It does not seem like it was that long ago when the laptop was the king of the technology industry, displacing desktop computers because of their portability so that people could take their computers on the road for business or leisure. In recent years, however, the sales and use of laptops have begun to diminish, particular among the younger generation, as they turn their attentions to the use of smaller and even more mobile devices, such as the smartphone, to do all of their computer chores and more. The technology industry has begun to try to fight its way back, coming with alternatives to laptops such as the budget laptops available today to combat the smartphone.
What Happened to the Laptop Industry?
The laptop industry perhaps did not foresee a time where smaller and smaller devices would eventually take over as the predominant way for people to get information, perform work, play games and use the Internet. In fact, for a while not too many years ago, laptops were making versions with even bigger screens, making them more like desktops than traditional laptops because people wanted wider screens to watch movies and videos. The industry began to lag as cellphones began to gain in popularity and even more when smartphones and tablets came into existence, allowing people to do nearly everything they could do on a laptop computer in a smaller device that could easily fit inside a small case or even a pocket. This has caused the sales of laptops to decline dramatically over the last ten years or so.
What the Laptop Industry is Doing Today
Companies that have made their success on laptops, such as Dell, Lenovo, Acer and the like are now turning to smaller laptops, some with a screen of just 12 or 13 inches, and are pricing the machines at budget levels to make them more affordable and appealing to everyone, particular to college students that may not have a lot of income for a higher priced smartphone or tablet and for older people that may not want to spend a lot on a computer or a smart device. These computers are slimmer and more like notebooks in the fashion of many tablets today. The laptops today are equipped with longer lasting batteries, greater storage capacity and more RAM to make them more appealing to those who might be looking at a tablet.
As the industry continues to evolve it is likely that you will see more technological advances made to make laptops more capable, faster and more efficient as they try to keep up with smartphone and tablet markets. It is not likely that you will see the laptop or even the desktop go away completely anytime in the near future and continuing changes in development as they continue to meet the growing and changing demands of the consumer for devices that are faster, have more storage, are more portable and provide them with all of the capability they need for business use or home use.