iPads Are Popular but Laptops are Preferred More by Enterprises

If you are looking to buy a new portable computing device, there are only two choices to mull upon – the old school laptops or the new lad in the town "tablets". Not doubt the fad of tablets stormed into the market and took everyone by surprise. Users from different segments quickly realized them as the best computing and communication mode. However, for those engaged in information creation and consumption and for business owners, laptops are still a better choice.

No doubt, tablets like iPads have some unique benefits like they are lighter, smaller, and less expensive than laptops making them hugely popular among the users. It is expected that in 2013, the sale of tablet PC will reach 240 million, crossing the sale of laptops in the US that would stay at 207 million. Research firm Gartner says that the increased sale of tablets is directly affecting the sale of the overall PC section. Gartner revealed that the sale of desktops and laptops fall by 4.9 percent in the last quarter of 2012 that is caused by the weakening economy and strong tablet sales. A very senior analyst working at Gartner quoted "the arrival of tablets changed the complete device landscape for PCs, not by cannibalizing PC sales but by shifting users' attention and consumption towards tablets. At present, the most prominent tables are Apple iPad, Samsung Galaxy "NOTE" and Goole Nexus. So is there any reason left with anybody to buy laptops instead of tablets?

To study more closely, what modern-day laptops has for business owners, I decided to review laptops from top brands operating in the US. The first realization was that Acer is the most preferred brand by the business owners. I also reviewed a new segment of laptops called "ultra book", where laptops are lighter, thinner, portable and a step up from tablets in functionality and efficiency. They come in three different sizes i.e. 11 inches, 13 inches and 15 inches. They were quite good but suddenly a thought flurried in my mind, "what if your plans of travelling with your laptop involves more than carrying it from your desk to board room or from your bedroom to your living room? In this case, the best would to replace it with a desktop replacement laptop that has a 17-inch monitor.

In contrast to tablets, laptops have a separate keyboard making it easier to type on a larger screen. Because of their power and versatility, entrepreneurs prefer laptops more despite the fact that tablets have been ruling all over. Business owners get more benefits from laptops as they are equipped with CD/DVD drive optical drive. However, newer laptops are leaving this feature to stay lighter and because of the ease of accessing programs and contents and backing up the data, using concepts like "cloud storage". The example that I can quote here is ultra book laptop, which has a 13.3 inch screen and weighs just 2.87 pounds. This ultra book is launched in the market to challenge Apple's iPad, which has a 9.7 inch screen and weighs just 1.44 pounds. It comes with a touch screen, reducing touchpad and expected to be the beginning of third-generation laptops.

CONCLUSION

Despite all this, the bottom-line remains much undisturbed that the popularity of tablets especially iPads has completely diminished the popularity of even the smallest laptop called "netbooks". However, despite tablets encroaching most sections of our life, it would take time for them to win the hearts of the business owners especially, when they start getting compared with laptops. Until then, laptops will continue to be the undisputed rulers not only of the business domain but also of the business owner's heart.