software is no longer requiring upgrades every 6 months? (ease of Desktop ugrade is no longer a driving factor)...
-t
http://unmoldable.com W:"No one of consequence" I:"I must know" W:"Get used to disappointment"
Pretty much the same article on CNN, but a little nicer format with less intrusive ads: CNN's article
-Vic
Bearing in mind that desktops are cheaper, and that you can upgrade them more easily using off the shelf components, this doesn't mean that all of a sudden the world+dog are switching to laptops, especially not first time computer buyers looking for a family pc.
SCO employee? Check out the bounty
I wonder how many PC users build their own - as in what percentage of desktop's are homebuilt, since these don't figure into the "retail PC sales" numbers.
/. story.
In our little geek world, I'm sure the percentage of homebuilts is very high. But in the "real world," I wonder where that percentage falls to. I wonder if homebuilts account for enough to push laptop sales back under 50%, thus negating this
How are you going to keep them down on the farm once they've seen Karl Hungus?
I never thought notebooks were that usefull until I got one myself. Its almost as powerfull as my desktop,but portable and more comfortable to use. Which makes me wonder if a stupider labtop that simply connects to a more powerful desktop would be even more usefull. I guess they still need to workout the bandwidth and display issues.
Well.. maybe. Or Maybe not. But Definitely not sort of.
We all know that porn drives all the technological progress we evidence around us. What do you think the first telescopic lens was made for? To look at the sky? Hah! Gallileo happened to have a really attractive woman living next door.
So it should be no surprise that laptops are outselling personal computers, because they are much more suited for the Viewing Of and Whacking Off To porn. Personal computers are large, unwieldy, and it's easy to get caught "doing the nasty" in front of them. Not so with laptops, in my personal opinion. They're portable, and can be transferred to anywhere in the house (along with thier pornographic contents) for ease of masturbation.
What sort of innovations does the future hold? I can't say for sure. But I can say for certain that they will bring pornography to us in more detail than ever before.
Cyde Weys Musings - Scrutinizing the inscrutable
And here I thought Steve Jobs was simply weilding the "Reality Distortion Field " when he declared this year as "The Year of the Laptop."
I am sure that there are more *new* desktops in use than there are laptops. You have to take into the account the amount of people that build their own desktops as compared to those who build laptops (not too many people that I know of build their own laptops). I would say give it a few more years and then I can see laptops truly outselling desktops.
"The two most abundant elements in the universe are hydrogen and stupidity." -Harlan Ellison
As far as I've seen Desktop buyers almost routinely build their own. Even non-'IT professionals' are building them. I don't know many people building laptops for fun.
Sorry about the writing. Robot fingers, you know? Cliff Steele in DOOM PATROL #23
... since almost all laptops are guaranteed to be running some form of Windows. I'll buy one when they ship it to me with FreeBSD installed.
Dude, relax. You're being very un-Dude.
I'm not sure what planet you're from, but where I'm from a 17", 1600x1200 CRT retails for ~$279CDN, and a 17", 1600x1200 LCD retails for ~$890CDN.
To me, 3x is not a slight difference in price.
Once again proving my time tested old theory:
The fatter and older we nerds get, the slimmer and younger our computer get.
I haven't seen an LCD yet that was really good for certain types of games, like driving games and shooters. For work, yeah, I'd rather have an LCD. For games...unless there's something out there that won't ghost at all, I'll stick with the CRT.
What, are you kidding me? If you read the article instead of trying to hit first post, it says people are buying laptops for the portability -- imagine that! I thought we all wanted smaller & easier to use.
Not discussed in the article, CRTs and desktops use much more energy. Laptops can be used when the power is out - what a concept, not just a UPS where you can gracefully shut down when the power goes out.
The desktop is king only where unit cost is important. Oh, and gaming.
It's amazing what sheep will do when you tell them they should.
This is about laptops, not social reform in wyoming.
THE WORLD IS GOING TO END!!!! eventually.
I read this as "Higher number of laptops than desktops".
As laptops generally cost a lot more, it's not that surprising. I also think that laptops are most popular among business / professional users (who can afford the higher price for increased convenience), while the vast majority of home users have desktops as their primary
Could something similar be the case with the LCD's?
Pardon my English...
