Apple’s New Direction: Will the Tablet Replace the PC?

Yesterday at the D8 conference in Los Angeles, Steve Jobs laid out his vision of what’s to come. While Apple’s CEO went in-depth on a plethora of interesting subjects (e.g. Adobe Flash, the lost iPhone, iAds), he spent much of the stage time talking about the future of computing, specifically the PC.

Kara Swisher and Walt Mossberg of AllThingsD asked Jobs whether the tablet is going to replace the laptop. Jobs’s response was an analogy:

“When we were an agrarian nation, all cars were trucks. But as people moved more towards urban centers, people started to get into cars. I think PCs are going to be like trucks. Less people will need them. And this is going to make some people uneasy.”

That short exchange says a lot about the direction Apple could take computing over the next decade. Apple still sells the Mac and the Macbook, and while the term “PC” is now synonymous with WindowsWindowsWindows machines, the meaning of PC — personal computer — can also apply to the Mac and Macbook.

Was Apple’s CEO referring to not only Windows PCs, but Macs as well? It’s tough to say for certain, but I think it’s very likely. Jobs clearly thinks PCs are on the way out, in favor of the more portable, less complex tablet and mobile form factors. His iPad has already validated the market for tablets, and we expect many more tablets to enter the market over the next few years.

Apple lost the PC market to Microsoft years ago. If Jobs has his way though, that won’t matter — the market will shift towards mobile computing devices like the iPhone and the iPad, both of which Apple has complete control over. The tech titan doesn’t have full control over the Mac OS or its desktop, which must be frustrating to a man who relishes control.


Will the tablet replace the PC? Not in the next decade, at least. Hell, the Windows XP operating system is still the world’s most popular OS. It takes time for disruptive technologies to take hold.

For now, the tablet will be a complementary device to the PC. The PC has had far more time to be fleshed out and performs countless tasks faster and better than the iPad or any other tablet device on the market. In a decade though, we may be singing a different tune.

GQ’s Men of the Year Issue on iPad: 365 Copies Sold

GQ, one of the first magazine titles to appear on the iPad, has sold 365 copies of its December 2009 Men of the Year issue, according to publisher Pete Hunsinger.

The issue was priced at $2.99 per download — $2 less than the newsstand price — for a grand total of $1,091.35 in sales. Somewhat surprisingly, GQ appears to be pleased with this figure.

“This costs us nothing extra: no printing or postage,” says Hunsinger. “Everything is profit, and I look forward to the time when iPad issue sales become a major component to our circulation.”

It seems developer fees did not enter into his cost calculations.

On the bright side, sales for the iPhone and iPod touch version is steadily increasing, according to the iTunes store [iTunes link]. GQ’s latest May 2010 issue for the iPhone and iPod touch is the best-selling in the store right now, suggesting that the magazine is developing a solid base of repeat buyers.

It’s hard to put these numbers in context, as little data about iPad app sales has been released thus far. A month ago, ABC announced that its app has been downloaded more than 200,000 times, and earlier this month Rupert Murdoch revealed that the WSJ app has roughly 64,000 subscribers. Both of these apps, however, are free.

Although we need more data to make an accurate assessment, one thing seems certain — the iPad is not the savior certain major publishers had hoped it would be — at least not yet. Nevertheless, it may yet prove a profitable distribution platform for magazines in addition to other platforms, like Facebook.

Publisher Condé Nast is forging ahead with the development of iPad versions of its other popular titles. Vanity Fair appeared in the iTunes catalog this week, and WIRED is slated to launch this summer.