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Phones and tablets will take over from single-purpose gadgets, iSuppli says
Who wants to buy a PMP (portable media player), PND (portable navigation device), or digital camera when their smartphone can already handle all those functions? Fewer and fewer people, according to findings released July 28 by research firm IHS iSuppli.
The notion that smartphones and tablets are taking over from more specialized pieces of portable equipment might seem obvious to longtime LinuxDevices.com readers, who have seen what was once a flood of PMPs and PNDs get reduced to a mere trickle. But it actually runs counter to another recent trend in which tasks that once required a PC -- serving up web pages, playing Internet radio, or streaming Netflix video, for example -- have been taken over by embedded devices.
"The success of multipurpose electronic equipment, often coming at the expense of devices dedicated to a single task, is reshaping the landscape of the consumer electronics industry, says Jordan Selburn, principal analyst, consumer platforms, for IHS.
"For example, the once-ultra-hot MP3 player market has commenced an irreversible decline, not because consumers are no longer interested in music, but because other systems, primarily smartphones like the iPhone, also include audio functionality as part of a much broader suite of features," Selburn adds.
According to iSuppli, shipments of smartphones and media tablets will rise at compound annual growth rates (CAGRs) of 28.5 percent and 72.1 percent, respectively, for the years 2010 to 2015. In contrast, shipments of PNDs, PMPs, and DSCs (digital still cameras) will either decline or remain flat during the same period of time, the firm adds.
"Media tablets, predominantly the Apple iPad at present, are truly a jack of all trades -- and master of most," Selburn said. Although not directly acting as a replacement for pocket-sized equipment, the tablet will increasingly play more roles for consumers, acting as an e-book reader, media player, browser, calendar, alarm clock, gaming platform, GPS, and camera all in one box, he added.
Ironically, the programmable, versatile desktop PC was responsible for marginalizing any number of special-purpose devices, including typewriters, dedicated word processors, and electronic calculators. Now, smartphones and tablets -- which are merely very portable PCs, after all -- are causing yet another round of disruption.
When's the last time you saw someone wearing a wrist watch for any reason other than fashion?
