PC sales see ‘longest decline’ in history
Unlike many Geeks and tech pundits, I do not think Windows 8 is a major reason for most people not buying computers. I’m not saying it isn’t a factor, just not a major one.
My take on why PC sales are down:
1 – Money is tight. Most folks don’t have the extra cash to spend on a new computer.
2 – Little or no performance benefit. Truth is many folks only use a fraction of their computers potential. Unless you are a gamer, that 3 year old computer probably does everything you want it to do with room to spare.
3 – Smart phones and tablets (obviously). Within the aforementioned group is a group of people who have no need for a computer at all. Email, social networking, and surfing the web can all be done with their gadgets. Gadgets have replaced the need for multiple computers in many homes.
The PC market is never going to be what it was. Today it is all about mobility and convenience. Having earlier stated that I did not believe Windows 8 was a major factor in people not buying PC’s I also do not believe Windows 8.1 will be a factor in helping sales. The retirement of XP may help though. The biggest factor that I believe will help PC sales is an economic rebound.