Gigabyte: Laptops Will Die Off, Desktops Will Rise
Gigabyte says that iPhones and iPads are killing the notebook market, but this will pave the way for desktops to rule the land once again.
We participated in a small interview session with the management of Gigabyte's motherboard division to find out what sorts of challenges and opportunities the Taiwanese company sees for itself in the coming years. Present at the table was Henry Kao (vice president, motherboard business unit), Tony Liao (vice president, sales & marketing, North America), and Jackson Hsu (product manager, motherboard business unit).
Perhaps the most startling view was relayed by Kao. He said that the desktop market is very important for the next years for the company because of shifts happening in the portable space. Specifically, he forecasted the death of notebooks.
Kao pointed to the explosion of internet-enabled smartphone devices and the rising popularity of tablets. More than any other type of device, he named the iPhone and iPad as game changers for the mobile computing space.
Because of the internet capabilities of said devices, Kao said that users will eventually stop buying notebooks for their mobile computing needs. Instead, everything done away from the desk or even on the road will be through a smartphone or tablet.
"All of those devices, internet connected, will be better than ever," Kao said, adding his prediction that the shift away from notebooks to will take a three to five years. "100 percent replacement won't happen overnight."
What's interesting to note is that both Kao and Hsu walked into the Q&A with iPhones in their hands, and would periodically pick them up off the table to check something before setting them down again. Kao admitted that the problem with smartphones today is that typing into them is still a challenge, but once that gets solved through new features or on different form factors like the iPad, then the importance of the notebook will go down.
To predict the death of the notebook is a bold claim for anyone, but that sort of thinking is one that Gigabyte's motherboard division hopes for. If notebooks were to be replaced by smartphones and other MIDs, Gigabyte is banking on the users still wanting a desktop at the home or office.
"Once those people have those mobile devices, people need performance desktop at home or the office," said Kao. "When iPad launched in the market, Gigabyte already supported iPad's charging requirements."
Besides just capability differences, Kao believes that users aren't ready to commit to cloud-based storage and applications.
"People still want to store their data in their personal systems, not in Google," he added.
With the current trend of notebook sales climbing on top of desktop sales, it'll be interesting to see if mobile devices can shift the tide. Gigabyte believes that the future will still rest on its motherboard business.
"People are still talking about the death of desktop, but they're still around," Kao said.
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I think not, I'll stick with laptops for quite a while (typing this comment on one).
laptops suck. they break easily and are slow.
however, laptops are way more eco-friendly because they use less power and use less material...
Says the company that barely sells jack in the notebook market. Sorry Gigabyte I love my motherboard you made me but I will never drop a notebook for a tablet or smartphone.
Yeah, right.
Productivity on a laptop is still miles above anything a smartphone or tablet can offer. I can't agree with Gigabyte on this one. Laptops will be around for years to come as they should be.
Gigabyte is my Hero! I love desktops!
I think the internet is going to die.
See, I can talk out of my ass too.
I don't have a laptop and probably will never going to get one. They are slow for most things I do on the desktop. Besides the size of the screens is small also. They break easy, and are not upgradable. Price is totally outrageous for the hardware they have in them. Mobile devices will still be in the market for the quick e-mail or what ever here and there, but I do think laptops will become the past soon.
I sort of agree with what he says. But I don't think laptops will go away. They may drop some in popularity but companies will always need them and some people who simply do not have room in an apartment for a full sized computer will always buy them.
That is an interesting argument, but I'm not sure that typical workers need the power that a desktop offers.
Many of us here at Toms use desktops regularly and love to building them. We see the importance of the power we build into them, but for many business users, even modern specs in a laptop are overkill for basic word processing, e-mail, spreadsheets, and internet browsing.
I love my desktop, and will continue to build more in the future, but I'm not convinced that if many things move to the cloud, that tablets and smartphones will not be enough for typical users.
I hope the laptop does die- PCs are easier to work with!
Desktops, laptops, and netbooks/tablet PCs will be around for a long time...
Laptops will become more powerful and replace desktops, cell phones are replacing the laptops of today. If any of you saw AMD demo their low power(re: Intel Atom equivalent) Fusion CPU playing Alien Vs. Predator at Computex, we can only imagine how much more powerful their full-blown regular Fusion laptop CPU will be.
PS: Get a docking station for your laptop, voila! you have a desktop.
They have it completely backwards. So long as software is outpaced by hardware, people will abandon huge desktops, esp. in cities like NYC SF LA Chicago where rents are high and apts are small, and gravitate to laptops that can connect to big LCD screens on the wall.
The new cheapish ASUS with the 5770 gpu -- called the 5870M or whatever -- runs most games fine -- imagine if they had one w/xfired 5870M chips, why would you need a desktop?
I can see the big picture he's pointing out... It's kinda scaring to find truth in it, since I like notebooks a lot...
