Google Europe boss John Herlihy says that desktop computers will be “irrelevant” in three years. Instead, mobile devices will be the main way people interact with the internet.
Speaking at the Digital Landscapes conference in Ireland, Herlihy said that “In three years time, desktops will be irrelevant. In Japan, most research is done today on smart phones, not PCs.”
Of course, being a Googler, Herlihy is all about the search, and wants to concentrate on that. But his point is a good one. While desktop computers will still be used for work (video production, for example), it’s hard to see them continuing as an entertainment device. Laptops will likely be next, used only for work, and replaced by purpose-made entertainment devices like the iPad and, as Herlihy says, the smart-phone.
I really think this is the point many people are missing when they moan about the “lack” of something in the iPad (and before you complain, this applies to any other non-desktop OS device that may come after). The iPad isn’t meant to be a computer. It is an appliance for entertainment. Apple gets this, and Google gets this. That’s why Google is pushing so hard with Android, and why it has made the Chrome OS.
In three years desktops will be irrelevant – Google sales chief [Silicon Republic via Pocket Lint]
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