Why Laptops are an Endangered Species

How, you might wonder, does this mean the end for laptops? That's simple: every time consumers shift their everyday habits from one device to the next, the losing device gets closer and closer to the end of its lifespan. As recent as 15 years ago, most consumers performed their day-to-day online tasks with a clunky desktop PC. In the last five to 10 years, that trend has shifted toward laptops, thanks entirely to falling prices, increasing power, and the simple fact that laptops are portable and desktops are not. Now that people are throwing smartphones into their pockets and tablets into their bags, it's becoming all the more difficult (if not all the more pointless) to carry a laptop. Consumers can bank online, shop online, and perform a zillion other laptop tasks using any one of the Apple AAPL or Google GOOG devices available. Going forward, their capabilities are only expected to get stronger. Long-term, I suspect that Apple or some other clever manufacturer will combine the best of both worlds and release the ultimate touch screen laptop. Until then, expect to see the tablet and smartphone usage data to go up, while desktop PC and laptop usage could continue to deteriorate. Via: TechCrunch Follow me @LouisBedigian