Increase in tablet shipments expected to impact badly on hardware manufacturers.
An article on Industry Analysts.com details the rising success of tablet devices and the industries that are expected to benefit from it or begin to struggle.
According to the article, the shipment of tablet devices is set to overtake that of notebooks by 2016, increasing 243 percent from 121 million to 416 million, compared to an 89 percent increase in notebook shipments to 393 million by 2017. While it claims that this is good news for memory suppliers, media, and cable/satellite providers, hardware manufacturers and the printing industry are expected to struggle.
A report from analyst firm Morgan Stanley predicts that the increase in tablet device usage “should reduce PC market growth by 3 percentage points in 2011—maybe more over the long term”, while companies such as Dell, Lexmark and Ricoh are expected to be “potentially challenged from tablets”.
The report also highlights the threat of tablet devices to the imaging and printing industry, stating that “it will accelerate the trend towards a reduction in printing demand in developed markets” and estimating that the imaging and printing markets could see a reduction in supplies revenue by “two to five percent” in 2012.
Furthermore, in a survey of 215 respondents conducted by the firm, 71 percent said they would print less or much less in the office if they had access to documents on a tablet.
However, the report also highlights that there are ways for hardware manufacturers and vendors to counteract the negative implications of tablet devices on the industry, stating that “printer vendors recognize the threat from mobile devices and have been aggressive in rolling out wireless printing functionality”.
In April, research firm Gartner reported that tablet and smartphone devices were to blame for a 5.9 percent decline in India’s printer market, while The Recycler reported on the varying opinions around the industry on both the positive and negative impacts such devices can have.