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Spain's Record-Breaking Year for Tourism - IPINglobal.com

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College Students Should Buy Tablets Instead of Laptops

Most colleges and universities require computers, and many students assume they need to buy laptops during back to school season. This is a mistake because a tablet is often the superior option.

Laptops used to be the best choice for people who needed a computer that could be used in a dorm room, the library, the classroom, and the lab. But times have changed - tablets are now more portable and more flexible without sacrificing functionality.

Plenty of Power

When the iPad was first released, some dismissed it as a toy. Even many fans called it a consumption device: something handy for reading websites, watching video, or playing games, but useless for actual work. The justification for these beliefs was shaky at the time, and Apple's slate has only become more capable in the years since, transforming into a worthy laptop replacement for many students.

The release of Microsoft Office for the iPad completed this shift. Students who need to work in the widely-used file formats like .docx, .xlsx, and .pptx can do so on an Apple iPad Air.

Although the Android version of Office is still in development, quite a few people use the Samsung Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 and other high-end models to take the place of a laptop.

The collections of useful and inexpensive productivity apps for iOS and Android go well beyond Office - the iPad is very popular in education, and there's a corresponding array of available software.

The situation is even more clear cut when talking about Windows tablets. Models like the Microsoft Surface Pro 3 are as capable as any laptop running Windows, and come in designs that better fit the college lifestyle.

Every Tablet Is a 2-In-1

A traditional laptop is essentially a clamshell that's half screen and half keyboard. When you want to enter a lot of text, a keyboard is a great thing to have, but it's in the way for almost everything else you use a computer for.

You can't rip the keyboard off a laptop when you want to draw or sketch on it, or take handwritten notes. There's no way to take the keyboard off when you want to lighten the load in your bag, or when you need to lean back and read a few hundred pages of an eBook by tomorrow morning.

These are all reasons why tablets have become so popular. You can add a keyboard to an iPad Air or Surface Pro 3 when it's time to write a term paper, but leave the accessory in your dorm when you want to handwrite your class notes.

A keyboard can be added to ANY tablet, and many are sold with them. Companies like Logitech and Belkin make add-on ones for Apple models, while Samsung and Microsoft make keyboards for their own devices.

Think Outside the Laptop Bag

Don't fall into the trap of thinking 'I'm going to college, therefore I need a laptop.' There are alternatives.

And let's not forget the fringe benefits: No one is impressed when you pull a laptop out of your bag, but a slim and powerful tablet ... that will get you some envious glances.

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A bitter pill for tablet computer makers as demand falls off a cliff

The Apple iPad

After a second quarter of softer-than-expected demand, market research company IDC has lowered its forecast for the number of tablet computers to ship in 2014 to 233m.

Effectively, IDC has almost halved the growth rate for devices from manufacturers such as Apple, Samsung, Sony and Microsoft from 12.1pc to 6.5pc.

'When we look at the global picture, it would be easy to say that the tablet market is slowing down,' said Jean Philippe Bouchard, IDC research director for tablet computers.

'But when we start digging into the regional dynamics, we realise that there is still a good appetite for this product category. While mature markets like North America and Western Europe will combine for flat unit growth in 2014, the remaining regional markets will generate 12pc unit growth over the same period.'

IDC anticipates that price pressure on tablets with smaller screen sizes (fewer than 8 inches) and evolving tablet usage in emerging markets will fuel that unit growth.

Average tablet computer selling prices to fall 10pc

While average selling prices (ASPs) are expected to stabilise at US$373 in mature markets in 2014 due to the shift to larger screens and cellular-enabled tablets, ASPs in the rest of the world will decrease to US$302, representing an annual decline of 10pc.

As an illustration of evolving tablet usage, shipments of tablets featuring a built-in option of voice calling over cellular networks in the Asia/Pacific (excluding Japan) region reached 25pc this quarter, representing annual growth of 60pc.

This trend suggests that end users in this region are looking for a single device that can meet their needs in terms of voice communication and media consumption, and for some that single device is a tablet and not a smartphone.

'Driven primarily by small devices, we expect the rest of the world to account for the majority of shipments in the years to come,' said Jitesh Ubrani, senior research analyst for the IDC Worldwide Tablet Tracker.

'But in terms of dollars spent, medium- to large-sized devices in North America and Western Europe will still produce significant revenues.'

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Global branded tablet shipments expected to fall in 2014

Tablet computers, a product category that first emerged in 2010 with Apple's iPad, will see an annual decline in global shipments this year for the first time as their novelty seems to have worn off and prices have bottomed out, according to a local research firm.

Global shipments of brand-name tablets are expected to drop by an annual 1.8% this year to 153 million units, recording negative growth for the first time, TrendForce said in a research note earlier this week.

'When Apple's iPad was launched in 2010, it was an instant hit and spurred a tablet computer craze,' said Caroline Chen, an analyst at TrendForce, adding that the iPad even squeezed sales of laptop computers.

'Tablets have been revolutionary in the sense that they have created demand for a new product category - one that competes fiercely with netbooks and regular laptop computers,' Chen said.

Low-priced notebooks are stealing the market share of tablets, she said, predicting that global laptop computer shipments will increase 1% annually to 171 million units this year.

'Time has shown that notebooks are irreplaceable,' Chen said. 'They offer larger screens than tablets, as well as a keyboard and mouse, which are all important for those who use their computers primarily for work reasons, while tablets remain limited to Internet browsing and entertainment functions.'

Global laptop computer shipments will increase in the second half of the year, on the back of a flagging tablet market, consistent demand for commercial laptops and their 'very competitive' prices, according to Chen.

The global laptop computer market has the potential to expand 4%-7% in the second half of the year, reversing the annual slowing demand for the first time in years, the analyst said.

Research firm WitsView held a similar view, saying that tablets have lost their appeal to consumers and are losing market share to competition from phablets and low-priced laptop computers.

Apple's iPad might experience its first shipment decline this year since entering the market in 2010, as Apple is unlikely to hold any major promotional or sales events for the product, the research firm said in a report in July.

Global shipments of iPads are expected to drop from 74.3 million units in 2013 to 68.4 million untis in 2014, despite new model launches expected in the second half of the year, the report said.

Taipei-based Digitimes Research said, meanwhile, that the global tablet computer market is becoming saturated, showing a similar pattern as the markets for notebook computers and digital cameras.

In addition, 4G smartphones and wearable devices are likely to squeeze tablet sales in the second half of the year, according to the institute.

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