The "touch screen" boom hits traditional computers

Beijing time 07.16 news,China touch screen network news, the United States Geithner market research and consulting company recently released the global computer shipment report shows that in the second quarter of this year, global computer shipments were nearly 87.47 million units,while a year earlier The previous shipments were nearly 87.56 million units,a year-on-year decrease of 0.1% (Note: touchscreen machines for consumer multimedia products such as iPad are not included in the computer statistics).This is also the seventh consecutive quarter of sluggish computer shipments.

Experts from the agency believe that the main reason for the stagnation of computer shipments is that due to the impact of the financial crisis, the uncertainty of economic development in many parts of the world has increased.In Europe,the Middle East and Africa,computer shipments fell by 9.6%; the saturation of the world computer market is increasing.Last year, global computer shipments reached 352.8 million units,an increase of only 0.5% year-on-year.Consumers' enthusiasm for computers is fading;newly launched smart phones and touch-screen devices such as the iPad for consumer multimedia products are "hot".Many consumers are turning to lower-priced touchscreens to surf the web and handle email.Airbus also said it would open an iPad store to provide pilots with a variety of information to replace the heavy flight manuals of the past.

In stark contrast to the stagnant sales of traditional computers,the sales of touch-screen machines with some computer functions have been running wildly. According to the report of the strategic analysis company,in the fourth quarter of last year alone,the shipment of touch screen machines reached 27 million units, an increase of more than 190% year-on-year,of which Apple's iPad accounted for about 60%. Geithner estimates that 116 million touchscreens will be shipped this year,doubling from last year. By 2015,the touch screen market will reach $49 billion. This huge market will naturally arouse the high attention of enterprises in the industry.

Apple iPad is favored by consumers mainly because of its powerful entertainment functions, including games, movies, music, e-books, etc. There are also a large number of applications with a total of more than 150,000. But Apple founder Steve Jobs admitted that the iPad is not a tablet. Industry insiders believe that although the current touch screen machines solve the problems of convenience and price, their input convenience and function richness have considerable limitations, and they can only be a transitional product. The above-mentioned weakness of Apple's touch screen machine made Microsoft see business opportunities, and decided to adjust its corporate development strategy and develop its own tablet computer in the true sense. Originally, Microsoft had a division of labor with hardware manufacturers such as HP and Dell. The former only engaged in software, while the latter provided corresponding hardware equipment for the former's software. But in the face of the success of Apple's iPad, Microsoft couldn't sit still and decided to launch its own tablet this fall. According to reports, the Surface tablet computer to be launched is 10.6 inches. It is divided into basic and improved versions. Both use "Windows 8" as the operating system. The improved version has a CPU processor, memory, keyboard, external sockets, etc. It is a standard Computer.

Google is also working hard to compete with Apple in operating software. According to reports, Google's "Android 3.0 version" may become the most suitable operating system for tablet computers, and its fluency and display resolution can completely compete with Apple's iPad. Google also built "Android 4.1" for its upcoming Nexus 7 tablet. However, Dell, which originally planned to use the "Android" operating system, decided to give up the development of the "gallop" tablet series, which is undoubtedly a big blow to "Android". The tablet PC launched by HP has a mediocre performance in the market, which also makes people feel that it is not easy to shake Apple's "one dominance" in the touch screen market. Some experts pointed out that the selling point of Apple's touch screen machine is entertainment experience, while Microsoft, Google and other companies emphasize the "operating system". Whether such a market strategy can be recognized by consumers remains to be seen.

Although Intel has also dabbled in the operating system of tablet computers, it soon returned to its core product, computer processors, and set its sights on "super notebooks". Using technology from the automotive and aerospace industries, the company has developed a new material that could cut the production cost of each computer by $75. Currently, 80%-90% of the world's computers use Intel processors. Last year, its sales revenue reached 54 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 1/5. Using "Windows 8" as the operating system, a "super notebook" that combines the advantages of a notebook computer and a touch-screen computer; a new smartphone battery that can stand by for 14 days, talk for 8 hours or surf the Internet for 5 hours comes out, which may bring Intel New room for growth.