Originally Posted by reglip:
“An iPod is nowhere close to being able to replace a windows machine ...”
Surely it's all down to the end user and what requirements they have of the hardware?
Tablets can connect to the internet and they can run many many applications. This for a lot of users is enough features to keep them happy. They really don't need more than that. In some respects the typical Windows PC is over powered for a lot of users. It has lots of features that they simply don't need to use or need to have access to.
The way I see it, it's like the big bang. The big bang happened, the universe (computing) got very big very quickly.. and now the universe is shrinking. Computers are no longer used purely by techie people who have an interest in computers. They're used by everyone. And so the devices are getting more and more condensed to support that bigger demographic of people.
It's like the world wide web. Once upon a time everyone had a home page, everyone wrote a bit of HTML and there were many many websites. The web is shrinking at a rapid rate now because people simply use facebook as their web presence. It's the same with computing. The 'Post PC' era way of thinking isn't exclusive to Apple. Microsoft know it's coming too.
Tablets right now can't replace every windows machine.. for example offices will still need windows based computers. For now. But to suggest a tablet like the iPad is no where close to replacing a windows machine is wrong imho. For a lot of users, it can easily replace a windows machine.
I was stood in a queue for an iPad listening to people talk about why they're buying one. The line was full of all sorts of people. A woman in front of me was buying one for her husband who is a plumber to help him manage his business. He didn't have a computer at home, now he has an iPad. A lot of people who aren't computer literate and don't need a full blown PC solution are getting iPads. This can not be denied because it's the truth.
The term 'computer illiterate' won't exist in a year or two, because the default solution will be tablets and no one will struggle to use them. Computers are high end, always have been. The % of users who don't need access to that high end is getting bigger and bigger.