HP Surrenders the Mobile lineup....

[Bryancd]

Speaking of stock prices, HPQ is down 20% today. First RIM, then Dell, now HP. The old gaurd failed to adapt to a changing market place and are taken out and shot, as it should be in the capital markets.

[MARKO]

Garbage in .....GARBAGE OUT, Just like with the auto industry .

Marko

[KingIsaacLinksr]

Truthfully, as "shocked" as I was by today's news, I've been hoping for years for Laptops to disappear, (or be completely renovated) as I viewed them in a poor (and not undeserved) light.  Now, it seems like my wish has somewhat come true.  True true, its too early to call them dead, but a new age of technology is upon us and things are going to change. 

King

[Bryancd]

Actually this is more about their desktop business. Desktops in general are a dying bread. I think laptops will continue for years to come, some will be full service machines, others more minimal like the MacAir, and then tablets will be the biggest in terms of portable numbers. But, again as I have said all along, the future of portable technology is here to stay and Apple blew the market wide open. At the end of the day, gamers will be the last holdouts for desktops. Hell, even my office has switched to an all laptop model that when in our office we hook up to dual monitors.

[KingIsaacLinksr]

Actually this is more about their desktop business. Desktops in general are a dying bread. I think laptops will continue for years to come, some will be full service machines, others more minimal like the MacAir, and then tablets will be the biggest in terms of portable numbers. But, again as I have said all along, the future of portable technology is here to stay and Apple blew the market wide open. At the end of the day, gamers will be the last holdouts for desktops. Hell, even my office has switched to an all laptop model that when in our office we hook up to dual monitors.

Good luck getting gamers off the desktop too.  (not that you said we should, just saying)  Laptops simply lack the power and flexibility (not to mention the heat problems and battery issues).  The mobile devices are nice, but compared to the games you can play on a desktop, simply don't hold a candle to them. 

King

[Rico]

Actually this is more about their desktop business. Desktops in general are a dying bread. I think laptops will continue for years to come, some will be full service machines, others more minimal like the MacAir, and then tablets will be the biggest in terms of portable numbers. But, again as I have said all along, the future of portable technology is here to stay and Apple blew the market wide open. At the end of the day, gamers will be the last holdouts for desktops. Hell, even my office has switched to an all laptop model that when in our office we hook up to dual monitors.

Sorry, I don't agree.  Desktop systems have one thing going for them that portable devices still have a long way to match - security.  Any computing device that's portable enough to hide on your person or just put in your pocket or purse is much easier to compromise than a desktop platform.  Talk to any big company network admin about the pitfalls of letting everyone hook up all their portable devices to the company network.  Also, gamers are not the only users that need the power, screen size, and extra abilities that no portable device can currently match.  Engineers, scientists, teachers, etc. use machines that again can't be matched by a phone or tablet.  Maybe it will eventually happen.  But we are a long way from that.  I like my iPad, but it can't match my 3 year old desktop system in what it can do.

[Bryancd]

No, what I am saying is that laptops, full bore laptops with sufficient security protocols, will make inroads in to the corporate desktop business, not portables. Did you read what I wrote, I never said portable devices n the work place.
Using Wells Fargo as an example, they company saw we could have both a full desktop experience, (dual monitors) which we need for work and also a portable option. We have a docking station in our offices for the laptops. This was a company wide move. Any business which has employees for whom any degree of portability is needed will move in this direction. Jamie's entire industry, market research, is on laptops and has been for years. I am not suggesting portable devices will likely ever fill this roll. But corporations are moving to this model. Your 3 year old desktop can likely be equaled by a current full power laptop. The only downside is screen size and as LCD screen prices continue to fall, the option of having a laptop with a big screen are readily available. Gamers who need to expand memory and graphics cards will be the last hold out.

And as I have said before, your home computing demands are well beyond the average consumers. For them low powered laptops and portables will dominate the market of the future. You can disagree but I will be correct.

[Rico]

I was responding to your comment that desktops are dying breed and giving you reasons why that isn't the case.  Bryan, there are huge industrial areas that can't even being to do what they need to do on a laptop.  And with regards to your comments about gamers, I actually know many gamers that use high end laptops.  But try running Autocad on a typical laptop.  Or a high end chemical modeling program or high end graphic program.  Business areas are one thing, science and industry are another.

[Bryancd]

Yeah, I agree there are industrial industries for whom a laptop is a an extra expense they don't need. There will certainly be corporations and industries which will keep that model and the HP spinoff, Dell's, ect. will continue to make them. However, the consumer market is moving at high speed the other way. Add into that the the new consumers coming from China and India, the consumer market is going to eclipse corporate in the future..by a lot. 2.5+ Billion people coming into the 21st century and new found wealth. They will ant laptops and portables. It's coming and it's going to be big, mark my words.

[Rico]

Oh, I certainly don't doubt or disagree that it's coming.  I've followed the computer industry probably longer than anyone on this forum.  I've fixed, tweaked, upgraded, installed, torn apart, a ton of hardware.  I know very well how far it's come in the last 30+ years.  And I'm excited to see what's ahead.  But, we are not there yet.  Not by a long shot.  I think you would be shocked at how many companies operate with VERY outdated computer gear because of the expense of upgrading everything.  Anyway, we'll see how it all goes.

[Bryancd]

  I think you would be shocked at how many companies operate with VERY outdated computer gear because of the expense of upgrading everything.  Anyway, we'll see how it all goes.

Actually you are making my point. When the economy improves and hiring begins, there's a HUGE upgrade cycle coming and dollars to donuts you will see more laptop penetration at that point as well as overall increased PC demand.

[Rico]

"When the economy improves and hiring begins,......" 

--- Yeah, that will be nice to see for the many, many people still looking for work.

[Bryancd]

"When the economy improves and hiring begins,......" 

--- Yeah, that will be nice to see for the many, many people still looking for work.

...and it may be even longer off then anyone realizes. :(

[WillEagle]

I sell tablets, laptops, desktops but we don't deal in Apple products. Just at my store we have around 20 laptops and only about 6 desktops that we sell. There are also about 6 tablets which I don't sell many of. I think the tablet market just isn't suited for my area and customers. As far as HP goes I sell a lot of their models and hope they stay in the laptop business. The area that they will never leave will be there printer business. I think they make great printers and I have a huge line of those. And I have 3 sitting here in my Den/computer room. I even have one I stopped using beacuse the scanner stopped working, but the copier and printing still work, to make room for a new one. Even the desktop I'm using right now is a HP. I can see them dropping the tablet but not much else.

[Dangelus]

Well it looks like HP have dropped the price of the TouchPad to $99!!!

Some people are in the process of porting Android to it as well. This should make a very tasty Android tablet indeed! :)