With the tablet market share forecasted to grow at 29% year-over-year between 2012 and 2018, it is clear that tablets will become the primary personal computer for a large portion of the global population. As more tablets are adopted, prices will steady decrease – possibly to a cost less than a hardcover book. The implications for low cost tablets include:
Global acceptance and adoption of tables will impact education, health care, retail and restaurant experiences, automobile research and purchases, etc., as they become replacements for paper. Tablets, along with smartphones, are already having an impact in the coffee house industry. New payment acceptance and processing services from Square and PayPal currently allow patrons to walk into coffee shops and complete the entire order and purchase transaction by merely giving the clerk your name. The rapid adoption of tablets is also impacting user experiences on the web as many existing websites are not fully optimized with a responsive design that adapts to the user’s device. Smartphones and tables are the driving force behind several new technologies and coding techniques as merchants and online retailers strive to keep up with the ever changing consumer behavior and demands. The global computing landscape is quickly changing and will soon be littered with discarded desktop PCs as tablets and smartphones become the de-facto personal computing devices for many. Exciting opportunities await merchants and service providers as they rush to keep pace with the changing tide.