Is Apple’s Gain the Printing Industry’s Loss?

[Anonymous]

Is Apple’s Gain the Printing Industry’s Loss?
It’s been only five years since Apple released its first iPhone product, but that move had paved the way for other innovative mobile devices that significantly changed how people  communicate and do their business today.

If printers and desktop computers where the most indispensible items a few years back, this time around you’ll see throngs of people with a smartphone, netbook, notebooks, tablets, and eBook readers. Of all these tech devices, it can be said that the presence of iPhone and iPad in the 21st century is so evident that you’ll find them in the hands of a diverse population — pre-teens, college students, young professionals, top executives, hotshot entrepreneurs, and so forth.

Suffice to say, Apple brand has become a household name and the company’s stock and shipment sales can speak well of its reputation. In a new report Canalys, Apple’s iPad is shown to have the biggest impact on market growth, taking the market lead ahead of HP.

HP was once known as the king of PC market, but Apple somehow managed to steal the throne thanks to iPad sales.

“There is now a large base of replacement buyers that simply must have the latest Apple product, and the decision to continue shipping the iPad 2 at lower price points has opened up new customers, for example in education,” Canalys research analyst Tom Evans told the TechnoBuffalo.com.

With iPhone and iPad, you can practically bring the Internet with you wherever you go. You can browse your favorite websites, shop online, read news, check friends’ photos, send documents to co-workers, and even print without the need to own a printer. Given these myriad of possibilities, the print industry couldn’t help but somewhat get affected.

See how smart phones & tablets affect the printing industry.

The growing popularity of smartphones and tablets has shaken printer manufacturers, HP included. Last year, HP’s CEO Leo Apotheker made an unusual remark, saying that iPad had fundamentally changed its business. He said tablets were directly responsible for the company looking to possibly bow out from consumer PCs. But then HP is not the only one bearing the impact of smartphones and tablets, there’s also Kodak which earlier announced it would stop selling consumer inkjet printers.

So, is the printing industry dying because of the ubiquitous presence of smartphones and tablets?

Clearly, smartphones and tablets have brought a lot of convenience to consumers and businesses but many observers believe that there’s still a place for printers in our generation. Business offices, albeit promoting sustainable environment, are still relying on printers for their paperwork. Some consumers, despite enjoying the perks of their smartphone or tablet, would still probably want to print their smartphone photos — whether at home using their own printer or elsewhere using photo printing kiosks.

 

[Author]

October 30, 2012 at 8:03 AM