Are you a grammar Nazi? I'm trying to improve my English; please correct my errors!
Well, not too amazing. We've run into some issues with the people at my company. One of our receptionists for example: She acquired a LCD monitor to fit on the new receptionist desk that was purchased for her. The reasononing behind the LCD purchase was due to space reasons. ie. there wasn't enough room on the desk for a CRT. In any case, we put the display in, and within minutes she was complaining because she couldn't read it. The standard, nice and crisp, 1024x768 resolution on the monitor was too small for her to read. Our solution. Bump the resolution back to 800x600. On an LCD display this creates problems as the letters get all blocky, and it becomes rather difficult to read. The thing is, since the display looked like crap at 800x600, she complained about it more than being unable to read it. In the end, we had no choice but to leave it at 800x600 so she could at least see the words. I think that's one of the major reasons people stick with CRT's. Despite the resolution on a CRT, all the text is nice and clear.
This is just my opinion, I could be wrong.
If you're looking here for something insightful or thought provoking, you're probably looking in the wrong place.
I cannot imagine computing without them. I carry mine around almost everywhere I can. Sitting back in a cafe typing out code before a friend shows up or playing a game. I use mine everywhere.
It is also nice to be able to sit the thing in my lap and sit in the same room as my wife and hold down a conversation instead of being relegating to one room while I aimlessly surf.
Any others? Who loves having a laptop?
ACK
I bought a CRT about 9 months ago, but even by today's standards of LCDs, that "slight increase in price" would be about $700. Taday's lowest price of a LCD that does 1600x1200 res: about $950 off pricewatch. My monitor when I bought it: $225. This is not just a "slight difference".
That's hardly surprising. How often do you think people replace a stolen desktop?
Two words: digital photography. An LCD simply can't match the true color representation a good CRT can give, which is essential if you're going to do any serious photo work on a PC.
I got an email from TigerDirect today.
LCD specials
14" for $159
15" for $219
17" for $319
Do we see 17" LCD's for $249 this Holiday season?
LCD's are great for multiple monitor set ups, your desk doesn't collapse like with CRTs. Then again, your colors don't quite match up either...
I love my laptop so much, too. It really depresses me to see it disappear as I stand up. But you can hardly imagine my joy at having it return as I sit down again.
(Assuming you're using Windows)
Turn on Large Fonts.
I hear this all the time with my laptop users at work.
You can't get any work done in 800x600 anyway. Hell, for much other than Word, 1024x768 stinks too!
I can see how it's sort of ambiguous in the original article, if however you go to the NPD web site you can read their original press release where it's actually clear that they are refering to # of units sold for LCD's. It also turns out though that they are indeed refering to percentage of money for Desktop/Laptop sales.
>> Just run the damn lcd in its native resolution
>> and increase the default font sizes!!!!!!!
> How does this help when doing word processing?
> Do you really want 1/2" tall text out of your
> printer?
Ahem. When he said "increase the default font sizes", he meant increase the default SCREEN FONT SIZES in your operating system. In Windows:
1) Right-click on the desktop
2) Click on "Properties"
3) Click on the "Settings" tab
4) Click "Advanced"
5) Under the General tab, there is a "Font Size" setting. You can select "Small Fonts" (96 dots per inch), "Large Fonts" (120 dpi), or "Other" (whatever you want).
You'll notice that when you select "Other", Windows shows an example of how 10 point Arial text will be displayed on your screen with the modified settings. By dragging the ruler, you can increase or decrease the displayed size of 10-pt Arial text.
That's right, you can change the onscreen size of your text (measured in dots per inch) without affecting the printed size of your text (measured in points). I hope that clears everything up. Next time, don't jump to rash conclusions.
BTW, I can see the benefits of LCDs, but I don't see how LCD fanboys can proclaim "CRT is inferior". Sure, LCD is superior if you don't mind being locked into one resolution, motion blur, etc. For business and word processing use, I'm sure LCD is just fine. For gaming, graphic design, movie playback, I would go with a CRT.
But if you look at the statement, they only say that laptops accounted for 54% of $ of retail sales. Given that laptops are generally more expensive, desktops still outsold laptops in numbers. Add to that the average guy can build his own desktop, which is not counted in these numbers, but cannot build his own laptop or notebook, and the actual number of desktops as well as dollars spent on desktops far exceeded laptops.