When we talk about "portability", there's no way to compare a notebook to a desktop PC, fact. But it's also a fact that nothing is more portable than a smartphone. Like he said, when they correct annoying handling issues, bye bye notebook. What's even more scarier, is that it also means that in a not so far future, we'll be connecting our smartphones to out office's screens and start working on a daily basis of them ._.!
Cheers!
^^^ I agree, I used to be a hardcore desktop gamer but once I got my ASUS Gamer laptop (G50Vt incase you're wondering) my desktop has been sitting there mostly unused. I'm always on the go and without my laptop I wouldn't be gaming at all.
PS: Get a docking station for your laptop, voila! you have a desktop.
No, you have an over-priced and underpowered 'desktop.'
The new cheapish ASUS with the 5770 gpu -- called the 5870M or whatever -- runs most games fine -- imagine if they had one w/xfired 5870M chips, why would you need a desktop?
Key word: Most. And that's right now. Software is being outpaced by hardware right now, true. Gaming-wise, software is probably being held back in part by consoles right now. When the consoles finally update, once again software will surge up in requirements again.
Also, with hardware getting relatively cheaper and cheaper, software will start to use the resources people are getting.
Honestly, people say we're fine with the hardware we have pretty much every year, but then stuff always comes out that makes it struggle, then new hardware comes out, etc... etc...
What was it Bill Gates said? Something along the lines of no one ever needing more than 64k memory, I believe?
Key word: Most. And that's right now. Software is being outpaced by hardware right now, true. Gaming-wise, software is probably being held back in part by consoles right now. When the consoles finally update, once again software will surge up in requirements again. Also, with hardware getting relatively cheaper and cheaper, software will start to use the resources people are getting. Honestly, people say we're fine with the hardware we have pretty much every year, but then stuff always comes out that makes it struggle, then new hardware comes out, etc... etc...What was it Bill Gates said? Something along the lines of no one ever needing more than 64k memory, I believe?
Actually dude what he said was a mistake, that laptop will handle ALL games fine, sure there may be a few titles in future that wont run on supermax/hardcore settings with everything turned up but really you don't need that to play. All that means is you wont be able to stroke your e-peen as you play. The point of a notebook is mobility, something that you'll never get from a desktop.
I have to agree and disagree with him on this. the tablet market is just heating up, as more and more companies jump on board we will see tablets just as powerful as laptops. killing the laptop off in 3-5 years _no, but within those 3-5 years tablets will be poised to take over mobile computing market.
Just what I was thinking...
(Typed on my new Thinkpad X201 laptop)
Most dinosaurs think they will live forever.
ipad/slate style computers are the future. The keyboard will not be missed when they get some things perfected...like voice and face recognition, speech to text software, eyeball tracking, and brain wave scanners. I give it ten years. Then someday they will even eliminate the display and our visual interface will be a pair of glasses.
Lol this guy is way off. Laptops will continue to be around and desktops will become so few, most families buy laptops instead of desktops now but I do agree with this statement:
There's no way laptops will die off any time soon, this is wishful thinking on Gigabyte's part. If anything I see the desktop market shrinking even more.
For all those who think that he's talking out of his ass, maybe reading this article will shed some light:
http://www.brightsideofnews.com/ne [...] o-ask.aspx
For all those who think that he's talking out of his ass, maybe reading this article will shed some light:http://www.brightsideofnews.com/ne [...] o-ask.aspx
The author of this article is a moron and has no idea what he's talking about.
when an iphone can play crysis on gamer lvl like my asus g73 then ill drop the laptop off the empire state building and pickup a iphone\smart phone but until that time im sticking with my GAMING laptop thank you very much gigabyte
btw i have a K8U-939 sitting in my lil bros case that is 5 years old now and it still works soooo im not bashing gigabyte in anyway i love there products... just not this opinion...
As long as quality notebooks like the aw m17x and asus g73 are being produced, I don't see this happening. He must be basing his theory on macbooks.
when an iphone can play crysis on gamer lvl like my asus g73 then ill drop the laptop off the empire state building and pickup a iphone\smart phone but until that time im sticking with my GAMING laptop thank you very much gigabytebtw i have a K8U-939 sitting in my lil bros case that is 5 years old now and it still works soooo im not bashing gigabyte in anyway i love there products... just not this opinion...
toms... you guys need an edit button...
sorry bout the dbl post but to all the people that say laptops are slow and small.
A. when you feel like lugging a UPS around to power your 24" gaming laptop with built-in subwoofer and steel case then fine you make it
B. refering to above point, i only have a gaming laptop for 1 reason, i got tired of having to sit in my stupid room whenever i wanted to enjoy a game, especially now that summer is here and i can go out places, play with friends, etc, etc, etc
laptops server a purpose that desktops can never achieve which is why there are laptops... PORTABILITY!
I have to agree. I have a netbook for flash and viewing some web pages better. But I just picked up an HTC Evo and honestly there is no point in bringing my laptop with me. I have a very powerful desktop at home for my main tasks and im just fine with my phones for mobile usage. I really dont see much need for laptops in the near future, phones have come to far