September 21^st, 2011- - Back during the industrial revolution, the focus on manufacturing and technologies was seen as a drastic upheaval in the Western world, to what was then primarily an agriculturally-based society. This in turn lifted productivity, wages, and even national GDP levels above other yetundeveloped economies.

Fast forward 200 years, and as society and technology continues to evolve, the subsequent transition from manufacturing, to service-based industries in both developed and emerging economies is evident. This is spurred on by commoditization of mass-market products, in turn resulting in increased competition, and reduced profit margins.

The IT industry is a true microcosm of this evolution, as hardware such as PCs were conceptualized, originally produced, and then subsequently made mass-market in the western world, with the likes of IBM designing the first (massive) computers. These days however, the very inventor of the PC has abandoned its offspring in favour of providing software and IT services, when it sold its PC Division to Lenovo. In a similar move five years later, another US PC giant HP has announced its intentions to spinoff its PSG division (including all its PCs, tablets and mobile devices), as it also intends to refocus in areas which can drive greater returns.

Original talk of companies that may be keen on acquiring HP PSG were Acer or Samsung (which has since denied this rumor, in part due to difficulties in placing a fair value on this division that it can also agree to). This runs parallel to China PC behemoth Lenovo, which has since broadened its consumer offerings into a holistic PC lineup worldwide; thanks to IBM PCDs channel relationships internationally, as well as its Think lineup.

The interesting thing to note then is that out of the largest PC vendors worldwide, the tide has shifted from what was once dominated by US-based vendors (IBM, HP, Dell, Apple), to that of being unmistakably Asian (Lenovo, Acer, Asus, Samsung). What may eventually come to pass is that the US market may be left with just two major players holding the fort- Dell, which has long been a proponent of offshoring, and Apple, which relies just as much on software content as it does hardware sales. Even as Asian focused vendors grow this share of the pie, one can't help but think that this would be an eventuality, as lower labour costs in Asia make it challenging for US based companies to focus mainly on hardware. Ultimately, as long as a win-win scenario can be created between hardware and software vendors, whichever side of the fence (or ocean) they sit doesn't play as vital a role as their integration compatibility.

Tech analysts are in a quandary as to whether we are truly in a "post-PC era", a term that is causing several PC vendors to rethink their corporate strategies on the sustainability of this segment. On one hand, this term is used loosely as tablet PCs and smartphones are wagered to steal share away from desktops and notebooks, and on the other, worldwide projections for both PC form factors still show consistent year-on-year growth, for the next five years at least. Well, if people still need and use PCs (and they still will, especially in emerging economies, rural areas lacking wifi at times, and simply commercial, B2B applications), this just means that growth is being partially cannibalized by some alternative devices; by no means will the PC become extinct, nor even decrease in shipments.

In the meantime, although being a provider of value-added services and software is one way to retain margins, this segment is also under competitive and pricing pressures. In fact, there is no guarantee that commoditization may not be as intense as hardware in the long run. Given that greater investments into R&D are often required to sustain differentiation, there may be still be good reasons for client device vendors to stick with what they have proved to be able to do, and let vendors that are in search of greater returns bear the corresponding risks in the process.-iVolute Technologies

BBC Interview with iVolute Technologies [HD]

June 8^th, 2011- - Everyone is talking about it. Those slim, sleek devices that are touted to compete, some say replace, a new notebook purchase. And you'll be hard pressed not to see someone whip one out in the train or the cafe around the corner. No wonder then that almost all manufacturers that put together any device vaguely linked to a PC or mobile phone is rushing to get their version out to market; from traditional players like Acer and Asus, to mobile giants like RIM and Motorola, and even non-traditional system purveyors such as Viewsonic and Samsung. This is a far cry from the numerous attempts in the past, where (mainly) notebook vendors launched various slate or convertible type products, with limited success. What has changed since? Nothing much- only that when Apple jumps in, others seem to think the time is right.

Which brings to mind a question- is demand really that strong? Besides the attention grabbing iPad, the honest truth, regardless of what research firms are forecasting, is that no one really knows. Because there honestly isn't one default user environment in place today which rivals what made the netbook a "success' in it's heyday- the Windows platform (albeit a shrunken one, in XP or Starter forms). A fragmented and divided usage model doesn't guarantee that volumes will together pass the tipping point, and into mainstream adoption.

Sure, besides Appstore, Android has made significant inroads in getting almost all app developers to create something, and starting with the mobile device, to get the average consumer to play around with the OS, even if not anything more. Hey, this is how Apple started with the iPhone after all, before moving to a larger iTouch which it calls an iPad.

However, this is all very consumer-centric. And as we get caught in the hype, one thing we mustn't forget- Steve Jobs insists his company is a consumer-focused one, and commercial PCs can make up half of total PC sales. Thus far, many commercial PC users view tablets the same way hotel chambermaids view a certain high profile French financial advisor. There are certain drawbacks with tablets that prevent the form factor from reaching out to all segments.

Firstly, most would agree that the role of hardware today, specifically client devices, exists as a conduit for application and content delivery. Without the much touted "killer app," interest wanes quickly, and we would also wager that the iPhone would have been just another phone without the content in Appstore. The challenge, then, is that in today's Windows driven corporate environment, justifying the purchase of a tablet that more often than not does not run Windows can create issues with your conservative IT manager. One solution? Client virtualization, which allows an entire Windows OS (and corresponding corporate applications) to function on a tablet as a virtual PC; Citrix's XenClient, for example, is one such option. Otherwise, struggling with concurrently open spreadsheets, presentations, IM and Internet browser requiring Flash on an Android or Apple OS type platform just may not cut it.

Then, there's the user input interface. Whilst great for reading the latest magazine or digesting a boring financial statement on a spreadsheet, a touch screen just isn't as intuitive for creating a presentation or typing a report of your own, especially as almost all Gen-Y and Zers are familiar with Qwerty.

Therein lies the problem; vendors not wanting to miss out on a piece of the action blinding jumping in because everyone else is, but not knowing for sure who is buying it, or for how long. MSI is wise to adopt a wait-and-see attitude, claiming it will enter the market only if and when the time is right.

So love it or loathe it, the form factor is here to stay. Increased production capacity has deemed it so. Whether or not this is driven by actual user demand, is an entirely different story. -iVolute Technologies