So they can twist sales numbers to say what they want, even if it isn't accurate. What else is new? And who really cares?
I'm an American. I love this country and the freedoms that we used to have.
well, sort of.
Just wait 5 years.
I'll still be using the desktop machines I've got - doing incremental upgrades, of course - but it'll basically be the same boxen.
By then your laptop will be gone. Even if you don't step on it, drop it, run over it with a car, or get it stolen, it'll die from overheat or one of the internal components will break and be irreparable because everything's integrated (with the possible exception of the harddrive).
And then you'll have to buy another one.
Laptops may eventually replace desktops in per-unit usage simply because the laptop owners have to keep buying new ones, while the desktop owners don't. Kind of like how industrial laser printer sales are far fewer than inkjet printer sales.
Mod me down and I will become more powerful than you can possibly imagine!
I bet laptops will continue to gain market share over desktops. For most people a good laptop has more than enough power to use office apps, Internet and maybe the odd game. And that's all most people need to do with their computers.
Now that you don't have to sacrifice power and performance for portability in any significant way, why would you bother buying a desktop other than cost? So I think a lot of people are thinking that getting a desktop that they can only use in one location is a major drawback.
Personally, I've been drooling over the new Apple G5s, but I really think my next computer will be another Powerbook. I take my TiBook everywhere with me, and with WIFI at home and work, I can use it all day. If I buy a desktop for home, I won't get to use it for most of my day.
Real estate is more expensive than
computers. And getting more expensive.
Computers get less expensive, at least
expressed as computing power and features
for a given amount of dollars.
Businesses want cubicles to stay small
(or get smaller) and people with home offices
want to make maximum use of that space.
It makes perfect sense on that basis.
However, I think there a lot of downsides
to laptops that overzealous desktop replacers don't see, including proprietary components,
vulnerability to physical damage and theft,
and relative difficulty of backing up whole
hard drives.
Before anyone jumps to grand conclusions about what this means vis a vis desktops vs laptops:
I don't see anyone noting how laptops are inherently hard to upgrade. If your laptop is sluggish, you basically have two options: 1) add more RAM, and if that fails, 2) buy a new laptop. Whereas, with desktop PCs, you have several more options, like upgrading the CPU or buying a new graphics card. This means that the average desktop will have a longer upgradeable life than the average laptop.
A related factor is that the average desktop for under $1000 is way more powerful than the average $2000 laptop. So a desktop bought today is much less likely to be made obsolete by horsepower requirements within a given time frame than a laptop also bought today, if only because it has more horsepower right out of the box, even if that desktop costs a lot less.
And because of the inherent cost differential, people who can afford to buy laptops can afford to upgrade them faster.
Also, many people who buy laptops buy it for the chic factor, so they're going to upgrade (i.e. buy a new laptop) sooner than those people who buy the decidedly unchic desktop.
Laptops are undeniably at least partly about image, and people consume them every bit as conspicuously (and in the very same places !) as people consumed Filofaxes, cell phones, and PDAs before. And I've noticed many smirks or at least raised eyebrows when someone trundles in a 3-year old, heavy-as-hell-with-passive-matrix-screen laptop into a meeting. And many if not most of the laptop-advocates here are familiar with the satisfaction of hauling in the newest, coolest laptop, hearing the oohs-and-ahhs and having the neatest toy in the board room for the next month or so.
I agree "outselling" is ambiguous, but you goofed by saying desktops still "rule the market." A market is *always* measured in dollars, not units. Otherwise one would say that the market for automobiles is dwarfed by the market for M&Ms.
viewable area as that 21" Monitor.
Eh? Your laptop is good for what, an hour? Hour-and-a-half max if you are actually doing anything? Big deal.
When this laptop was new, I regularly got 3-4 hours of constant use out of it. I wasn't doing multimedia, etc., just coding, but it *was* constant use. The battery has gotten a bit more wear on it, and I'm lucky to break 2 1/2 hours these days. Still, that's a lot better than an hour.
And its portability means I can work on the patio at my favorite coffee shop or where ever I prefer.
Ignorance killed the cat. Curiosity was framed.